Chapter Twenty-One #3
They were again silent until they returned to Graham’s coach. “I am very sorry to place more responsibilities on Miss Whitchurch,” Graham said, “but, as it is Saturday and we must execute the necessary task today or we must wait until Monday.”
“I agree,” Benjamin said. “In case I forget to thank you later, please know that I am in your debt.”
They very much remained silent except for a rehashing of the news that the woman who wished to marry Duncan met Miss Whitchurch’s sister.
At length, they arrived back at Benjamin’s home.
“We are going out again,” Benjamin told Patterson when the man greeted them at the door.
“Yes, my lords.”
“Should I postpone the midday meal?”
“I doubt we will return in time to eat,” Benjamin said without much consideration. “Ask Cook if she can hold it until we require it or repurpose it somehow.”
He followed Graham back into the other half of the house.
His brother did not stand on ceremony this time.
“Ladies, I am apologetic regarding disturbing you once again, but I must ask Miss Whitchurch if she would join me and Lord Thompson on an errand of some importance. Is it possible for you to finish your tasks for today at home or finish them here without Miss Whitchurch’s oversight?
As it is Saturday, if we do not act with urgency, we must wait until Monday to conduct our business. ”
Mrs. Karnes said, “My Charlotte is with my younger children. I should finish this special order for Lady Hendrick. Mr. Sustar would be furious if he could not deliver the order to her ladyship on Monday afternoon, as promised. If possible, I would prefer to stay. There are too many distractions in my home.”
Mrs. Geoffrey said, “Miss Adolph and I planned to start the order for Mrs. Katersky today. We did not manage to do so yesterday. We could have it finished before you send over Lady Hendrick’s work on Monday, making Mr. Sustar happier.”
Benjamin agreed before Miss Whitchurch could respond. “Thank you, ladies. I appreciate your loyalty to Miss Whitchurch. I will have Mr. Patterson deliver tea and something to tide you over.”
“I shall attempt to return before you leave,” Miss Whitchurch promised. “Should I fetch the boy?” she asked Benjamin and Graham.
“It might be best if the child remained at Macalhey House for this adventure. We must travel quickly,” Graham instructed.
Benjamin could tell from the slant of her shoulders that Miss Whitchurch knew their words would not be ones she wished to hear.
Some ten minutes later, Benjamin braced the lady on the steps to Graham’s coach. He crawled in to sit beside her.
“Is this bad news?” she asked as the coach pulled away from the curb.
“I do not yet know with complete assurance,” Graham told her.
“In truth, I pray Thompson and I have made a mistake, but, as I promised his lordship that I would explore my contacts to learn something of your sister’s long absence, I thought it best if we first look at those found abandoned on London’s streets. ”
“By ‘abandoned,’” she said through trembling lips, “you mean deceased?” The lady reached for Benjamin, and he cupped her hand between his two. “Then Mr. Betts spoke the truth.” Her gaze turned to Benjamin in a beseeching manner.
“I presented Graham with the sketch you drew of Miss Cassandra. I thought it might speed his search,” Benjamin explained.
“And it did,” Graham told her. “Instead of beginning at the Lyon’s Den, where both you and Thompson had previously asked questions, his lordship and I ended our search there this afternoon.”
“I do not understand,” Miss Whitchurch said. “Has Cassandra again been employed by Mrs. Dove-Lyon?”
“No,” Graham said. “Thompson and I simply showed the Den’s patroness your sketch to confirm that we were all speaking of the same person.
” Graham sucked in a slow breath. “I began my search at Miss Cassandra’s destination.
I made the assumption that for the boy’s sake your sister would be determined to know success. ”
“She would,” Miss Whitchurch declared. “I believe she truly meant to provide for her son.”
Benjamin was not as confident of Miss Cassandra’s motherly nature, but he did not comment, for doing so would bring more harm to Miss Whitchurch.
Graham continued, “I began by asking questions of the local constable. Your sketch was most helpful in jarring the man’s memory.
I fear a woman fitting your sister’s description was found in an alley less than a street removed from The Red Rooster, meaning your sister meant to seek employment, just as she said she would. ”
“Found in an alley?” Miss Whitchurch whispered into the stillness of the coach. “Then she is dead.”
“Yes,” Graham said in compassionate tones.
Benjamin thought that she might reach for him or bury her face in his collar, but he had not presented Miss Whitchurch with the proper admiration. Instead, she asked, “Do we know why she was killed?”
“It would not have been a robbery,” Graham assured, “and, according to the men I spoke to yesterday evening, she had not been assaulted, meaning she was not fighting whoever approached her.”
“You knew this when I called on Duncan Place this morning?” Benjamin accused.
“It was not something I thought we should discuss before the others,” Graham said in heavy tones.
“Moreover, I wanted someone other than you or Miss Whitchurch to identify the person killed before I spoke to either of you. Such is the reason I chose Miss Cassandra’s starting place on that fateful morning: The Lyon’s Den. ”
Miss Whitchurch’s hand knotted inside of Benjamin’s. She said through trembling lips, “Then how did Casandra die?”
Graham frowned in apparent discomfort, but he responded, nevertheless. “Miss Cassandra was stabbed several times in her lower back. She likely bled to death.”
“Oh, my!” Miss Whitchurch turned to him, and tears flowed from her eyes. “She suffered…”
Benjamin searched for a reason to give her hope when none was to be had. “Let us learn with certainty that it was Miss Cassandra,” he cautioned. “Then we may move forward with what is necessary to grieve your sister.”
“How do we learn the impossible?” she asked him, but Graham responded before Benjamin could formulate a plan.
“I have asked that the lady’s grave be reopened.
Her belongings were buried with her except for a few coins in her reticule, which were used to pay for the burial.
” Graham reached a hand across to her, and Miss Whitchurch presented him her free hand.
“We will simply view her clothing and her belongings. It has only been two months since your sister’s passing, but the body God presents us decays quickly, for it is the soul he wants in Heaven.
Therefore, it would be too upsetting for you to look upon her now. Doing so would haunt you forever.”
She nodded weakly, but Benjamin knew, without a doubt, the lady was not fully prepared to know what must be done.
He said, “You may instruct me regarding what we should search, and I can act in your stead. My Edinburgh training will permit me to do what is necessary so we may learn if this woman is truly your sister.”
“God blessed me when He placed us in the rain together,” she whispered through trembling lips. She sagged into Benjamin’s loose embrace and he closed his arms about her.
Eventually, Graham’s coach pulled up before a small church, likely the closest one to the area where Miss Cassandra’s body was found.
“The curate awaits us within,” Graham instructed.
“I sent one of my footmen ahead to tell him of our visit. The curate will be the one who oversees the opening and closing of the grave.”
Benjamin climbed down first and assisted Miss Whitchurch on the steps. Once Graham was also on the ground, he led the way inside.
“Mr. Braun.” Graham shook the cleric’s outstretched hand. “This is my brother Lord Thompson and Miss Whitchurch, sister of the woman for whom we search.”
“I am sorry to have your acquaintance under these circumstances,” the man said.
“As you instructed, my lord, the men you hired were not to open the coffin until I could bless it again. I simply require your signature on this church form before you may look upon the deceased. It is to prove you have no nefarious motives, such as grave robbing.”
When Benjamin was finished, he asked, “Are you prepared, Miss Whitchurch?”
“Not hardly,” she said in self-chastisement, “but it must be done.”
“Then let it be done quickly,” Graham instructed.
Her body sagged against Benjamin’s as they followed the cleric and Graham through the church and down a short lane to the churchyard.
Braun said, “Before we open the lid, permit me a quick prayer.” The laborers snatched the cloth caps from their heads, and they all waited in silence. In less than a minute, Mr. Braun motioned the men to work the nails free of the box.
“Set the lid so it does not expose the face,” Graham instructed.
“Aye, my lord.”
When their efforts were complete, Benjamin left Miss Whitchurch beside the cleric. She held Graham’s hand, while Benjamin knelt beside the body. He first lifted the hem of the dress. “Familiar?” he asked.
“Yes, it is similar to the dress I made for Cassandra shortly after we came to London,” Miss Whitchurch said with a hiccup of emotion in her response.
Benjamin understood the dress was made to cover Miss Cassandra’s growing girth.
“Look for a small silver ring on her finger. The middle finger of her left hand,” Miss Whitchurch instructed.
“Would it have been removed already?” Graham asked Mr. Braun.
“Not by us in the church,” Braun assured. “Though I cannot speak for others.”
Benjamin adjusted his position and reached inside the box to take the hand that already showed great decay, but he discovered the ring Miss Whitchurch described. “It is here,” he said as he looked up to her. “If it is your wish, I will remove it, and we may keep it for the boy.”
“Yes, please,” she whispered as she clung tightly to Graham’s arm.