Chapter 5
THE LADIES
Cecilia pushed scone crumbs around on her empty breakfast plate.
She thought of the events of yesterday and what she must do that day.
This is when the investigation fully began.
There was so much to discover in order to help Gideon solve his mysteries and allow him to feel comfortable bringing his daughter home.
She heard the heavy front door of Pomum Court open and the unmistakable voice of Jocelyn Norcroft.
She rose swiftly from the table and went into the entrance hall to find two women handing bonnets, gloves, and parasols to a waiting footman.
She had never seen the second woman before.
Mrs. Norcroft was dressed in another shade of gray in acknowledgment of her widowhood.
The woman with her wore a jonquil yellow gown that few women could carry off against their complexion.
A woman who chose such a color either understood herself very well—or not at all, she mused.
She’d wager it was very well in Miss Nieves’ case.
Mrs. Norcroft turned and saw her. “Lady Branstoke! I hope you don’t mind my coming so early; however, as I thought of what we have before us and how little time, I thought it best to come over as soon as I could.
Oh, and this is my youngest sister, Katherine Nieves.
I say that quickly, or others will assume she’s my daughter. ”
“Heaven forefend!” her sister declared theatrically.
Cecilia laughed, as she knew she was meant to. She found herself intrigued by Mrs. Norcroft’s sister.
The sisters glared at each other for a moment before Mrs. Norcroft shrugged. “She’s come to help.”
“More like take notes for my voluble sister,” Miss Nieves explained in a dramatic aside to Cecilia.
“Welcome,” Cecilia said, taking her hand in hers for a moment. The woman had a small, dainty hand. Cecilia thought it a contrast to her larger voice. “Shall we go upstairs to the drawing room?”
Mrs. Norcroft enacted a shudder. “If we must. That room gives me the willies with how ugly it is.”
Cecilia laughed again; these women were a pair when together. Mrs. Norcroft had appeared so serious—and almost matronly—the night before. Odd, but refreshing, Cecilia decided.
“I thought improvements to the room should be one of our subjects of conversation. I don’t think it will be too difficult to enliven it a bit,” she said as she led them up the stairs.
“I already have some ideas. I brought up the idea of a dinner party to Mrs. Duggleston and she immediately brought up the necessity of improving the drawing room. She has some ideas as well.”
“Excellent!” Mrs. Norcroft practically crowed.
“Do you think Gideon will mind?” Cecilia asked.
“Do you think he would notice?” countered Mrs. Norcroft.
“Jocelyn,” protested her sister. “That is not fair.”
Mrs. Norcroft shrugged and took the same chair she’d sat in the night before. Miss Nieves sat on the settee, and Cecilia decided to sit in the other armchair near Mrs. Norcroft.
“I understand from my sister that our goal for today—aside from improving this room—is to plan a dinner party for three nights from now. That is not much time for people to receive their invite and respond,” Miss Nieves observed.
“No, it is not,” agreed Cecilia. “However, your sister assured me last night that curiosity itself will have them coming.”
“This is a quiet county. Little goes on. Neighbors will be all too happy to be able to report the goings on at Pomum Court,” Mrs. Norcroft assured them. “I’ve lived here for two decades. I know how the neighbors think. For a little village far from London, they can be quite formal.”
Cecilia smiled. “But you call Lord Monteith, Gideon. Hardly following formality.”
Mrs. Norcroft laughed lightly. “Yes, but I have known him since he was but a boy of twelve and known as Gideon Tallevast. He has asked me not to change my address.”
A harkening back to happier times, Cecilia supposed. “Fair enough.”
“Before we begin, may I ask the objective of this dinner party? Knowing my sister, and her penchant for machinations, I doubt it is just to introduce you and your husband to the neighbors,” Miss Nieves said.
“Machinations?!” Mrs. Norcroft objected.
Now having an inkling of how the sisters dealt with each other, Cecilia chose to ignore that remark.
“The earl believes he is being threatened,” Cecilia said.
She saw the sisters look from one to the other.
“We have been afraid of that,” Miss Nieves said somberly, slowly.
Cecilia nodded to them, acknowledging their thoughts.
“Knowing James and I do investigations, he invited us here to help him get to the bottom of the events. It is also why he sent his daughter and her governess away for the summer.”
“Ah, that got past me,” Mrs. Norcroft said. “He merely said he was sending her to relatives for a summer holiday. Do you know where he sent her?”
“Yes, I do,” Cecilia said. “She will be quite safe with the people she is with.”
Mrs. Norcroft looked expectantly at her, as if she wanted Cecilia to tell her where she was. Cecilia did not see a need for the woman to know unless Gideon told her.
“I’ll ring for tea and for Mrs. Duggleston to join us,” Cecilia said instead of answering, leaving that for Gideon to do or not.
Within moments, Mrs. Duggleston joined them. Cecilia surmised she had been waiting outside for their call.
“Marcia will be here with tea shortly. And cook made some delicious scones to go with it,” the woman said.
“Please be seated, Mrs. Duggleston,” Cecilia invited the housekeeper.
The woman sat at the other end of the settee from Miss Nieves; her hands folded primly in her lap.
“Mrs. Norcroft has suggested a dinner party would be a good way to introduce my husband and I to the community.”
“Yes, mum, and investigate these nasty happenings to dear Lord Monteith,” she said.
“You have the right of it,” Cecilia said with a slight chuckle at Mrs. Duggleston’s forthright and emphatic tone.
“How many should I plan for, ma’am?”
Cecilia looked toward Mrs. Norcroft.
“Sixteen to twenty, I should say,” offered that woman.
Mrs. Duggleston nodded slowly. “Will any be staying over? Should I ready rooms?”
Cecilia hadn’t thought of that possibility.
“Possibly,” Mrs. Norcroft said slowly. “Dr. Pettigrew would be the most likely; however, he does have relatives in the area he might prefer to stay with. The Kassells live on the far side of the ridge, a bit of a drive in the dark, especially if the weather should turn unexpectedly.”
Cecilia nodded, remembering the sudden weather turn the previous day. She turned to Mrs. Duggleston. “Best to prepare four, there may be others who find it too dark, or if weather conditions change. Locals will still likely go home; others might be uncertain.”
“I’ll have the bedrooms in the west wing made ready,” Mrs. Duggleston declared.
“Whatever you think best,” Cecilia said.
The door opened to admit the maid with the tea and scones. Mrs. Duggleston rose to serve them all. Once she had resumed her seat, Cecilia raised her teacup to her.
“Another topic to discuss, Mrs. Duggleston, is this room. Can we improve it in a day?”
Cecilia saw Mrs. Duggleston’s eyes brighten. She set her teacup down. “I’d like to remove half of this furniture to the attic, particularly the heavier looking pieces. My thought is to change the room from so much red to red and cream.”
“Red and cream?” Cecilia asked. “How do you propose to do that on such short notice?”
“I’ll have the footmen take down the drapes from the Countess’ withdrawing room directly above here.
The windows are the same size, and those drapes are cream-colored.
We’ll use the red tie backs to make them look intentional.
They can also bring down a couple of the chairs and a settee from other rooms that would match the drapes without clashing with the red. ”
“Are there any paintings that might be exchanged for the gloomy pictures in here?” Mrs. Norcroft asked.
Mrs. Duggleston thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously. “I can think of three that might be perfect, if the frames fit over the removed paintings’ empty spaces.”
Cecilia had to smile at Mrs. Duggleston’s enthusiasm. “You have thought about this for some time,” she observed.
“Yes, my lady. This room has been painful to come into with these dark colors and the maze of furniture.”
The ladies laughed gently, nodding their agreement.
“Then I don’t think we need to discuss this project any further. You have this well in hand and we will trust in you,” Cecilia said, looking between Mrs. Norcroft and her sister.
The other women nodded.
“I should be getting to it, then,” Mrs. Duggleston said. She finished her tea and rose. “Just ring should you have any other questions or observations,” she said with a merry lilt to her voice.
Cecilia watched her go. She couldn’t suppress a smile after the housekeeper.
But it was time to return to the guest list!
“You mentioned a Dr. Pettigrew,” Cecilia said after Mrs. Duggleston had left the room.
“Mrs. Hargrave mentioned his name yesterday. She said he doesn’t come down here often, I gathered she blamed him for her husband’s death. ”
Mrs. Norcroft nodded slightly and offered a sad smile. “I see where she might, poor woman.”
“He lives in the market town, North Tauton northwest of here. Jocelyn, I wonder that you have him on your list,” Miss Nieves said.
“You may not be aware; however, the last couple of months he has been spending considerable time in the area. He is quite mad about anything Roman. The baron told me he was one of the first of the subscribers to the excavation of Compton’s fort, as the baron is calling it.”
“A bit presumptuous,” Miss Nieves said wryly, her lips quirking up at the side. Cecilia found herself quite liking Mrs. Norcroft’s sister.
Another man drawn to Roman remains. Too many…