Chapter Four #2
During that month, Winifred had recognized Mel as an old acquaintance—they had once been neighbors.
When she discovered that Mel was there to investigate her father for fraud, she had helped Mel to discover the true villain, her uncle, who had also defrauded his brother.
In that short time, Mel had come to look on Winifred as a younger sister, and their relationship had only strengthened in the eighteen months since.
What on earth was Winifred Querrendale doing at the Golden Adonis? She was unmarried and a wallflower—and as innocent as a newborn lamb, if Mel was any judge. Even as Mel pondered the question, Winifred disappeared through the door into the club.
Winifred could help Mel get into the club, or at least tell her more about what went on in there. Would she be willing? There was only one way to find out. As a first step, she followed the lady’s carriage, which was moving away.
It didn’t go far, turning at the next corner and then again, through the arch of an inn. The coachman climbed down, left the horses to doze in the corner of the stable yard under the supervision of a sleepy stable boy, and went into the tavern next door.
Mel bought him three pints of ale and a half pint of gin before he became loquacious, and confirmed the identity of his passenger, who was the daughter of his employer, the classical scholar Dr. Querrendale.
He then lowered his head onto his hands and went to sleep, so that when the errand boy from the club ran in to say Miss wanted her carriage, he was in no fit state to drive.
With the help of a couple of the other patrons in the tavern, Mel arranged to tuck him into the luggage net at the rear of the carriage. Thank goodness she had some experience driving a carriage, and that the horses were placid and well trained.
Trust Winifred to look up at the driver’s perch and comment. “You are not my driver. Where is Tom Margate?”
“In the luggage net, Miss. Blind drunk,” Mel explained, hoping that would be enough to convince the lady.
However, Winifred was not such a fool. “I am not getting into a carriage controlled by someone I do not know,” she insisted, and turned back toward the club.
“Wait a minute, Miss,” Mel said. “I can explain.” She had already set the brake. Now she tied off the reins and clambered down.
Winifred put her hand into her reticule. “I have a pistol inside here,” she warned.
“Good for you,” said Mel, softly. “I remember when I first advised you on which one to purchase. And taught you how to load and fire it.”
Winifred leaned forward to peer into her face. “Mel—” she began.
“Yes, it is I,” Mel agreed. She glanced up at the doormen, who were craning to see what was going on. “Allow me to drive you home, Winifred, and I shall explain everything.”
She would surely have enough time to take Winifred back to the Querrendale house in Mayfair, explain she was on an investigation and needed a guest invitation to the Golden Adonis, and get back to the riverbank to find the entrance to the tower and make her way back to her bed before the marquess’s sons returned home.
Once the coachman had been delivered to the stables, along with the carriage and horses, Winifred led Mel into her house through a side door that led to Winifred’s private parlor.
Mel gave a very brief explanation of her present disguise. “I am currently investigating a group of men, and being a man is safer in those circumstances. But now I need to enter the Golden Adonis. What can you tell me about the club? And can you get me a guest invitation?”
Winifred’s response was enthusiastic. “Another investigation! Of course, I can try to get you a guest token. But Melody, surely I can do more than that? What are you trying to find out?”
“I cannot tell you what the investigation is about, Winifred,” Mel said, “for I do not wish to put you in danger.” If the marquess came after Mel, anyone associated with her might be caught up in the ensuing carnage.
Raised eyebrows hinted what Winifred thought of that. “I think you are making a mistake, for if you are looking for clues at the Golden Adonis, two sets of ears are better than one. But I shall not pester you over it, Melody.”
Oh bother. Winifred was right. Mel bit her upper lip as she thought it over.
“Get me in, dear friend, and then we shall see. If I am sure it will not put you in danger, I’ll be glad to have your help.
But tell me, how do you come to be a member?
From what I have heard about it, it is not the place for a gently-born maiden who seeks marriage! ”
“No, but just think, Melody. Father barely knows any older men, let alone young ones. Aunt Agnes is my sponsor, but she is hardly much better. She will not take me out more than twice a week, and when she does, she finds a corner in which to bury her head in a book. They may be happy to spend the rest of their lives alone in a library, but I should like to marry and have children. However, I shall wither and die an old maid if I do not learn to talk to men. And even before that, to attract them enough that they ask for an introduction!”
“I did not realize it was so bad, Winifred, dear. Look, when this job is over, I shall introduce you to some ladies who should be able to present young men to you. You certainly will not meet a husband at The Golden Adonis.”
“No.” Winifred shook her head, but her tone was regretful.
“I know the men there are not marriage material and not of my class, though Faunus… Never mind. The point is, I wanted to learn to talk to men, and The Golden Adonis has men for hire. Just talk, Melody, masked and under an assumed name. I am not a fool.”
“I beg your pardon. I did not mean to imply you were foolish. It is just that I worried for you when I recognized you there.”
“You do not need to worry, my dear. I am being careful, and Hera does not permit any harm to come to her guests. Nor any of her employees, either. She is most strict about it. The man I was with tonight does not do… you know, that. A lot of them don’t.
Women go to the club for all sorts of reasons.
Some to talk, like me. Some to dance. Some to meet other women.
And some for what Hera calls ‘intimate services,’ which I do not require.
Different men offer different services. The man I met is very gentlemanly. ”
She dropped her lashes and colored. “We spent most of our hour tonight talking about the stars. He, too, is interested in astronomy. He says that the secret of talking to a man is to ask him what interests him and then discuss that with him. He says that a man who wants to talk on and on about something that does not interest me will make a poor husband for life.”
That sentiment set Mel chuckling. How right this mysterious gentleman was! Her own deceased husband could talk for hours and hours about the mysteries of horse racing and the joys of hunting, and little else. The subject ceased to entertain Mel after the first day. “He makes good sense,” she said.
“He has not told me much about himself,” Winifred admitted.
“Only that he and his brothers work at the Golden Adonis to save money, because of a man who is their youngest brother’s guardian, and who holds the brother hostage for their good behavior.
As soon as the brother is of age, they mean to leave London with him, and meanwhile, they are earning as much as they can.
I am sure he is a gentleman, though, even if he is poor. ”
So that was it. Suddenly, the behavior of the Sheppard brothers made sense. “Tell me about this Faunus,” Mel said. “Perhaps, when he is free, he will want to marry you.”
“He will not,” Winifred answered. “He says he would like to, but he and his brothers must leave England. He says he is poor and lame, and cannot give me the life I deserve. I would not care about that, but I cannot go so far away from Papa, Melody. He would not leave his books, and he needs me.”
Lame. Lord Francis or Lord Jerome, then. Lord Francis, almost certainly. He was the one with the telescope and the star charts. Apparently, in bringing the marquess to justice, she would also be helping the cause of true love!
“Perhaps something shall work out,” she said to Winifred. “In the meantime, I shall continue to worry, if your only escort is a coachman that drinks too much. Admittedly, I bought him the drinks, but he needed no coaxing to consume them.”
“He keeps his mouth shut, though, Melody. The more servants I let into my secret, the less likely it is I can keep it. Normally, I have my friend Parthena with me, and she brings a footman she trusts. She could not make it tonight. And I cannot go tomorrow night, for it is Christmas Eve and my father and aunt are taking me to a fancy dinner. I shall send a request to Hera, the proprietress, for a guest invitation, and you can come with me and Parthena on the evening of Boxing Day.”
Excellent. Perhaps tomorrow, if the brothers went out into the night again, she could visit her own family!
“I shall meet you outside the Golden Adonis at ten o’clock on the night of the twenty-sixth,” Mel said.
“If you have the guest token for me, I’ll be dressed to come inside with you.
Will you be using the same carriage and the same mask? ”
“I shall,” Winifred confirmed.
“I must go now. I need to return to the place where I’m staying before I am missed.” Melody still had to get back to the riverbank, and she estimated it would take her at least three quarters of an hour, unless she could find a jarvey looking for a fare.
“I shall see you two nights from now,” Winifred said, opening the door to the outside. “Merry Christmas, Melody.”
“Merry Christmas, Winifred.” Melody touched her friend’s arm in farewell and slipped out into the night.