Chapter 35
Lady Bainbridge knelt beside him, her hair dishevelled, one trembling hand clutched to her throat, whilst Miss Fraser rested a consoling hand upon her shoulder.
The moment she saw them, she whispered through shaking lips, ‘I did not do it. I found him like this.’
She said it almost as though she expected to be accused of pushing him, though it could just as easily have been an accident.
What an odd thing to say.
A suspicious feeling crept over Charlotte as she stared down at Lord Bainbridge’s broken body. Her mind flashed unbidden to Sarah’s earlier jest upon their arrival at the house, and guilt prickled beneath her skin.
Lord Stanley crouched beside the corpse.
‘Was it an accident?’ he murmured. ‘Did he trip—or was he pushed?’
The question echoed her own thoughts.
He looked up towards Lady Bainbridge, who still trembled upon the cold marble floor.
Charlotte glanced around the foyer, instincts prickling.
‘After the deaths we have witnessed these past weeks,’ she said quietly, ‘I find myself increasingly unwilling to believe in coincidence.’
Lord Stanley said nothing, though his jaw tightened visibly.
Then he rose and began questioning the footmen and staff tersely, who looked at one another in varying degrees of shock and dismay.
Another death beneath their roof.
‘As instructed, my lord, we escorted Lord Bainbridge to his wife’s room and—’ Holden began under Stanley’s curt questioning. ‘We only left him briefly when Mr Payne attempted to escape, and we were obliged to assist in restraining him.’
Stanley’s expression darkened.
‘You mean to tell me Lord Bainbridge was left unattended?’
‘We did not consider him a suspect, my lord,’ Holden admitted. ‘And we...’
He faltered beneath Lord Stanley’s glare.
Nearby, Lady Bainbridge continued sobbing noisily into her handkerchief whilst Mrs Wilberforce attempted to soothe her.
‘There, there, dearest. I am sure matters shall resolve themselves. He is in a... better place now...’
Lady Bainbridge gave another broken sob.
‘What will become of me? What if I must return to my parents’ home?’
She clung to Mrs Wilberforce almost childishly.
At a helpless look from Mrs Wilberforce, Charlotte stepped forward.
‘I am certain Lord Bainbridge will have provided for you, my lady. But can you tell us precisely what occurred?’
Lady Bainbridge swallowed shakily.
‘He came into my room speaking of an old jewellery box. He discovered letters hidden beneath a false bottom—letters I had no notion existed—and said he meant to show them to you, my lord.’
She dabbed frantically at her eyes.
‘Then I stepped away briefly to refresh myself before returning downstairs to join the ladies. And when I came out again...’
Her voice cracked.
‘...he was lying there.’
‘What sort of letters were they?’ Lord Stanley asked.
‘I do not know.’ Lady Bainbridge looked genuinely bewildered.
‘Did you see anyone else nearby?’
‘Only Mrs Wilberforce coming from the morning room after I screamed.’
Mrs Wilberforce nodded immediately.
‘Yes. I heard a dreadful thud followed by screaming. When I stepped out, Lord Bainbridge was already lying at the foot of the stairs, and Lady Bainbridge was standing at the top. No one else was there.’
Lady Bainbridge seized Charlotte’s hand so tightly it hurt.
‘I know how this appears, but I swear I did not push him. Why would I?’
She looked utterly terrified.
Charlotte glanced towards Lord Stanley, uncertain what to believe. Had Bainbridge been murdered—or had he truly fallen?
More ladies emerged from the parlour and morning room, pale and frightened. Maids crowded into the hallway as whispers spread rapidly through the household.
Charlotte surveyed the gathering carefully.
Everyone appeared shaken.
Everyone except Lady Susan.
Charlotte spotted her standing at the top of the staircase, gazing down at Lord Bainbridge’s body with unnerving composure. Then, without a word, Lady Susan turned and disappeared calmly back towards her room.
‘Where are the letters now?’ Lord Stanley asked.
‘I... I do not know.’
Lady Bainbridge dissolved into fresh sobs and had to be led away by Mrs Wilberforce.
Lord Stanley and Charlotte searched both the body and surrounding foyer, but no letters could be found.
After a brief examination of the corpse alongside the Bow Street Runners, Lord Stanley ordered Lord Bainbridge’s body removed to the outbuilding and sent for the local coroner.
Charlotte could scarcely comprehend what had just occurred.
As they returned to the study and questioned the servants, they quickly established that every member of staff below stairs had been accounted for.
‘Hamilton, Boulton, Oswald, Fraser, and Payne could not possibly have done it,’ Lord Stanley said, looking equally perplexed. ‘They were all under guard. It would have been impossible.’
‘That leaves the female guests,’ Charlotte said slowly. ‘Lady Susan and Lady Bainbridge were both in their chambers. Mrs Wilberforce was in the morning room with Miss Hill and Miss Underwood. The remaining ladies were in the parlour.’
‘So Lady Susan and Lady Bainbridge are the only ones without proper alibis,’ Stanley concluded.
Charlotte looked momentarily perplexed.
‘Perhaps, like Mrs Dent, the Odd Fellows have other female accomplices.’
‘A troubling thought,’ he admitted wearily. ‘Though it is possible. Or perhaps, in his haste descending the staircase, Bainbridge truly did fall.’
‘I do not think so. Otherwise we should have found the letters upon him. I would wager they contained something important—something capable of exposing the Odd Fellows.’
‘How could I have been so careless? I should have accompanied him myself.’ His expression darkened with self-reproach.
Charlotte instinctively caught his arm.
‘How could you possibly have foreseen this? You cannot blame yourself.’
His gaze dropped briefly to her hand before lifting slowly to her face.
‘Charlotte,’ he said softly.
There was such feeling in his expression that she quickly looked away, fearful he might glimpse the heartbreak she could no longer entirely conceal.
Gently, he placed his hand over hers.
Another murder had occurred beneath their very noses, yet somehow her own heartache still pulsed painfully beneath it all.
‘Are you all right?’
The unexpected gentleness in his voice made Charlotte glance up.
‘I am becoming more frightened with every passing hour...’
She broke off abruptly.
‘I know.’
Pain flickered briefly across his features before determination hardened them once more.
‘But I will not let anything happen to you.’
Charlotte’s heart pounded—not from fear this time, but from the raw emotion in his eyes. She quickly lowered her own before the hurt in them became too obvious.
‘Nothing will happen to you,’ he said tightly, his voice low with restrained fury.
He lifted one finger beneath her chin and gently tilted her face upwards.
‘We shall find whoever is responsible for this.’ He brushed away the single tear that escaped her. ‘And they will answer for it.’
Only then did Charlotte notice the shadows beneath his eyes, the strain etched across his face. He had scarcely slept. Barely eaten.
And her heart ached for him.
How had she ever imagined the Captain could compare?
She stepped back abruptly. Nearness to him had become unbearable. If she remained any longer, she feared she might cling to him and never let go.
‘There must be something we are overlooking,’ she said quickly. ‘Lady Bainbridge told me she had a secret admirer amongst the guests. What if it is Hamilton? Is he not now heir to the Bainbridge estate?’
‘If she is involved with Hamilton, then she may well be assisting the Odd Fellows. And with Lord Bainbridge dead, she would be free to marry him. Two birds with one stone—quite literally.’
Charlotte began pacing.
‘But if she truly pushed him, why remain standing at the top of the staircase screaming? Why not quietly rejoin the other ladies before anyone discovered the body?’
‘It makes little sense,’ Lord Stanley agreed. ‘And then there is Lady Susan. You say she simply looked at the body and calmly returned to her room?’
‘Without the slightest sign of distress.’
He looked equally troubled.
‘Lady Susan was involved with Wolverton,’ Charlotte continued. ‘She could just as easily be tied to the Odd Fellows as the others. We should search the rooms. The letters may still be hidden somewhere.’
Lord Stanley turned slowly towards her, a flicker of appreciation—or perhaps astonishment—crossing his face.
Then he caught himself, stepped back, and cleared his throat.
‘Come with me,’ he said. ‘I need your eyes.’
Together they crossed the foyer, passing the spot where Lord Bainbridge’s body had lain only moments earlier.
The Bow Street Runners had escorted the ladies to the parlour. Charlotte and Lord Stanley searched Lady Bainbridge’s chamber first, along with Bainbridge’s own rooms, but discovered nothing.
‘That leaves Lady Susan’s room,’ Lord Stanley said at last.
Charlotte had been suspicious of Lady Susan’s composure from the beginning. The woman had appeared far too calm amidst the chaos.
They did not have to search long.
Charlotte knelt beside the fireplace at once.
‘Look.’
He crossed the room and crouched beside her.
Ash coated the base of the grate, and half-buried within it something charred but still intact caught his eye. Using the poker, he carefully dislodged the blackened remains of what had once been a bundle of letters.
‘She was trying to destroy the evidence.’
‘Here,’ he blew away the ash. ‘There is still something left.’ He reached down and retrieved a scorched fragment.
Upon it remained the unmistakable seal of the Odd Fellows.
He turned the fragment over carefully between his fingers.
‘This appears to be correspondence with Hawk. That must be Hamilton.’
Charlotte spotted another charred corner of a parchment in the grate.
‘Do you think this could be part of the cipher? Look—that symbol corresponds to the letter E.’