A Perilous Perspective (Lady Darby Mystery #10)(83)

“Thank you.” He grinned bashfully. “Now I shall at least look presentable.”

Looking up at him from this vantage, he looked so much like his brother that I felt my affections stir for him, warming my chest. Despite all the distress it had caused Gage to discover his father’s infidelity to his mother, I was glad he now had Henry. And that Henry was just as eager to have Gage in his life as Gage was to get to know him. Though relations between Gage and his maternal relatives had improved, there was still a void in Gage’s life where his family should have been.

When Henry offered me his arm, I accepted it.

“Have I missed anything interesting, then?” he asked, as we began descending the stairs. “What discoveries have you made today?”

I filled him in on our visit to Poltalloch and Alisdair’s cottage while he listened attentively. I paused as my recitation ended, allowing my thoughts to return to the records he’d been searching. “What of you? Have you been able to ascertain anything of pertinence?”

“I can tell you that I’ve located several of the paintings you asked about specifically in the records, and they seem to be legitimate sales, for what that’s worth.” Meaning that the documents could have been falsified.

“Did Lord Alisdair purchase them?”

“Yes. At least, it appears so. The records aren’t always clear.” His jaw was tight with frustration. “I’ll be better able to explain tomorrow.”

Though I wanted to press him for details, I knew when it was best to leave matters in more capable hands. When he’d had time to sort through all the records and their implications, he would explain. In any case, we were fast approaching the drawing room where the others had gathered before dinner.

However, we needn’t have hurried, for we were far from the last to arrive. Brady and Poppy, as well as Lord Barbreck, had yet to make their appearances. For all the tension in the room, you would have thought those present were suffering from some great agitation, and I swiftly deduced I wasn’t entirely wrong. Lord Ledbury had plunked himself down in the middle of the room and appeared to be resisting all attempts to be charmed or cheered, or even to conduct a peaceable conversation. I scowled at the man, angry at his petty, selfish behavior. He seemed determined to ruin his daughter’s happiness, and I’d had just about enough of him.

Releasing Henry’s arm, I marched across the room toward where Morven stood gazing at a marble bust of a young man with a chipped nose and looking spectacularly bored. “We have to do something,” I declared without preamble.

Fortunately, she didn’t require one. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “What did you have in mind?”

We pivoted to stand side by side, gazing out at those congregated around the room. “I no longer care whether Lord Ledbury enjoys himself. He’s resolved not to. So, I suggest we stop factoring him into the equation. If he doesn’t like what we’re doing, he’s always welcome to retire to his room.”

“Like a naughty boy,” Morven teased.

“I suggest we proceed as if he wasn’t here,” I posited. “And if that was so, what would we be doing?”

“Playing parlor games and such,” she suggested eagerly.

I agreed. “Charlotte loves them.” I sighed. “Now, whether she’ll be able to enjoy them with her father staring broodingly on or sulking in his room remains to be seen. But at least we have to try.”

We stood silently, contemplating this. Or at least I thought that was the path both our thoughts had taken, but Morven proved me wrong.

“May I stop minding my tongue at dinner as well?”

I turned to find her lips pursed as if suppressing an impish grin and laughed, drawing some of the others’ gazes. “Yes. I know your mother meant well by counseling everyone to be on their best behavior, but honestly! If Lord Ledbury cannot even make an effort to be pleasant, then why should we curb our speech? You Mallerys are far from the most outrageous members of the ton. In fact, I doubt you would even make the list.”

“I feel I should be insulted,” Morven replied. “But I take your meaning. We’re all shockingly tedious in our observance of morals and fidelity.”

I shook my head, knowing she was being facetious. “Come! Let’s rescue Charlotte, who I fear is about to turn to stone.”

It took effort on our parts, but with some skillful manipulation of the conversation over dinner and the assistance of several allies—chief among them Lady Bearsden—we managed to salvage the evening and hopefully the entire wedding party. Once most of the others caught on to what Morven and I were doing, they joined along easily enough. Only Lord Ledbury and Lord Barbreck seemed determined to resist our good cheer, but when they retired early, the last vestiges of reticence fell away from everyone, including Charlotte.

I couldn’t recall an evening when I had laughed so hard or so often, and at the silliest things. It was as if our normally cheerful demeanors had been bottled inside the stifling atmosphere of the house, and now that the cork had been released, we were bubbling over with mirth.

It was an evening I would remember fondly in the days to come. One I would wonder if we would ever return to.





Chapter 23




The calamities began small.

Poor Emma could not be calmed, and her cries could be heard through the nursery door, if not echoing through half the manor. She nursed fitfully, and any time she was laid in her cradle, she howled, struggling to breathe through her congested nose. So she slept in short snatches against Mrs. Mackay’s or my shoulder. Near dawn she finally fell into an exhausted slumber in her cradle, but Gage and I didn’t have time to enjoy it. There was too much to accomplish that day.