Page 11 of The Hazardous Measure of Love
‘How old is Miss Jordan?’
‘Nineteen,’ Adrien said.
‘A love match?’ I enquired, meaning it sarcastically.
He shook his head, taking the question at its face value. ‘The families know each other and her father’s estate is adjacent to Prescott lands in Buckinghamshire. It was very suitable.’
I gave him a hard stare. For someone in love himself, he was pretty insensitive about a girl being married off to man almost twice her age because it wassuitable,but all I said was,‘We had better go and do it now, before rumours spread.’
‘Thank you.’ He glanced at Luc as though to get permission to go off with me.
Luc stared blandly back. ‘Mama should have returned. I would ask her to accompany you, if I were you. She knows Lady Jordan.’
We left Luc and Sir William and walked the few steps to Luc’s house to find that not only was Lady Radcliffe at home, but also the twins who seemed undecided about who they were happiest to see – me or Adrien.
After I had been bowed to and then soundly kissed and Adrien told all about the wonderful,huge, dog they had seen in the park and Nanny Yates had shooed them upstairs, I told Luc’s mother what had happened and asked if she could accompany us.
‘Of course. But not yet,’ she said with a glance at the clock. ‘It is almost half past one already and none of us have had any luncheon – and we can hardly arrive in the middle of their meal, either. Come and tell me what has happened while we eat.’
Chapter Four
The food did Adrien good, I could see. His colour came back and he summarised the situation coherently for Lady Radcliffe.
We set out as soon as the clock struck two and it took only a few minutes by carriage to Chesterfield Hill, just to the west of Berkeley Square. The house was smart, neat, with three stories above a sunken service area. Clearly there was some money here. The groom knocked and we all got down from the carriage, ready to follow Lady Radcliffe in.
As I expected, she gained admittance, despite the hour being early for visiting, and we were shown into a pleasant drawing room at the front of the house. Lady Jordan appeared within a few minutes.
‘Lady Radcliffe, what a pleasant surprise. Oh. And Mr Prescott and –?’
‘Miss Lawrence. Lady Jordan, I fear we are the bearers of some very bad news for Miss Jordan. May we sit down?’
Our hostess looked confused, rather than worried, but we all sat. Lady Radcliffe told her directly, without any vague euphemisms. ‘I very much regret to tell you that Lord Tillingham has been attacked. He was found dead this morning.’
Lady Jordan gaped at her, then gasped, then fell back in her chair.
Lady Radcliffe removed a phial from her reticule and handed it to me. ‘I thought we might need this.’
I wafted it under Lady Jordan’s nose until she sat up, waved me away and groped for a handkerchief. ‘Oh, how horrible! Was it footpads?’
‘Lord Tillingham was murdered in his own home. We do not know by whom or for what reason,’ Adrien said.
Lady Jordan burst into tears. ‘How can I tell Arabella? The poor child!’
‘Would you like me to break it to her?’ Adrien asked. ‘We have known each other since childhood, she might find it easier coming from me, perhaps?’
Not the most tactful way of putting it, but Lady Jordan simply waved him towards the door. ‘Oh, you dear boy. She is in the little sitting room at the back on the first floor.’ She went back to sobbing.
I left Lady Radcliffe to try and soothe her and followed Adrien out. ‘You have known her that long?’ I asked as we went up the stairs.
‘Oh yes. We all knew the family – they are such close neighbours in Buckinghamshire. She has two sisters and three brothers. In here.’ He tapped on a door and opened it. ‘Arabella, may we come in? This is Miss Lawrence, a friend of mine.’
Arabella Jordan was small, slim, brunette and sweetly pretty. She smiled and rose when she saw Adrien and held out her hands to him. ‘What a nice surprise to see you, Adrien. Oh, I suppose you have a message from Lord Tillingham?’ The smile vanished, leaving a cool formality behind.
‘I have come from him,’ Adrien said. ‘Bella, I have bad news and there is no easy way to tell you except straight out. Will you not sit down?’
‘Tell me.’ She stared at him, wide-eyed, still on her feet. ‘What has happened?’
‘Lord Tillingham – Henry – has… has died.’
