Page 29 of Snowy and the Seven Doves
Every word seemed to slip into a hole in his heart of which he had not been aware, warming the space, making it seem less empty. He looked like his mother!I should tell Ned.No. Ned had not turned up. He was not on Snowy’s side.
The duchess took a sip of her own tea. “I owe you a debt, Snowden. When your mother disappeared from Society, I took your grandfather’s word that her mind was turned by your death, and she was living retired while she recovered. I obeyed my husband’s command to stay out of your family’s private business. I should have insisted on visiting. Perhaps there is something I could have done.” She shook her head, sadly.
The duchess had previously been married to the Duke of Haverford, of whom Snowy had heard nothing good. “You could not have helped her, Your Grace.”
“I can help you, Snowden,” the duchess retorted. “What is it you need?”
“I appreciate the thought, ma’am. I am not sure that anyone can give me what I really need.”
The duchess tipped her head to one side. “Tell me what that is, and we shall see.”
“Information, mostly. I believe we’ll find most of it. Lord Andrew has put me on to an enquiry agent. A man called Wakefield. He is apparently very good.”
“I can vouch for him,” Her Grace agreed. “He and his wife are connections of my family, and excellent at their work. But tell me what information you are looking for, my dear. I have sources of my own.”
“I want the whole truth, Your Grace. I want to know if Snowden was behind my kidnapping; whether it was attempted murder, as my mother and my foster mothers believed. I want to know whether my father was murdered, what happened to my mother, everything about my past I should have grown up knowing.
“I will settle for evidence of two things. That the boy—me—Aunt Lily found in that alley is the same boy who was stolen from a garden in Mayfair two days earlier. And that my mother’s second husband was responsible for my abduction and attempted murder.”
“I see.” The duchess proved she did see by adding, “The first will make it easier for you to claim the viscountcy. The second will allow you to seek justice.”
In truth, Snowy would settle for the first. He would have an opportunity to seek justice when Snowden tried to kill him again.
Chapter Eleven
On Monday, Margarethad a busy day.
She told her grooms to have her traveling coach ready to depart the next morning and sent a courier to arrange accommodation at the halfway point between London and Malmsworth Towers.
She visited her solicitor and her bank to set up an allowance, to be paid quarterly from a bank in Birmingham that had a branch in the market town closest to Malmsworth Towers.
She went to lunch with her friends and accepted Arial’s offer of Pauline Turner as a companion. She was a stepsister of Peter’s, who lived with Peter and Arial. She’d agreed to help Margaret just until other arrangements could be made.
By afternoon, Margaret had made all the necessary arrangements to send her aunt into retirement. It was time to tell Aurelia to get ready and go.
Margaret dropped by Arial’s first, so Pauline could pack a bag with a few essentials, and then the two of them made their way onward. She braced herself for the coming conflict. As they entered the house, Margaret introduced Bowen to her new companion.
“Bowen, this is Miss Turner. She will be staying with us. Will you ensure a room is prepared for her, please? Is Miss Denning in?”
“She is in the drawing room, my lady, with the gentleman who called to see you.”
Something in Bowen’s voice caused Margaret to pause in the entry hall. “Does this gentleman have a name?”
“A Major Lord Hungerford-Fox, my lady.”
The odious officer—Martin!—was here? “Has he been waiting long?”
“He and Miss Denning have been talking for over an hour, my lady.” Bowen, that consummate professional, came as close as he ever had to a disapproving tone.
Very well.All that meant was that Margaret had yet another cockroach to evict from the house before she gave Aunt Aurelia her marching orders. “Tell Miss Denning’s dresser that I wish to see her as soon as Major Hungerford-Fox takes his leave.”
“Very good, my lady. Should I serve tea, my lady?”
“Not until after Major Hungerford-Fox has left. In fact, wait until I ask for it. Bowen, I may need a couple of stout footmen to ensure the gentleman takes his dismissal. Pauline, will you stay with me?”
Pauline, bless her, asked no questions but set her shoulders. “You can count on me, Margaret.”
“I speak for all the servants, my lady,” said Bowen, “when I say you can count on us.”
