Page 44 of Snowy and the Seven Doves
Snowy took another bite of his toast, just to tease them, but didn’t fool them for a moment. They simply sat and waited, Poppy grinning, Lily slightly scornful, and Jasmine regarding him with a remote expression and kindly eyes.
“Ned, my brother, is on the mend,” Snowy said, at last. “I dropped him off to the countess’s house this morning. He is going to stay there for the time being. I saw the countess when I took Ned inside, and I plan to have dinner at her house this evening. She has been marvelous with Ned. I believe she saved his life, she, and Lord Lechton.”
He was not going to tell them about the kiss, but he colored slightly at the memory. Poppy’s eyes danced merrily while Lily smirked.
He distracted them with another piece of news. “My valet is in custody at the Bow Street Magistrate’s court. He attempted to garotte me this morning. He would have succeeded, too, except Ned was there, and threw a stone paperweight at him. Knocked him right out. It turns out that my brother is a champion bowler.”
His foster mothers spoke over one another, their responses typical.
“Oh my,” said Poppy.
“The scurvy cur,” Lily exclaimed. “Was he working for Snowden?”
“Were you hurt, Snowy?” asked Jasmine.
He reassured Jasmine that no, he was not hurt, and told Lily that the valet had still been unconscious when the runners took him away. “They will question him once he wakes, and then we’ll see.”
“I am disgusted,” Lily proclaimed. “I cannot believe a man I employed was involved in a plot to kill you, Snowy.”
“No harm done,” he reassured her. “I have other news. Fortescue tells me the case against Snowden has been filed. My cousin will receive a summons within the next fortnight.” He grinned. “That should take his mind off the disappearance of his son and Dickon Deffew.”
“Dickon Deffew?” Jasmine asked. “Is he a relative of David Deffew?”
Snowy nodded. “His son. Apparently, Snowden and the elder Deffew were close friends. So much so, that the boy was named after Snowden, and Snowden was left as his guardian after Deffew died. It was Dickon who told me about Ned. He ran off after the rescue, to avoid Snowden’s anger.”
“Wise boy,” Lily commented. “I hope he is well hidden.”
“Deffew and Snowden,” Jasmine mused, her brows joined together. “Deffew and Snowden. Something…” Her expression cleared. “Oh, yes. Now I have it. David Deffew and his brother Matthew used to be clients here, Lily, remember? Until one of them roughed up a girl, and we banned them both.”
Lily nodded, her face hard at the memory.
“It’s just that I remember Matthew Deffew was one who liked to boast in bed. Afterwards, y’know. He said a man could get away with murder, if he knew how. All he had to do was have a friend who wanted someone killed, and they could swap victims.”
Snowy stared at her, his mind racing.
“Snowy,” she said, “tell your enquiry agent to check where the Deffews were when Snowden had an alibi for one of the crimes you are trying to pin on him. And if the Deffews benefited from crimes, find out where Snowden was.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ned Snowden bouncedback from his beating and fever with the resilience of youth. By the end of his first day under Margaret’s roof, he was pacing the bedchamber he had been given, and begging to be allowed out into the garden.
“Tomorrow,” Margaret promised. “If you have suffered no relapse from your exertions today.”
Not that she thought he would. Her greatest concern was that word of his presence in her house would reach Snowden’s ears. Bowen had assured her all the servants knew to keep the secret. That didn’t mean they would not let something slip. Accidentally if not on purpose. She could not swear to it that every single person in her employ would resist the opportunity to make a few extra coins by selling information.
She had done what she could to muddy the waters by renaming him for the duration of his stay. Ned suggested he should become Mr. Black, and she went along with that. It was a laughably thin screen over his identity, given how much he looked like Mr. White, and the growing rumors that Snowy was actually Henry Snowden.
They took dinner in Ned’s room, four of them at a small gate leg table. She had the servants set all the dishes out for them to serve themselves, so they could talk freely. Margaret mentioned her concerns about Snowden discovering where Ned was.
“I am not going back,” Ned declared. “I am of age, and he can’t make me.”
Snowy nodded, approvingly. “Good for you,” he said. “But, because you are of age, you cannot stay in the house of an unmarried woman.” He touched his forelock in an ironic salute to Pauline. “Even one with an efficient and diligent chaperone.”
Pauline nodded. “A relatively young chaperone. The gossipmongers would find a way to make a meal of two young unmarried ladies with a gentleman guest. Now that he no longer needs nursing, Margaret, he will have to go.”
Ned grimaced. “Two attractive young ladies,” he pointed out. “I expect I could bunk with a friend, Margaret.”
“You can come and stay with me,” Snowy said. “I have rooms on the top floor of the House of Blossoms, and plenty of space.” He slid his eyes sideways to gaze at Margaret. “I am thinking of having the townhouse we stayed in for the past few days done up for my own use. I should probably have a more socially acceptable address now I’ve taken steps to claim my title. When it’s done, you’re welcome to live there too.”
