Page 22 of The Hollow of Fear
“Lady Avery, I’m afraid I cannot possibly help you and your sister. We are in very different positions in life. You were respectably married and in widowhood you enjoy a generous dower. I, on the other hand, have no money and few prospects. And the sister whom I had counted on to be my companion in old age is nowhere to be found. I am in no position to pursue anyone else’s indiscretions, when what I wish for the most is that no one had hunted down my sister’s and ruined all our lives.”
She opened the door, dramatically yet firmly.
After a moment, Lady Avery walked out.
5
The breeze waspleasant on Livia’s cheeks—she’d been going uphill for the past ten minutes. Had she been standing still, it would have felt a little frosty.
The unseasonable balminess of the past two days couldn’t last. Somewhere nearby a mass of cold air was on the move, its vanguard encircling Stern Hollow.
The imagery made her shiver a little, as if winter had already arrived.
She tried to dwell on the remaining warmth of the afternoon, the quiet serenity of the woods, and the sun that was still some distance above the horizon, generously shedding its light. But without quite realizing it, her mind turned to a different autumnal day, a different pretty estate.
Moreton Close. Bernadine, her sister who, if she hadn’t been rail thin, would have resembled Charlotte a great deal. Her life at home had not been ideal, but it had been safe enough and stable enough. Who could vouch for the new place where their parents intended to stow her for the remainder of her natural life?
Charlotte had been quiet after Livia had spoken of Moreton Close, of its disarming coziness and its seemingly content residents. And then she had said, “I’ll take a look myself.”
“But you won’t be able to,” Livia reminded her. “They don’t let anyone in who’s never been invited there before.”
“Wait until you meet Mrs. Watson. No one will refuse to open a door when she stands on the threshold.”
And Mrs. Watson had indeed possessed that magical quality, and Livia had felt a burden lift from her shoulders. Between Charlotte and Mrs. Watson, they would see to it.
But now anxiety returned.
Ferreting out the truth about Moreton Close would take time, even if they could finagle an invitation. After all, Livia had been inside—and hadn’t found any cracks in the façade. What would happen to Bernadine in the meanwhile?
What if Dr. Wrexhall, who seemed so competent and reasonable, turned into a monster like the evil Mr. Hyde when all the visitors had left? Who would protect Bernadine then? Who would make sure that she wouldn’t be—
“Miss Holmes, are you lost?”
Lady Avery and Lady Somersby, the vultures themselves.
After the confrontation with Lady Avery, knowing that the gossip ladies were in fact after a different and much bigger target, Livia’s sense of foreboding had eased somewhat. Let them chase their mirage. May it take up all their waking hours and leave them no time or energy to remember Charlotte and Lord Ingram.
“No, thank you,” she said coolly. “I am not lost.”
But she had wandered off the path into a grove of aspens. As sunlight slanted through, the slender tree trunks were almost white. And the undergrowth had turned the same golden hue as the shimmering canopy of leaves high overhead.
“Will you head back with us? The temperature is dropping fast now,” said Lady Avery.
Livia almost declined by reflex. Then she remembered that she had caught Lady Avery riffling through her room. Their offer wasn’t an order but something closer to an apology.
She supposed she could be magnanimous while she held the upper hand. “Certainly.”
They walked for some time in silence, then Lady Avery said, “We spoke to the servants.”
“And did they shed any light on this ‘great indiscretion’ you are seeking?” Livia wasn’t magnanimous enough to keep her tone free of snideness.
Lady Avery exchanged a glance with her sister. “We have discussed this and we have decided to tell you the truth. The part about the great indiscretion I made up on the spot. What we are investigating is not an indiscretion but an injustice.”
“Injustice?” Livia couldn’t help her incredulity. “What do you care about injustice?”
“From the very beginning we have cared passionately about injustice,” said Lady Avery in all seriousness. “We move in Society and must speak its language and accumulate its currency—so we are fluent in enmities, liaisons, and financial entanglements going back several generations. Indiscretions and whatnot are amusing, we will not deny that. But along with an interest in sin, we have always been determined to unearth injustice where it exists and do what we can to remedy the situation.”
Livia almost tripped over a stone that poked up from the ground. What was the woman going on about?
