Page 21 of The Hollow of Fear
Perhaps she would even take out the moonstone, cup it in her hands, and—
Lady Avery was in her room, hastily closing a nightstand drawer.
Livia stared at her, unable to believe what she was seeing. “Ma’am, wh—what are you doing?”
Lady Avery’s eyes darted to the space behind Livia, as if wondering whether she’d been discovered by more than just insignificant Olivia Holmes. But there was no one else in the passage.
Livia stepped inside and closed the door. “Lady Avery, why are you in my room?”
Her voice was unsteady—she was not accustomed to demanding answers.
Lady Avery studied Livia, her gaze more calculating than worried. “Well, I don’t mind telling you, Miss Holmes. My sister and I received intelligence that there is to be a very grand act of indiscretion here at Stern Hollow, among the guests Mrs. Newell brought from her house.”
Livia’s eyes bulged. “And you thinkIam to be the perpetrator of that indiscretion?”
“No, no, quite the opposite. You have never shown the slightest proclivity for breaking rules. But we must be thorough, you see, and not overlook anyone simply because they seem unlikely. Yours is, in fact, the last room I checked and as expected, I found nothing of interest.”
Livia’s heart thumped with both fury and furious relief: She had brought two of Charlotte’s letters on this trip—and had carried them on her person instead of leaving them behind for nosy housemaids to discover.
And that precaution had saved her from the gossip ladies.
“Do please leave.”
“Of course.”
Lady Avery paused upon reaching the door, then turned around. “I have a proposition for you, Miss Holmes. How would you like to hunt for this grand indiscretion alongside my sister and myself?”
Livia blinked. “I— What? You want me to search other guests’ rooms for you?”
“No, no, that’s all done. You are an intelligent and observant young woman. You will be an asset in uncovering this major indiscretion.”
Livia often berated herself for being stupid, but she immediately grasped the nature of Lady Avery’s offer. “You’re afraid that unless I join you, I’m going to tell Lord Ingram that you are transgressing on his hospitality and browsing the belongings not only of his guests but possibly of himself.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, young lady—Lord Ingram’s rooms are secured with devices quite beyond our ability to tamper with. But yes, you are right about the rest of it.”
Lady Avery sighed softly. “We are feared by those with something to hide and welcomed by the rest—but that welcome is conditional. As long as we have plenty of gossip, doors will open for us. The moment we can no longer provide the latest on-dits, we’ll be just another pair of annoying busybodies.”
“So you resort to underhanded tactics.”
Lady Avery held up a finger. “Hardly ever. We rely on listening more than anything else—and when necessary, close questioning and record-checking. But this has been a frustrating summer. First your sister goes missing and we can’t find out what has happened to her. Then Lady Ingram bolts to Switzerland and we are in the dark as to her reasons. If this goes on much longer, people will begin to wonder whether we’ve lost our knack.”
Livia had trouble keeping her lips thinned in disapproval, when her reaction was more astonishment than anything else. It had never occurred to her that ladies Avery and Somersby might worry about their places in Society: They’d been such permanent fixtures that she’d assumed they’d always remain permanent fixtures.
“So we must uncover this major indiscretion. Of course, we didn’twantto search the guests’ belongings.”
Except they had.
Elsewhere Livia might hesitate to expose them, but here she would not worry about not being believed. And should Lord Ingram choose to inform Mrs. Newell—after all, the gossip ladies were her guests—his accusation would land precisely where ladies Avery and Somersby were most vulnerable.
They were already figurative snoops of such renown, it would take very little to convince Society that they also happened to be literal snoops. While they were more than welcome at many stately manors when it was thought all they brought was titillating entertainment, a hostess would think thrice about inviting them into her home, should it become known that theywould, in fact, riffle through every room, looking for incriminating evidence.
Amazement descended upon Livia. She, who was so powerless in almost every respect of her life, was, for once, the one with the advantage. Over someone like Lady Avery, no less, someone who had always seemed as powerful and indestructible as a swarm of locusts.
But she was able to savor that feeling of might for only a fraction of a second. If only she’d interrupted Lady Avery before she’d blabbed to everyone about Charlotte and Lord Ingram’s encounter in the tea shop! Had such been the case, she’d have been able to save Lord Ingram some unpleasantness.
Beyond that, she had no idea how she could possibly make use of the situation.
What she did know was that she shouldn’t let her advantage slip away, simply because she hadn’t worked out how to exploit it.
