Page 15 of An Unbending Lady for the Desperate Earl
“I did. Please, be seated.” Lord Galbury gestured to the settee opposite, where Victoria sat. Miss Jennings immediately plonked herself down, seeming startled to see Victoria.
“Oh, goodness. I apologize. I didn’t see you there,” Miss Jennings muttered.
“Miss McCarthy. A pleasure.” Victoria stuck out her hand, but the older woman just looked at it as though it were an unknown creature about to attack her. With a subtle eye roll, Victoria removed her hand and turned her attention back to the task. After all, she needed to ensure this woman felt comfortable.
“Is it to do with the terrible matter of Lady Helena?” Miss Jennings stared at Lord Galbury with frantic expectation.
I am the investigator, not him!Victoria swallowed her irritation and put on a display of nicety, using the feminine grace that Benedict had mentioned in order to put the former chaperone at ease.
“An awful ordeal, isn’t it?” Victoria said softly. “I know you must still be suffering, after what occurred with Lady Isabella, also. My goodness, how frightened you must have been, to be accosted so?”
Miss Jennings’ eyebrows raised a good inch. “I was terribly frightened, Miss. I do not sleep well any longer. Every time I close my eyes, I can see that day, repeating over and over in my head. Nothing helps. I fear the His Lordship and Her Ladyship may expel me from this house at any moment, for I no longer serve any purpose. But they are kind, and they are letting me continue to reside here. Yes, they are most magnanimous.”
“You say you repeat that day over and over in your mind.” Victoria picked up a thread of thought, eager to follow it. “Might you tell us what happened, in as much detail as you can? It may aid us in finding Lady Helena, and also Lady Isabella, if fortune smiles on us.”
Miss Jennings hesitated. “Well, the day began as any other. Lady Isabella desired to go to the milliners to browse the latest designs, and then she had afternoon tea arranged with a companion of hers—a Miss Sherringham, of Bletchley. She dined with her friend, and we left around four o’clock in the afternoon. The driver always took a secret route back to Mayfair, to avoid the hustle and bustle. We had just entered a narrow road, which never had anyone upon it, though it is a short distance from London Bridge, when those rogues brought the carriage to a halt and… took my beloved Lady Isabella, right in front of my eyes!”
The driver always took a secret route back to Mayfair.So, she had been right about these criminals observing their prey for some time, before acting. They must have known precisely which direction Lady Isabella’s carriage would take, certain that they wouldn’t be disturbed during their kidnap as the route led them through an isolated passageway.
“What can you tell us of the men who took Lady Isabella? It does not matter if you cannot remember much. Anything is useful, I assure you, however small,” Victoria reassured, resting her hand on Miss Jennings’ forearm.
Miss Jennings looked toward Lord Galbury for permission, and he inclined his head discreetly. He offered her a warm smile in addition, which had a peculiar effect on Victoria. Her heartbeat quickened, quite out of nowhere.
It is because we were speaking of love and marriage, that is all.Such discussions were bound to inspire fanciful thoughts, though she didn’t plan on letting them linger. She was not of the marriageable sort. And, even if she were, Lord Galbury was an Earl with a fiancée, and she was an investigator who lived in an attic above an office in the London docks. Such star-crossed romances only existed in fairytales. And right now she had no time for fiction.
“There were two of them,” Miss Jennings’ voice brought Victoria’s attention back. “Both wore black, with more black fabric covering the lower half of their faces. I only saw one up close, while the other waited outside the carriage. He had… dark eyes, if memory serves. Brown, maybe. And he had a surprisingly refined voice. I had expected him to be gruff, but he wasn’t.”
“Anything else, Miss Jennings?” Victoria hid the eagerness in her voice.
“He wore a gold ring on his little finger, with a blue gemstone in the center. And he smelled of woodsmoke and… peppermint, I think. I remember it being unusual.” Miss Jennings frowned. “He was tall, too, with a very broad chest. As for his associate—he was equally tall, though far thinner. But I did not see much of the latter, as I mentioned.”
“Did you see another carriage?” Lord Galbury chimed in. Much to Victoria’s surprise, it was actually a very good question.
Miss Jennings squinted under the pressure of remembering. “Yes… yes, I think there was. I tried to escape with Lady Isabella, you see. I opened the other door and tried to push her out, so she might run to freedom, but the fellow’s thin associate slammed it shut in our faces. I managed to glimpse through the window, and… yes, there was another carriage a short way down the road.”
“What sort of carriage?” Lord Galbury continued, his tone kind.
“The same as Lady Isabella’s. The sort most people of her standing would use, with two horses. Was it two? Yes, I think it was two.” Miss Jennings nodded to herself.
Victoria and Lord Galbury exchanged a weighted look.
“Is that all you can recall, Miss Jennings?” Lord Galbury held her scared gaze.
“Yes. That is all. Is that useful? Is that enough? I’m sorry I cannot say more, but I have no other recollections of that afternoon.” Miss Jennings toyed with the fabric of her skirt.
“You have been more than helpful, Miss Jennings, I assure you.” Lord Galbury smiled again, prompting the same queer reaction in Victoria’s heart—a quickening of its beat that she could not explain.
“Truly?” Miss Jennings’ eyes widened.
“Truly,” he confirmed.
“I do hope you can find her, My Lord. And I do hope you can find your missing Lady Helena.” Miss Jennings lowered her gaze, shifting uncomfortably on the settee. “London hasn’t been the same since my mistress was taken, and it only proceeds to get worse with every young lady who is snatched. I pray that it will end soon. I pray every evening that there will be no more, and those who have gone will come back, unharmed.”
Lord Galbury nodded. “As do I, Miss Jennings. As do I. And we have more to utilize, now that you have informed us of what you know. It is fortunate that Lady Isabella had a chaperone as observant and brave as you, for I know there are many who would not have been able to manage a single memory.”
“You are too kind.” Miss Jennings blushed.
It would seem Lord Galbury has that effect on many an unexpecting woman.Even Victoria, for all her fierce independence and distaste for romance, was not immune to the charm of him. She just hoped it wouldn’t interfere with her investigation, since they were to work in close proximity with one another. And she could not very well face suspects and potential witnesses with bright red cheeks and a racing heart.
