Page 77 of Death of a Courtesan
‘I am glad she has found a friend in Carolyn. Olivia’s daughter is solitary by nature but Cabbage seems to have brought her out of herself.’
‘It ought to be the other way around,’ Riley replied, watching the two girls with their heads together, laughing about something on the opposite side of the room. ‘Caro is the elder by two years and is on the verge of making her debut. But it doesn’t surprise me that Cabbage appears to be the livelier of the two. I can only hope that the pressure of presentation doesn’t rob her of her spontaneity when her turn comes.’
‘In other words, you don’t want her to grow up.’
‘There isn’t a man in England who’s worthy of her,’ Riley replied abruptly.
‘Oh dear!’ Amelia raised a gloved hand to her lips, as though attempting to hold in a smile that escaped anyway. ‘Poor Cabbage. I can see that any man who takes the slightest interest in her will find himself incarcerated for some fictitious crime or other until his fancy turns elsewhere.’
‘I make no apology for wanting to protect her. She’s far too trusting. Besides, her damned father takes no interest in her whatsoever. He’s gone back to Chichester and I don’t think he spent more than ten minutes in his daughter’s company all the time he was in London. Instead he moped over a doxy who doesn’t want to know him and is in danger of making an almighty fool of himself.’
‘With your mother and Martha permanently in London to keep watch over Sophia, and with such a protective uncle on the side lines, no one will dare to dally with Sophia’s affections.’
‘They had better not!’
‘Now stop scowling and tell me about the case. You might not want to speak about it but I want to hear. I might even be able to help you.’
‘We should, both of us, feel free to speak to one another about matters we find it easier not to discuss,’ Riley said cautiously, thinking of Olivia’s advice and impulsively acting upon it. ‘I am not your enemy. I hope by now that you realise I only ever have your best interests at heart. Cabbage’s potential admirers are not the only ones who will have cause to fear my wrath if they step out of line.’
‘Why, Lord Riley,’ she said, flashing him a wary look. ‘If I did not know better I might think you were flirting with me.’
‘Not flirting precisely,’ he said, his expression serious. ‘Merely making my position clear.’
‘Clear to you perhaps,’ she muttered. ‘You and Olivia were conversing for some time,’ she added in a more normal tone. ‘May I ask what about?’
‘She was offering me the benefit of her advice.’ With Amelia’s hand resting on his arm they sauntered around the edge of the room. ‘Anyway,’ he said with a protracted sigh, accepting that now was neither the time nor the place to delve into Amelia’s past and persuade her to open up to him, ‘you were asking about the case.’ He outlined his suspicions with regard to Celeste. ‘Money is always a prime motivator. I didn’t look upon her as a suspect until I knew that she would benefit financially from Adelaide’s demise.’
‘If she knew she stood to inherit.’
Riley nodded. ‘If she knew.’
‘You cannot prove that she did, I imagine, unless she falls for your ruse about the fictitious diaries you just mentioned. But if she had known Adelaide since their childhood days, she would probably be aware that she was too cautious to commit anything to paper.’
‘You’re right.’ Riley shrugged. ‘You have a way of making me see things more clearly.’
‘Glad to be of service, although I haven’t done much. You are no nearer to knowing who committed the crime.’
‘Unfortunately not. I have a fistful of suspects and no way of proving which of them is the guilty party.’
‘If you fail to solve the case, Danforth will lose his job and you will be criticised for not trying hard enough. I know you too well, Riley, and can easily imagine what you must be thinking. You assume people will say you haven’t troubled yourself over the death of a courtesan in the same way that you did over Emily Ferguson’s demise.’ She squeezed his forearm. ‘Poor, Riley. You are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.’
‘Precisely.’
Riley thought it odd that he and Amelia could speak without reservation about his investigation, but the moment they strayed into personal territory, Amelia became evasive. Olivia had clearly got it wrong, he decided, surprised by just how much that realisation pained him. She wanted only friendship from him, whereas Riley was becoming increasingly convinced that he wanted a great deal more than that from Amelia.
‘Thompson has implied that if Danforth goes, I shall be in line for promotion.’
‘Well deserved,’ Amelia said, smiling her approval.
‘Perhaps, but it wouldn’t feel right to take advantage of Danforth’s downfall.’
‘If you do not, someone else will. It doesn’t surprise me that your principles prevent you from profiting from Danforth’s stupidity, but really, Riley, he has brought this on himself and you don’t owe him any loyalty. He has tried to undermine your position at every turn and made your life very difficult.’
‘That’s undeniable.’ Riley briefly covered her hand with his own. ‘But if he keeps his position he will be in my debt and my life will be easier as a consequence.’
‘Can he keep it?’
‘It depends on whether his regular attendance at a cathouse and the predilections catered for in that establishment become common knowledge,’ Riley sighed. ‘I would imagine the details will emerge in the fullness of time. I’m surprised word hasn’t leaked out already, despite my best efforts to keep his involvement under wraps. He will be laughed at and it will be hard for him to retain any sort of respect. Not that the men had much respect for him in the first place, but still. He has a large family to feed and needs his employment, so if he retains his position he will have to weather the storm.’
