Page 28 of A Sense of Paradise
‘That is my initial thought,’ Archie agreed. ‘Flora—Miss Latimer—received a letter from her father—’
‘She showed it to me.’
Archie nodded, unsurprised that she had been forthcoming in that respect. ‘But she probably did not tell you that she and I are engaged to be married.’
Lord Riley smiled. ‘She did not, but the news doesn’t surprise me. Congratulations on a worthy choice, if I may say so. For what it’s worth I took an immediate liking to her. I admire her courage and forthright manner of expression.’
Archie chuckled. ‘No one could accuse Flora of keeping her thoughts to herself, which is all the more admirable, given the manner in which her father suppressed her spirit. She managed to rise above the restrictions he placed upon her, fought against his iron will and forged her own path. She does a great deal of good locally without making a song and dance about it.’ Archie fell momentarily silent. ‘We have not yet announced our engagement, so I would appreciate your discretion.’
‘You are assured of it.’
‘Thank you. I wouldn’t have told you if there was any doubt about the matter. Flora needs time to adjust to the idea.’
‘While the majority of women would be in an almighty hurry to make the announcement and secure their futures.’
Archie inclined his head. ‘Which is one of the many things about Flora that makes her so unique.’
Lord Riley shifted his position and crossed his legs in an elegantly casual manner, but Archie suspected that there was nothing casual about the nature of his thoughts. He was aware the man possessed an astute brain that had been responsible for bringing more than one cunning murderer to justice. ‘Whom do you suppose is attempting to ruin your reputation?’ he asked.
‘My return was not universally welcomed,’ Archie said with a rueful half-smile. ‘Suffice it to say, Flora’s father holds me responsible for exposing his vile exorcisms, which were a thin disguise for outright debauchery carried out in the name of Christianity.’ He noticed Sergeant Salter’s expression darken. ‘The Dean of Salisbury Cathedral is now a parish vicar, and I expect that such a proud and ambitious man would find the humiliation hard to forgive.’
‘But you are a marquess,’ Sergeant Salter pointed out. ‘What could a man of Latimer’s ilk possibly do to threaten your position?’
‘Ah well, Sergeant, there you have hit upon the nub of the matter. Most of the aristocrats involved in Latimer’s depravity have kept their powder dry. Latimer refused to name them, thereby ensuring that they are now in his debt. Flora thinks that her father will have something in writing, some sort of evidence that he could produce if needs be, to expose them.’
Lord Riley nodded. ‘But doesn’t that put his own life at risk? Doing away with him would be the surest way for those responsible to guarantee their continued anonymity.’
‘Don’t underestimate the man,’ Archie advised. ‘He is cold, manipulative, ambitious and fiercely determined. He will have safeguarded whatever information he holds and made sure that those whom it affects are aware of the fact, thus making them beholden to him as he attempts to regain a foothold in the higher echelons of the church.’
‘If he suspects your interest in his daughter, why does he not encourage it?’ Sergeant Salter asked. ‘A man in your powerful position can only be of help to him.’
‘Flora wants nothing more to do with her father, and he knows it. There are things about his treatment of her and her sister Melanie, who now lives with Flora, that you know nothing about. They are not germane to your enquiry and so I shall not betray their confidence by enlightening you. Suffice it to say that only her mother and sisters will be invited to our wedding, although Flora is convinced that her mother and two remaining unmarried sisters will not attend. The mother is fiercely loyal to the father, and blames Flora rather than her husband for his fall from grace. Her remaining sister is married and I am helping her husband to procure a good living that has just fallen vacant, so hopefully they will attend. Latimer feels isolated and probably fears being outmanoeuvred, so he will go to just about any lengths to separate his daughter from me.’
‘Why is France so important?’ Lord Riley asked.
‘That will take some explaining.’
Archie attempted to do so as succinctly as possible, conscious of the sergeant’s disapproving expression when he explained about Eloise and the help she had given him during the course of his convalescence.
‘Let me see if I have got this straight,’ Lord Riley said when Archie ran out of words. ‘Avery has affianced himself to a French lady whom he has brought back to England with him. The lady’s brother and Maurice Garnier, who is the brother of the lady to whom you are indebted, then followed them to England.’
‘That’s about the size of it, and since Avery was apparently one of the most enthusiastic participants in Latimer’s exorcisms it seems probable that he is behind the attempts to discredit me.’
‘So he’s doing it in return for Latimer keeping his secret, as well as for his own sake,’ Lord Riley said, clearly mulling the matter over in his mind and articulating sporadic thoughts. ‘Discrediting you through the good offices of thetongossip machine is one thing, but why on earth does he want Miss Garnier’s brother under his control?’
Archie spread his hands. ‘That I cannot say, unless it’s a plot to lure me to Avery, in which case he isn’t making it easy. Eloise went to London and his house is closed up. As far as I am aware, he doesn’t have a country estate.’
‘If it was too easy,’ the sergeant remarked, ‘then Miss Garnier wouldn’t have come to you for help. It’s your involvement that Avery appears to be depending upon, always assuming you’ve got it right.’
‘I am acquainted with Avery, more’s the pity,’ Lord Riley remarked, ‘and have no difficulty imagining him going to such extraordinary lengths.’
‘Even if we can prove that Lord Felsham did not murder Yardley—which we can easily enough,’ Pawson remarked, ‘getting the gossips to change their tune is something else entirely. And it’s the gossip that will ruin him.’
‘Avery is aware of how important my reputation is to me,’ Archie said, nodding in agreement.
‘I should point out,’ Lord Riley said, ‘that the witness who described you in such precise detail also impressed upon me the fact that you held your cane in your right hand, whereas—’
‘Whereas it’s my left side that’s injured. That was careless of them.’
