by Beth Byers
Violet glanced at Kate, who nodded in agreement. “Mama would be good at that. She’d love to do it, too. She’s bored with all of us being grown.”
“Wonderful,” Violet smiled even though she didn’t feel very happy, and then she took her coat and hat. They took out both Rouge and Gin to play in the garden. Violet didn’t say anything because she wanted to see how the servants would react to them going outside. Lila had explained things, so what would they do? A moment later, the door to the back of the house opened and the kitchen girl began peeling potatoes near the door. Just what Violet wanted to see, the careful watching of Kate despite Violet’s presence and the gated garden.
Kate threw the ball for the dogs when Violet confessed she didn’t like the feel of the ball or of gloves. Instead of looking at Vi as though she were strange, Kate just nodded and threw both balls for the dogs while Violet tucked her ungloved hands into the pocket of her coat.
“I’m afraid,” Kate said. “The more I try to reason myself out of it, the more afraid I am.”
Victor had approached as Kate spoke and Violet watched him gape and then snap his mouth closed before he carefully asked, “Why are you afraid, Kate?”
Kate gasped and twirled, hand over her heart as she faced the unexpected Victor.
“So good of you to appear,” Violet told him. “Where have you been?”
“Tracking some sideways report Jack and Pomeroy received about a tramp who’d been seen outside the public ballroom and also supposedly inside the hall near that back closet. A load of codswallop if you ask me. Someone is playing games with the police, but Jack hasn’t figured out who yet.”
Violet stared at Victor. He shrugged and added, “Denny, Donald, and I tromped all over the place looking for any sign of a tramp. I’ve walked and walked and walked. My feet. My nose. My legs. And you’re afraid? Why are you afraid, Kate?”
He usually languid gaze was sharp on Kate’s face and she shifted under the weight of his glance. She looked to Violet.
Violet nudged her brother, gathering his attention. “Is it just you and Denny who have returned, or is Jack here as well?”
“Jack is here.”
“Then we’ll explain all at once.”
Victor wasn’t pleased with the delay and when he took in the shivering kitchen girl peeling potatoes in the doorway, he was furious. When they went inside, the girl did as well, running her hands over her arms. Violet reminded herself to gift the servants here with a large Christmas bonus. Victor’s jaw clenched as he took the balls from Kate for the dogs and then ordered the dogs to heel.
Kate led the way into the house and Victor hissed to Violet, “What is going on?”
Violet looked up at Victor, saw the worry, and knew the idea of Kate in danger was shifting something inside of him. Perhaps the maybe of Kate, the what-if…was clarified when he was forced to think: What if something happened to her?
“We think the person who killed Harriet might have shifted his attention to Kate.”
If Victor were anyone else, he’d have laughed off their worries. As her twin, he knew Violet better than anyone, and he’d never thought Violet was stupid simply because she was female. His concern escalated into a full rage, but the only sign of it was how his bearing shifted. You had to know Victor to see how his shoulders were tense, his jaw was clenched, his eyes were narrowed. The fury was there for those who had eyes to see.
Chapter 15
“Explain,” Victor ordered when they settled into the parlor. It was late for afternoon-tea, but Lila had ordered it anyway. They all ignored the food and Violet stood to pace.
“Lila knew that Harriet had once kept a journal, so we decided to go look for it after you left.”
Jack grunted and Vi guessed that meant he knew they’d waited to mention it so they could read it first. He wasn’t wrong, only Lila had saved the news from all of them until after Jack had gone.
“So, we drove to Harriet’s house. Harriet’s father was walking out his grief, her mother was abed, Lila went to retrieve the journal alone. I was left in the parlor with the piano, and I was curious about Harriet’s music.”
Jack nodded, waiting. It was clear there was much yet to come. “I had been so entranced by her. Her music and her skill, I wanted to make copies of her arrangements and just admire what she’d done. It was wrong of me, but I gathered up the music…”
“Get to the point, Violet,” Victor snapped. His gaze was never long from Kate, who was staring at her hands.
“I discovered a letter and because I am without manners, I read it. It was…”
“Disturbing, to say the least,” Lila finished. She wasn’t sitting either. Violet paced in front of the fire, playing with her ring, and Lila paced behind Kate. Lila moved from Kate to the windows and back to Kate. Violet suddenly realized Lila was concerned that their lurker was watching them right at that moment.
“It chronicled too much about Harriet, making it clear that someone was watching her, following her, wanting her. It was—”
“What do you mean?” Jack asked. “Following her without her knowledge? Watching her from a distance?”
Violet nodded, rubbing her hands over the gooseflesh on her arms.
“Where?”
“Everywhere, from the letters we read,” Lila said. “He referenced what she wore to bed, the music she played, the walks she took. He signed them an ‘admirer.’”
Violet sniffed and said, “She wasn’t afraid at first. Bothered, yes. But not afraid. Only, we found a place in her journal where she said she was going to try leaving him a note, asking him to stop. He received her letter and wrote back to her, but he didn’t stop. Instead, he told her that it was the only way to ensure her safety, her…fidelity.”
“What now?” Victor demanded. He didn’t really want an answer, and when he rose, his fury came out as a shout. “And you think he’s after Kate now?”
Kate jumped and Violet shot her brother a furious look. He was too angry to see Kate’s reaction.
“Did you get one?” the fury in Victor’s voice made Kate jump again.
“Don’t yell at her,” Violet shouted.
“Did she get one?” he shouted back.
“Yes,” Kate said softly. “Two. I had no idea about Harriet getting them too.”
“When?” Victor snapped.
“Ah…well, I found one on my bed just before Lila and Violet arrived at my Mother’s.”
Victor stopped in his pacing and spun on Kate. “On your bed?”
The bellow made Kate leap and Violet snap, “Victor!”
“On her bed?” he demanded. “On her bed and you were outside throwing a ball for the dogs? Are you stupid?”
The look Kate shot him was disgusted, but Violet simply said, “Sit down and stop yelling or I’ll dump a cup of water on your head.”
He blinked.
“This is not Kate’s fault,” Violet reminded him.
“I know that!”
“And yet,” Violet rolled her eyes, “you’re yelling at her. And me. She doesn’t know you well enough to know your anger isn’t for her.”
He started to shout again and then snapped his jaw shut. “Give me a minute,” he shouted and he stepped out of the room. There was the sound of something hitting the wall once and twice. Violet crossed to the bell to summon a servant.
“We’ll pay for the damage,” Violet told Lila.
Lila shrugged.
“We’ll pay for it because calmed-down Victor will be fun to needle. Even if you don’t mind the damage.”
“Ah,” Lila agreed, “then I’ll be sure to write up a bill on perfumed paper.”
“Include a request of something for pain and suffering.” Kate’s dry comment took a moment to register with her audience. “And damage to your hearing.”
Jack was the first to laugh, but Lila rubbed her hands together and said, “Indeed. I’ll put a request for something ridiculous as payment.”
“He’ll give you whatever it is,”
Violet told Lila. “Choose responsibly.”
Inkwell appeared in the doorway and Violet told him, “When Victor is done with his tantrum, he’ll need some ice for his hand.”
“Ah,” Inkwell said with an even voice. “Of course.”
“You’re a vicious woman, Lady Vi,” Denny said.
“Lady?” she asked.
“At a moment like this, it rather feels like an important distinction.”
Violet batted her lashes at Denny, examined the tea, and said, “I want something a little stronger. Victor,” she raised her voice to call his name.
He appeared a moment later, smooth-faced and calm. His hand was a little bloody, but that was the choice he made hitting the wall like a child.
“We need cocktails,” Violet told him.
He nodded and crossed to the bar cart that Denny had in his parlor. At some point, Giles had stocked it with the things Victor had brought. He started mixing, making simple cocktails rather than one of his more inventive creations.
Kate was handed a sidecar a few minutes later. Jack noted that Kate received the first drink and lifted a brow at Violet, who winked his way. That might have been the first time Victor didn’t take care of Violet first, and he hadn’t even noticed what he was doing. Was Victor in love? It was becoming a more and more likely thing.
Perhaps it was like love at first sight, but instead—love at first sarcastic aside. Violet grinned at the idea and took a sip of her drink. She loved the citrusy flavor of the triple sec and lemon juice and Victor always had the best cognac on hand.
“What if instead of going to the Amalfi Coast we were to go to Cuba? Or Barbados?”
Victor looked up. His fury was still present, but he’d pulled it fully inside. He shrugged in reply. She was chattering because idle chatter calmed him down, and he knew her well enough to know what she was doing. “I could do with getting some more rum. Read about a new drink too. It needs pineapple juice, so we’ll have to linger long enough to get some and try the cocktail.”
“We could go to California,” Lila suggested. “I’ve only ever been to New York City. How do they get to California? Do Americans take the train? Surely they don’t go by boat?”
Jack laughed at Lila, who shrugged and told him, “I’m a Brit, not an American. Why would I know?”
“I have no idea,” Violet told her. “I’d guess, however, they use trains just like we do. It’s the other side of the world, not the bottom of the ocean.”
Lila looked at Violet and winked.
“You’re a mischievous woman, my friend.” Violet sipped her drink as Lila laughed at them.
“Lila is many things, but rock stupid isn’t one of them,” Denny told the rest of them. “She knew how they got to California, but Jack…you should have guessed she was messing with you. She’s already pulled the wool over your eyes once today. She let you go off investigating when she had a good idea of where a shortcut could be found.”
Violet dropped her head back on the chair and Jack said, “I think we’re ready for you to finish the story, Violet. You found a letter.”
“I found stacks upon stacks of letters. Lila found the journals. We started to sort them out and then decided there was too much to quickly read and we needed help.”
Denny nodded, making himself a plate of biscuits and salmon sandwiches. “We were gone.”
“You are useless for this, my love,” Lila told him. “All of you are. Violet and I decided we needed a woman’s eyes. Kate’s the only real option since she’s not dumb as a post like Martha and wouldn’t blame herself like my mother or aunts.”
Jack didn’t argue. His expression was blank as he said, “So you went for Kate.”
“It was during the conversation that we tipped off Mrs. Lancaster that Harriet had been receiving notes. Unlike Harriet, Kate showed her mother what she’d received. It was clear from first glance that we were dealing with the same man. The thing is, it has to be someone we know. Someone who can get in and out of houses. Who knows us well enough to know when the letters can be left.”
Violet sipped her drink. “I can’t imagine how Harriet must have felt. She didn’t tell anyone as far as we can tell. All she did to fix things was to ask him to stop, and he refused.”
Jack sighed. “Obsession like this doesn’t just go away because someone asks nicely. The best thing she could have done was leave.”
“We think she stayed because she was taking care of her first love’s mother. Mrs. Knight lost everything when she lost her son. Harriet was the only person left who cared.” Lila spoke from near the window and then wandered back when everyone seemed surprised to find her over there.
Inkwell arrived and silently offered Victor a bowl with ice and a towel. Victor’s lips twitched and he glanced up, meeting Kate’s gaze. He winked at her and then said, “I’d better take my medicine then.”
Violet laughed at him and patted him on the shoulder as she passed by with her own pacing. “There’s a good boy.”
Victor’s snort of laughter didn’t surprise anyone but Kate, who looked up and watched him wrap his hand in a towel, adding in some ice and then leaning back to cross his legs and pick up his drink with his free hand.
When he caught her gaze, he saluted her with his drink and then downed it all at once. Violet refilled his glass along with Jack’s before she returned to her pacing. She spun her ring around her finger. “The letters might give us insight into who it was following Harriet.”
“Her journals might explain why she was betrothed to both of the Misters Wickham and why she ended things,” Lila added.
Violet’s head cocked. “Those letters aren’t just disturbing, they’re scary. Harriet had to know the writer was a man. She had to guess they’d be stronger than her. He knew everything she did. Every, single, thing. Even what she wore. She had to have been terrified.”
“He didn’t do anything, though,” Denny said. When all the women turned on him, he held up his hands in surrender and said, “As far as we know, he didn’t touch her.”
“Why would he?” Kate demanded. “When there was so much…much…pleasure to be had by watching her wither and knowing he had all the power. She wasn’t safe in her own home. Doing the things she’d always done. She was trapped and there was nothing she could do. Touching wasn’t necessary to show her he had all the power.”
They all looked at Kate. It took Violet a moment to realize that no one would be better able to guess how Harriet felt than Kate.
“You aren’t Harriet,” Victor told Kate. He moved his chair closer but didn’t push into her space beyond that. “You aren’t alone. There is no way this ends with you dead in a closet. This ends with you going where you want to go, doing what you want to do without concern for your safety.”
Violet winced a little as Kate’s eyes flashed at Victor. “Don’t you get it? We always wonder about that. Do you think Violet doesn’t think twice every time she wants to take out Rouge and it’s dark? Do you think someone hasn’t put their hands on her when she didn’t want them to? Do you think that Lila hasn’t experienced that? Or me? We all have. The only shocking thing about this man is that he’s a cat playing with a mouse instead of going straight for the kill.”
Victor turned to Violet. “Do you really worry about that? Do you think about whether it’s safe for you in the garden? Or walking?”
Violet took in a slow breath. “Of course, I do.”
“Because of Theo?”
“My god, Victor,” Lila said. “Because of Theo. Because of Danvers. Because of Hugo. Because of Tomas. Because of that one boy at the beach. Because of the time her breasts were grabbed at the dancehall. Because we know girls who were forced at school. Because we’re weaker than you, and too many men are raised to think whatever you want is yours—even a whole other person.”
Lila was usually so cheery so her tirade took everyone but Violet and Kate by surprise.
Victor leaned back, his gaze moving from Lila to Kate before settling on V
iolet. He sounded almost broken when he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you worried?”
She was gentle when she replied, “Because you are who you are.”
“What does that mean? It’s my job to protect you,” Victor told Violet. “To keep you safe. You didn’t tell me you didn’t feel safe.”
“But you can’t,” Violet shot back. “You can’t spend every minute of every day protecting me from men who aren’t like you.”
Victor stood swiftly and left. They all heard the door slam.
“I need another drink,” Lila declared. She stood, examined the bottles and then shook her head.
Chapter 16
“Were you with me when someone grabbed your chest?” Jack asked. “Was it the time that we went to that little club near the Thames?”
Violet’s eyes had been closed. After Victor left, Lila had gone to speak with the servants about dinner. Denny had something to take care of for the house. Violet had taken a seat, leaning back and refusing to leave Kate alone. Not even in the house did Violet feel comfortable leaving Kate be.
Vi had been leaning back with her feet up on an ottoman. She slowly cracked her lids, glanced around and then said, “That was Lila. Denny had left her for a few minutes. It would kill him, so she made it me instead of her when she had her tirade.”
“Has anyone ever hurt you when you were with me?”
Violet smiled at him and slowly shook her head. She sat up and glanced around the parlor. Kate was writing in her journal near the fire. Violet was guessing Lila was trying to hold dinner until Victor returned, but Vi didn’t see the point. Victor was chasing down his demons and his fury—at her—wouldn’t be contained with a swift walk down the street and the kicking of the wall.
“Do you want me to go get your brother?”
Violet shook her head.
Jack took a seat on the ottoman near her. He sighed. “I should be investigating. Reading the letters. Tracking down Henry Wickham the elder who seems to have disappeared.”
