But still, Jemima reasoned, she could hardly have agreed to elope with a man who had no interest in her. That minor detail would not prevent Annabel from attempting to salve her pride by somehow impugning the man’s reputation, no matter what lengths she was required to take in order to do so. Which meant that Jemima would have to instigate some investigations of her own and put the poor man on his guard, at the very least. He didn’t deserve to have his reputation sullied by the machinations of a spiteful little witch like Annabel.
Of course, with Papa occupying such a vitally important role within government circles, Jemima could not afford to ignore the possibility that Annabel really had been abducted. But if that was the case, Papa would have been contacted by the abductors, demanding political concessions in return for her release. Jemima knew that he had not been, or he would have mentioned to the fact to her. He didn’t seem to worry about her sensibilities in the way that he attempted to protect Mama from the distressing particulars of Annabel’s disappearance. But then no one in her family seemed to worry overmuch about Jemima’s feelings. She had become accustomed to that over the years, and at least Papa now spoke candidly to her, revealing as much of his worries to her—which was precious little—as he did with anyone. A seasoned politician, Papa had learned to keep his emotions and reactions under close check.
Sighing, she put aside the letter she had not even begun to write, aware that her mother would wonder what had become of her. Jemima might not be the favoured daughter, but she was the more attentive one. Mama couldn’t abide her own company and Jemima’s conscience would not permit her to wallow in solitary misery for too long.
Jemima slipped along the corridor and quietly opened the door to the master bedchamber.
‘There you are.’ Mama, reclining on a day bed situated beneath the window, waved a languid hand in Jemima’s direction. ‘Where have you been all this time? You know I cannot manage with you. My poor nerves. No one considers my poor nerves. If Annabel were here, she would not neglect me.’
Annabel avoided Mama as much as possible when she was at home and had little sympathy for her nerves, unless she wanted something, in which case her compassion knew no bounds. Jemima refrained from pointing out that Mama’s nerves would not be nearly so stretched at that moment if Annabel had not disappeared without a word. Suppressing a sigh, she crossed the room and pulled back the drapes to allow a little light to penetrate the gloom. Mama blinked and turned away from the window, as though she couldn’t abide looking out at the world going about its business when her own world was in danger of imploding.
‘Well, I am here now,’ Jemima said briskly. ‘What can I fetch for you?’
‘Just sit with me, child. I cannot bear to be alone when my nerves are so taut.’
Jemima dutifully sat and took a moment to examine her mother, whose beauty seemed to become more ethereal with every passing year. She still turned heads wherever she went, and was well aware of the fact. Annabel took after her mother. Jemima favoured her father but didn’t allow that circumstance to trouble her unduly. Vanity was not one of Jemima’s faults.
‘Still no news of my beloved girl.’ A tear trickled down Mama’s flawless cheek. Jemima wondered how anyone could cry and still look so beguiling. Whenever Jemima cried, which was infrequently, the sight of her would definitely frighten the horses. ‘How can your father carry on as though nothing has happened? Where is he? Why is he not here?’
‘He will be in the House, Mama. There is an important debate and he will be required to vote with the government, otherwise the coalition will lose both the bill and public confidence.’
‘Bah, what is more important? Some stupid act of Parliament or our daughter’s welfare? He should be doing something.’
‘I believe he is seeking Lord Torbay’s intervention.’
Mama sat bolt upright, looking far from mollified. ‘He cannot do that. We can’t risk word of Annabel’s…’
‘It was your suggestion, Mama. You were the one who insisted that Lord Torbay might be the only person capable of investigating Annabel’s disappearance with any degree of discretion. Besides, you told me he is an old acquaintance of yours, so I don’t suppose he will mind making himself useful.’
‘Well, I suppose he was in love with me when I was a girl, but then so were a lot of men. I was as highly sought after as your sister is now.’ Ye gods, Jemima thought, attempting not to allow her contempt for her mother’s vanity to show. Once again, she was reminded of the example that Annabel had been set and found it in her heart to partially excuse her sister for her self-obsession. But only partially. ‘But I am a year or two older than Lord Torbay. A trifling disparity in ages that seemed much larger when we were younger. Anyway, it was his elder brother Edward with whom I was particularly intimate.’ A slight frown marred her countenance, leading Jemima to suppose that the elder brother had not fallen at Mama’s feet. Her mother had clearly expected him to do so, despite the fact that snaring the heir to the Torbay earldom would have been no mean feat for an untitled female with almost no dowry. ‘Jacob, who became the old earl’s heir when his brother died, tried to warn me away from Edward, but I recognised his ruse for what it was. I knew, of course, that he was jealous of our closeness and secretly wanted me for himself.’
‘Well, I am glad for Papa’s sake that he did not win your heart. And for mine too, of course, since I would not be here if that had been the case. However,’ Jemima added on a whim, ‘if you had returned his feelings, you would have become a countess.’
‘As though such concerns would influence me!’ Mama puffed out her chest. ‘I hope I am not quite that shallow.’
Jemima knew very well that she was. How often had she heard her lecture Annabel upon the importance of a gentleman’s connections? She had set her sights on a marquess, at the very least, for her beloved younger daughter.
‘Perish the thought,’ Jemima said in a flat tone.
‘If you were not so particular, you would have found an adequate husband long since,’ Mama added.
Since Jemima had not the slightest interest in acquiring a husband, adequate or otherwise, she remained silent on the point.
‘Well, I suppose your father knows best, and if he has involved Lord Torbay we can take comfort from the fact that he will act quickly and with discretion.’ Mama patted her hair. ‘I expect he will accept, if only for an excuse to renew his acquaintance with me.’
‘You have not seen him in society?’
‘He doesn’t mix much. Never has. Between you and me, I don’t think he ever fully recovered from his disappointment when I married your papa.’
‘That was over twenty years ago.’ Mama frowned, disliking any reminder of the fact that she was no longer a young woman. ‘That’s an awfully long time to nurse a broken heart, don’t you think? Besides, did I not hear that he recently married and now has a son of his own?’
‘He married the widow of a man she was accused of murdering,’ Mama said in a tone of hushed outrage. ‘All society was up in arms when the announcement was made.’
Jemima nodded. ‘That’s right. I recall reading the particulars in the newspapers. The poor lady almost suffered a terrible injustice.’
‘Perhaps she did, but far from being grateful to Lord Torbay for saving her from the gallows, the hussy used her wiles to trick him into matrimony.’ Mama gave an indignant huff. ‘I do not approve of such behaviour, and I dare say Lord Torbay now regrets allowing a rather plain face and its owner’s gratitude to influence him. Goodness alone knows, enough young women have set their caps at him over the years but he resisted them all. I cannot persuade myself that there is anything special about the one who finally managed to worm her way beneath his defences.’
‘Well, Mama. If Lord Torbay honours us with a visit, you will be able to ask him yourself.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, child. I would not be so crass as to mention the matter.’ Mama dabbed daintily at another tear. ‘Oh, for the
love of God, where is your sister?’
In China, with great good fortune, Jemima thought but did not say. ‘Shall I ring for tea?’ she asked instead.
Chapter Two
Jake returned to his Grosvenor Square mansion, the door to which was opened for him by Parker, his long-standing butler and right-hand man.
‘You don’t look too pleased with yourself,’ Parker remarked, sending Jake an astute look as he took his hat and gloves.
‘Wasted journey. Glynde sent a message to say he had been unavoidably detained at Westminster.’
Parker nodded. ‘Big debate going on this evening about the Irish situation. Dare say they required his expertise.’
‘Wish I knew why he wanted to see me. Ros is a solitary individual and quite one of the most astute men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. It isn’t like him to seek out company unless he has a specific reason.’
‘You think trouble’s brewing?’ Parker sniffed. ‘Ain’t it always?’
‘As you say.’ Jake straightened his cuffs, ran a hand through his hair to tidy the dishevelment caused by his hat and joined Olivia in the drawing room. She looked up and offered him a smile that immediately chased off his bad mood.
‘I did not expect you so soon. I know how much you enjoy your intellectual wrangles with Lord Glynde.’
Jake kissed his wife’s brow and explained that Glynde had been unable to keep the engagement.
‘Then I’m sorry you were inconvenienced.’
‘I was, but not for the reasons you imagine.’ Jake helped himself to a drink from the decanter on the sideboard and seated himself across from Olivia. ‘Another took his place.’
‘Someone whom you would have preferred not to see, judging by your scowl.’
‘I never scowl at you.’
Olivia smiled. ‘I had not supposed it was directed at me.’
Jake sent her an admiring look. ‘You are Parker know me too well. You both detected my annoyance, and yet I thought I had it under control.’
‘Who annoyed you?’
‘Thorndike,’ he said, this time not attempting to hold back his frown. ‘It was almost as though he knew I would be there and that our meeting was anything but the accident he made it out to be.’
‘He very likely did know. Lord Glynde’s secretary would have made a record of his master’s engagement.’
‘Probably, but I don’t see why Thorndike would interest himself in the activities of all the government’s civil servants.’
‘Thorndike has eyes and ears everywhere.’ Olivia straightened her silk skirts absently until they fell in a manner that pleased her. ‘You have suspected for some time that he would try to involve you in his machinations again sooner or later. I am only surprised that you are surprised by his underhand tactics.’ She touched Jake’s hand and her sound common sense had an immediate calming effect upon his mercurial temper. ‘Look upon it as a compliment that he can’t manage without you. Anyway, what did he want?’
Jake was aware of a slow, burning anger working its way through his system. ‘He wondered if I would have the goodness to locate a missing debutante.’
Olivia chuckled. ‘Now there’s a waste of your talents.’
‘Modesty forbade me from making that point,’ he replied with the suggestion of a smile.
‘Who has gone missing?’
Annabel Aitken. Do you know her?’
‘Miss Aitken?’ Olivia shook her head. ‘Everyone in London knows her, with the possible exception of you.’
‘I recognised the name. I recalled you mentioning it.’
‘You are also acquainted with her father, if only by reputation. You will have forgotten, I expect, that I told you she caused quite a stir when she came out last season. She is exquisite but refused all the offers that came her way.’
‘Holding out for bigger fish?’
‘I have no way of knowing, but gossip is rife and I dare say someone somewhere is running a book regarding her eventual choice. I have heard it said that she has her sights set on a marquess, but I have no way of knowing if that’s just idle gossip. I am not intimate with the family.’ Olivia allowed a reflective pause. ‘I seem to recall that there is an older sister…Jemima, I believe, but she has become a bit of a recluse. I don’t think she was ever presented. Not sure why.’
‘Thorndike mentioned a deformity of some sort.’
‘Well, there you are then. She would probably be hard-pressed to compete with the fair Annabel. If she is not her sister’s equal, and has a deformity, so I can quite understand why she eschews society, the poor girl.’ Olivia sensual smile restored Jake’s good humour. ‘I cannot help wondering why Thorndike has become involved, although I suppose he thinks she might have been abducted and her father—’
‘Astute as always, my love. ‘Jake drained his glass, considered a refill and decided against it. ‘Aitken is an expert on Irish affairs and we both know how many problems the government has to wrestle with in that regard thanks to the ill-advised Encumbered Estates Act.’
Olivia nodded. ‘A most unwise piece of legislation,’ she agreed, referring to the act of Parliament that followed on from the famine that devastated Ireland, leaving a large percentage of the population starving. The act permitted estates in severe debt to be auctioned off upon the petition of creditors, or even at the request of bankrupt landlords. Land values had tumbled as hundreds of estates with huge debts were auctioned off at bargain prices to British speculators interested solely in making a future profit. The new owners took a hard line with the penniless Irish tenant farmers still living on the land, raising rents and conducting mass evictions so that they could create large cattle farms. ‘It’s little wonder that the Irish resent us. I cannot help feeling that the government has created a crisis that will not be easily resolved.’
‘And one that I don’t have any intention of helping them to find a solution to, even if I had the first idea how to go about it.’ Jake shuddered. ‘I share your sympathy for the displaced Irish, so my heart would not be in it.’
‘Which is what you consider Thorndike’s real purpose to be? He wanted you to act as arbitrator between Aitken and whoever is behind the abduction, if that’s what it is? You can be sure that Thorndike has a good idea,’ she added.
Jake shrugged. ‘Very likely. You know as well as I do that he never does anything without a reason, his reasons are always connected with British security and he seldom feels the need to share them with the person taking all the risks on his behalf.’
Olivia gave another nod. ‘The failed rebellion in Ireland a few years back resulted in the leaders of the Young Ireland movement fleeing to America.’
‘And therein lies Thorndike’s problem, I expect. They are largely Catholic lawyers and journalists, now free from British constraints. That allows them to agitate anti-British sentiment amongst Irish immigrants who blame our government for the misery of the slum housing in lower Manhattan where they are now forced to live.’
‘No better than what they left behind in some respects.’
‘But for the fact that they can find work. England wants to increase trading links with America, and the problem is beginning to raise eyebrows in Washington, where the Irish are generating all sorts of influential support.’
‘And Aitken might be persuaded to use his influence in government circles here in return for the safe delivery of his daughter.’
‘Precisely Thorndike’s concern, I would imagine. Aitken wields considerable power behind the scenes in the coalition.’
Olivia nodded. ‘Perhaps it’s one of the radicals, or an Irish supporter, who has taken the girl.’
‘Or she might just have eloped with a man her parents didn’t approve of.’
Olivia shook her head. ‘That I very much doubt. You are always too busy talking about important matters to the other gentlemen, or hiding away in card rooms whenever I get you to show your face in society. You have no idea just wha
t a stir Miss Aitken makes wherever she appears. I doubt very much if there is an eligible young man whose affections she could not secure if she set her mind to it. Besides, she is the type who would want to have a splashy wedding rather than a sordid ceremony conducted over the anvil.’
‘You sound as though you don’t approve of her.’
Olivia twitched her nose. ‘I have barely spoken a dozen words to her, so am not in a position to form an opinion. What I can tell you is that her manners are as pretty as she is. She tries to behave demurely—indeed she does behave demurely—but I can tell that she enjoys all the attention that comes her way.’ Olivia lifted one shoulder. ‘One cannot blame her for that, I suppose. But still, it does seem out of character for her to disappear. How long has he been missing?’
‘Three days.’
‘Ah. A definite cause for concern then. Do we know the circumstances?’
‘No, I didn’t like to show too much interest by enquiring.’
‘How did you leave things with Thorndike?’
‘I told him I was disinclined to become involved but that I would discuss the matter with you before I decided.’
‘And you want to decline, but at the same time your curiosity is piqued.’
Jake lifted one shoulder. ‘I do think this is political. I don’t want to consider the possible ramifications if I’m right, but at the same time I can’t seem to help dwelling upon them.’
‘If the girl is compromised by some radical, it’s a situation that cannot be overlooked.’
‘Exactly. And that is precisely what the extremists want. Their ambition is to push the government into taking further arbitrary action against them, so that they can retaliate. Knowledge of the girl’s abduction and her possible loss of reputation could not be made public, if only to protect her, and the government would be seen as the villains.’
‘That serious?’
Jake gave a grim nod. ‘I fear so.’
‘It cannot hurt to speak with her family then, but if you do that you will be committed and feel obliged to see the matter through.’
Elegance and Grace Page 2
