by Abigail Agar
“Oh! My lord,” she said, standing and curtseying.
Her mother and father followed him into the room and, soon enough, a maid brought the tea.
“Miss Reid, you look lovely as ever,” he said.
“Thank you, my lord,” she said.
“I was sad to have been away these past few weeks as I was dealing with my business near Surrey,” he said.
“Surrey? How lovely. It must have been so nice to have a bit of peace and quiet,” she said.
“Well, it was not so much. As if happens, one of the estates I own in Surrey was being squatted in by a homeless family. Can you imagine? The father is injured and claims that he cannot work, but they managed to have four children, all of whom were sleeping in beds that I own,” he grumbled.
Georgiana said nothing, aware that England was complicated and that those living in poverty were often not so lazy as the nobility liked to think.
“And what happened?” Georgiana asked.
“I put them out on the street and had the father arrested,” he said, shrugging.
“Very good. The right thing to do to be sure. That will teach him to never again try to steal your property,” her mother said.
Georgiana winced.
“Begging your pardon, my lord, but how many properties do you have?” she asked.
“Three,” he said.
“And do you frequent each of them?” she asked.
“Oh, no, certainly not. I always remain in London,” he said.
“So they are left empty? And no one is allowed to stay there?” she asked.
“Quite right,” he replied.
Again, she was silent. Georgiana had hoped that he might hear himself, that he might understand how terribly hypocritical he was for behaving that way, but it appeared that he cared not in the least.
“Well, so long as you continue to own two properties that are left untouched, I suppose,” she said, flashing him a bitter smile.
The Baron did not catch her disapproval, but Georgiana’s mother certainly did. She placed a hand on Georgiana’s knee and gripped it tightly in warning.
She looked at her mother and gave a dry acknowledgment.
“Well, I must say, it is a bit stuffy in here, is it not?” he asked.
“Something is,” Georgiana mumbled under her breath.
The grip on her knee tightened.
Soon enough, the conversation moved on, talking about business deals and the like.
“I just think it would make more sense if he would store the accounts in my office rather than his. After all, I am the primary investor in the business. Why is his cabinet more useful than mine?” he asked.
“Why indeed?” Georgiana asked.
She was doing her best to entertain him, but she found him dreadfully boring and shallow. He was not at all the sort of man that she would like to be courted by, despite his nice title and the reasonable fortune he possessed.
None of it mattered at all. None of it made any sort of difference to her.
Georgiana asked herself why.
In the past, those things have been terribly important to her. She had wanted to know everything that a man might have going for him. A title, a fortune, those two things were such a gift.
So, why was it, suddenly none of that mattered?
She tried to ignore the answer, but she cannot escape it. No matter how angry she was, she could not refute the truth.
Inspector Brock had changed her. Despite herself, she had been entirely caught up by him.
It was infuriating to know that she could be so changed. It was frustrating that she could be moved by someone who was suspicious of her.
“Georgiana,” her mother said in a harsh whisper.
“Hmm?” she asked.
A placid smile was pasted on her mother’s angry face.
“The Baron has asked you a question,” she said, her eyes wide to express her disapproval without alerting the Baron of Ayre.
Georgiana was embarrassed. She had not been paying any attention at all. The Baron of Ayre was trying to engage her in conversation, but she was too distracted.
Thinking about Inspector Brock was one of the only things that brought her any happiness anymore, but it was also infuriating.
What was it about Inspector Brock that had changed her?
A part of it was the fact that she had seen how he looked after Rachel. He had done so much to care for her at Georgiana’s behest, despite the fact that there was really no case.
Although they had found Rachel and there was no crime that they could see, he was still trying to solve the mystery on her behalf.
She cared so much for Rachel that it was very important to her that he treated Rachel with so much dignity. He treated her with care and kindness. He was making sure that she was safe.
But that was not the important thing for the moment.
“I apologise, my lord. I was caught up in thinking about what you mentioned earlier regarding the cabinets. I am just so upset that he would not keep the accounts in your office and I fear that my thoughts remained there. Would you be so kind as to repeat your question?” she asked.
He appeared so smug that she was interested in his cabinets that Georgiana thought she might be ill.
“Indeed, I asked if you enjoyed the ball at Lord Murray’s home?” he asked.
The ball when she had made a fool of herself.
“Yes, I did,” she said.
Georgiana was frightened that he had heard about her behaviour, that he would be angry or even tell her mother and father what he had learned.
Instead, he gave her a strange look, as if he was more intrigued by her.
“I heard that you were rather entertaining,” he said.
“I do not know about that,” she said.
“Oh, from what I heard, there were many men who wished to be on your arm. I can only hope that, when the time comes that you decide who belongs there, you consider me,” he said.
It was a bold thing to say, but her mother seemed to approve of his statement.
Now that she cared about a man’s character, about his heart, she wanted to find someone who was living with purpose.
The Baron of Ayre was living for himself.
“Well, I do hope that I was not a bore,” she said.
“Yes, no one likes a bore. In fact, when I was last in Brighton, I met a man who had us all asleep in an instant,” he said, laughing as if they all knew what was so funny.
She sipped her tea and tried to pretend to be entertained. The boredom that the Baron of Ayre brought, however, was overwhelming.
“Well, as it is, I ought to be leaving. Thank you for the tea,” he said.
“And thank you for your visit. It is a shame that it was so short,” her father said.
“Yes, well, next time I shall plan for longer. Perhaps next week I shall send around my card,” he said.
“I am sure that we would be most grateful for your company. Wouldn’t we, Georgiana?” her mother asked.
She took in a sharp breath.
“Well, we do enjoy your stories,” she said, flatly.
“I am glad to hear it. I shall come around next week,” he confirmed.
Finally, he was gone.
Georgiana knew, without a doubt, that she could not do this again. She could not bear to see him anymore.
“You could have been friendlier to him. We are trying to arrange a marriage for you,” her mother said, following Georgiana back to the library.
“Mother, I do not wish to marry the Baron of Ayre,” she said.
“That is nonsense. You know that he would be an ideal husband. Just think of the life you could have if you married him,” her mother said.
“I have. It is not the life I want,” she said.
“But why ever not? He is rich and handsome and titled and…rich,” her mother said.
“And I simply do not care,” she said.
“Oh, good heavens, Georgiana. You are being short-sighted
and foolish. Think about what it could mean for your future to be married to a man like him,” she said.
“I would not be happy with him, Mother. I do not love him and I cannot pretend otherwise. What would you advise me to do?” she asked.
Her mother froze at that and looked sad for a moment.
“I suppose that is a fair point,” she said, much to Georgiana’s surprise.
“Really?” Georgiana asked. “I want you to care for a man like him, but I will not force you to marry someone you do not care for. I ask only that you give him another chance, should the time come. If then, you are adamant that you cannot love him, so be it,” she said.
“You would not make me marry him?” Georgiana asked.
“It is a miserable thing to be married to someone you do not love. I would not wish that on my daughter,” she said.
Georgiana was shocked.
“I am frustrated, angry even, that you do not like him. That you cannot see the good of marrying him. But I cannot change your mind,” she said.
No matter how angry her mother was, Georgiana knew that she was making the right decision. This was the only choice, the only option for her.
Even if she had not come to care for a man she was angry at, she could never love the Baron of Ayre.
It was not fair to allow him to court her if she had no feelings for him. She could not pretend that she was all right with any of this if she was waiting around for her to have an interest.
No, indeed, she was making the right choice. She was listening to her heart and she was moving on.
Chapter 24
“What else is there? Have you seen any other cases that currently need solving?” John asked, sounding desperate.
“Nothing. Constables Beattie and Warren picked up a pickpocket on Spilster Street and Mr. Greeves is back in his usual cell after another night of drinking too heavily. Otherwise, we are quite at peace,” Hamish said.
“Well, that is fine enough then. I do believe that there is a great deal of work still to be done. Only, it often feels as though no one is really showing their true selves. Do you ever wonder?” Hamish asked.
“What do you mean? You are not making any sense,” John said.
Hamish sighed.
“No, I suppose I am not. What I mean is that it is easy for men and women in London to get past us. They can easily hide themselves. In our precinct, that is. We serve the wealthy. Their crimes do not leave the dead in their wake. Well…apart from our previous case,” Hamish said.
“Is that why you accepted Miss Smithfield’s case?” John asked.
“Because we do not see the crime on the surface? No, I cannot say that is the reason. I would never accept a case simply because I am bored,” he said.
“That is not what I mean. Did you accept her case because you needed something like this after the last case? It was so dire, that one. This is far simpler. It is intriguing, but there is no death involved, at the very least,” John said.
Hamish shrugged. He had not thought about that, but perhaps John was right. Perhaps, in addition to the fact that he was allowing himself to be swayed by Miss Reid, he also needed to solve a mystery that did not involve murder.
“Maybe. I cannot be sure,” he said, sighing again.
“How can you not be sure? I am still confounded as to why you are looking into this. It seems to me that we are finding only dead ends. Someone sent Miss Smithfield away and we do not know who. But, at the end of the day, why does it really matter?” John asked. Hamish leaned forward, putting his elbow on the desk and his chin in his palm. He was overwhelmed, anxious, and generally just feeling unpleasant.
He had to tell John the truth, he had to confess his motivations. But Hamish was hardly proud of himself. He was feeling angry that Miss Reid had this power over him. Of course, John already knew that.
“John, you are a clever enough man. You know why I have chosen to pursue this,” Hamish said.
“I believe that I do, but I would wish to hear it from your own mouth,” John said.
“Why is that?” he asked.
“Because you need to hear how foolish it sounds when you say it aloud,” John said.
Hamish glared at him for a moment.
“All right, then. As you well know, I am pursuing this case because I have developed feelings for Miss Reid. She wanted me to look into this case and I accepted. Now, I am intrigued. I want to solve the case for Miss Smithfield’s safety and for Miss Reid’s approval,” he confessed.
John shook his head, incredulous.
“I never thought I would see you bow to the silly whims of a young woman” John said.
“I never imagined so either. But she is more than just a another rich young woman. That’s the thing, John. She is not the frivolous woman you might expect. She has depth to her. Kindness. Boldness,” he said.
“I heard what Constable Frampton said about the ball. Is that really the sort of woman you want to be interested in?” John asked, dubious.
“No. But I cannot believe she is really like that most of the time. She was angry at me,” he said.
“So she went out and flirted in the same way most young women do? You think it was because of you? Isn’t that a little bit…arrogant?” John asked.
“Are you my sergeant or my superior?” Hamish asked, frustrated.
“I am your sergeant. But I am also your friend,” John replied.
Hamish was quiet at that. John had a fair point.
It was a foolish thing, being so willing to investigate this whole matter simply because he cared for her.
Still, he believed that he owed it to Miss Smithfield to see things through. He did not wish to abandon her and leave her wondering if she meant nothing at all.
“Whatever my reasons, justified or not, this is the decision that I have made. I have every intention of protecting Miss Smithfield from whomever sent her away. I shall ensure that she is looked after,” he said.
“And Miss Reid? Do you intend to share your feelings with her?” John asked.
Hamish clenched his jaw before answering.
“Miss Reid is unhappy with me. I questioned her, as we discussed. She was offended by that. She believes now that I do not trust her, that I think poorly of her,” he said.
“And what do you intend to do about that?” John asked.
“There is nothing that can be done,” Hamish replied.
“Are you quite certain?” John asked.
