It was three in the afternoon, they’d spent over five hours in each other’s company, and no one had even quarreled.
Not even Emilia and Vincent.
Thomas stood and walked over to one of the small windows by the far corner of the room, “The sun’s getting low in the sky. We should all take off soon.”
Robert agreed, “I think we should all meet up again sometime soon. If anything of a strange nature occurs, send missives out immediately. Do not hesitate.”
Marcella took a heavy breath, Alexander turned to her, “Are you alright?”
She shook her head, but then she knew that she had to speak up, “Something odd happened last night.”
Louisa stilled, “Is this about the man you saw from the window?”
Marcella shyly nodded.
Alexander blustered, “What man?”
“Marcella saw a man in the distance watching our house after we burnt the remaining pieces of my gown.” Louisa said.
Emilia frustratingly declared, “They’re coming after us. They know that we know what they did. We could’ve been followed here today. We’re going to have to leave from different entrances of this house.”
Andrew stated, “I’ll escort the Pinkerton’s and Marcella to the back of the house where I’ll go with them in our carriage back to Kensington. No more walking alone, not even with Rachel as a chaperone. Thomas will stay here with my siblings. Vincent and the Hamill’s will leave from the west side of the house, and then Westbrook will leave from the east side. I’ll ask Paulson to track down two respected and trusted hackney-drivers from around the corner for them. Sound good?”
Andrew’s plan was surprisingly decent.
“That’s a very good plan Andrew. I’m impressed.” Emilia said to Andrew, who then turned a slight shade of pink at her compliment.
Rachel whined as she said, “That is a grand idea, but we must stop at Simon’s Sweets before we go home. I’ve made an order for Zachary.”
Andrew’s smile faded as he nodded, “Fine, we’ll stop there on the way, and I’ll go in for you. Now, it’s time to put my plan into motion.”
Andrew left the room in search of Paulson, and about ten minutes later Andrew came back into the library. He motioned for Emilia, Gabriel, and Vincent to join him.
“Paulson will take all three of you to the private hackney on the west side of the house. The driver’s name is Jimmy.”
Emilia waved goodbye to her friends and left with her brother and Vincent right on her heels. Paulson then came back up to the library minutes later and spoke with Lord Andrew.
“Lady Emilia, the Marquess, and the Earl are safely on their way home to Belgravia. The other hackney has just arrived for Lord Westbrook, his driver is named Johnny. The family carriage is prepared out back for whenever you and the ladies are ready to take off for Kensington.”
Andrew gave him a quick shoulder squeeze as he thanked Paulson. The butler bowed his head respectfully, and then walked back up the hallway.
“It was so lovely to see you all today, thank you for coming, and many thanks for the delightful sweets as well. It was a kind gesture.” Charlotte bid them goodbye as Andrew motioned for the ladies to follow him out of the library.
“Come along ladies, we need to leave right now.”
Marcella squeezed Alexander’s hand as a goodbye, and then she followed the sisters out of the private library. She was sad to leave Alexander, but then she remembered that she might be receiving a letter from her sister Lydia today.
Marcella had previously sent one before the Stanton’s Ball, and if the timing was correct then a response to that letter should have arrived by today.
They all ascended the carriage as Rachel gave Andrew directions to Simon’s Sweets. When they reached the bakery, Andrew jumped out of the carriage, retrieved the ordered sweets, and got back into the carriage. As they eventually arrived at their in Kensington, Andrew escorted them one by one safely inside.
“Have a lovely evening ladies. Please be safe.” Andrew bowed to them, and then he was on his way back to Mayfair.
Just like that, he was both quick and fastidious in his duties as their protector.
The Pinkerton’s butler closed the door behind them as they all entered the house. He then announced that a letter had arrived for Marcella. She thanked him and placed the letter in her bag to read later in private.
On their way towards the stairs, Rachel caught a passing maid and asked her, “Hello Janine. Where is Lord Zachary?”
The maid swiftly answered, “Lord Zachary is still in the study my lady. He has requested that dinner be prepared for the four of you tonight in the dining room.”
Rachel thanked the maid, who scurried off into the kitchens to prepare their supper.
Marcella trailed after Louisa and Rachel as they diverted their path to their father’s study. The door was left wide open.
Zachary was sitting in his father’s chair, where they had left him, with his head on the desk and his hands massaging his scalp. He must’ve smelled the apricot sweets in Rachel’s hands, because he slowly raised his head to say, “You three need to stop looking at me like that. I’ve had a very long day.”
Rachel brought the box to him, “Now you understand what father goes through on a daily basis, this is your future Zachary. Get used to it now.”
He grunted at her reasonable response. He opened the box and sighed with pure delight, “You ladies listened to me.”
He took a Chelsea bun with loads of apricots in it and bit into it with satisfaction.
As he chewed his downturned face turned upright and into a grand smile, “This is superb. Best one I’ve ever had.”
“You’re going to ruin your appetite before supper if you keep on eating them.”
Zachary looked up at Rachel and mumbled with the tart in his mouth, “Listen here dear ole mum, I’ve been a good boy all day. I deserve this bun. Plus, supper won’t be served until later on.”
Zachary yawned after he swallowed the rest of the tart. He then stood up, stretched out his limbs, and stated, “What do you ladies say to comfortable nightclothes and loads of food downstairs in the main dining room in an hour? Is that a deal?”
The Pinkerton parents were dining out tonight, so they wouldn’t be home early.
No one would dare judge them for wearing informal clothing for dinner, especially since they were behind closed doors. They had nothing to be ashamed of. Plus, eating in a loose nightdress sounded like a delightful situation.
The ladies looked at one another and then in unison said, “Deal.”
All four of them went off to their individual rooms. Marcella went into her room and shrugged out of her day-dress quickly.
She wanted to read and reply to her sister’s letter straightaway. She rapidly put on her ivory pleated nightgown, paired with her thick purple dressing robe. Marcella then found her slippers by her trunk, and slipped them on as she sat down at the vanity table to read Lydia’s letter:
Dearest Marcella,
What a dreadful letter you sent. London must be terribly boring if you’re enthralled by how some lamplighters light lamppost on the corner streets. Honestly, do you even know whom you’re writing to?
Any who, I must tell you that current life here at Stansfield Manor is tense. Father returned from London, but I overheard his conversation with mother. He’ll be meeting back up with Mr. Coll in London.
He plans on meeting with him very soon, most likely around the same time that you receive my letter. Be careful Marcella, something’s not right. Find out as much as you can about this Mr. Coll fellow before it’s too late…for all of us.
Love your favorite sister,
Lydia
P.S. We all miss you desperately. We hope you find a husband quickly so that you can come back to us and save us from our little country hovel.
My words.
Not theirs.
Marcella knew what she had to write in her reply letter to Lydia, and it was simp
le.
Dear Lydia,
I’m so glad I received your letter. I went to the Stanton’s Ball. It was a terrific evening until I came face to face with our cousin, Mr. Coll. I agree with you sister, there’s something odd about him.
I’ll write to you again once I’ve collected more information on our pseudo-cousin, but for now just know that I’m always thinking about all of you. Be safe.
Love forever & always,
Marcella
(YOUR favorite sister)
Marcella folded the letter, placed it within an envelope, and sealed it with wax. She took a few coins from her trunk and put them in her robe for the butler, just in case he didn’t cooperate.
As she made her way down the stairs it was by chance that she saw the butler and waved him down, “Good evening sir, I have a very important missive that needs to be sent out tonight. Is that possible? ”
“Of course my lady, where should I be sending it off to?”
“Stansfield Manor in Hertfordshire.”
Marcella hastily pulled out coins from her robe pocket, but the butler shook his head. “That’s not necessary my lady. You have my word that the letter will be sent out tonight.”
He bowed deeply, and then was on his way. Marcella smiled as she strode into the dinning room for supper.
As she entered the dining room, the Pinkerton siblings were already siting down and pouring wine around the table. The cook had prepared a traditional roasted chicken with carrots and potatoes.
They all agreed that it was cooked to perfection. The rest of the apricot Chelsea buns were served for dessert, along with more wine. Tonight, they were going to laugh, eat a lot, and be merry.
Chapter 15
After supper, a sudden urge to sleep came over Marcella. That was most likely due to all of the wine that she had drank. Marcella went to her room and dropped onto the bed. She fell right into her dream world.
Marcella began to dream of her home in Hertford. Her sisters were running around in their backyard, and their crimson hair was flying behind them as they all took off as fast as falcons.
Everyone was smiling, even beaming with pure joy. They were playing one of their favorite games, Medusa. Marcella was Medusa, and she had to catch her sisters to win the game. Whoever she touched would turn to stone, which meant they’d be frozen in place, unless someone found the silver tray.
The silver tray was meant to represent Perseus’s shield, it would reflect Medusa’s reflection right back at her, causing the current owner of it to win the game.
The previous sister who was Medusa would hide the tray somewhere on the family’s estate, and whoever found it could use it on the current Medusa to win the game.
In her dream, Marcella had caught all of her sisters, except for one. Lucinda.
Lovely Lucy ran as fast as she could to avoid being caught by Marcella.
The gardens were always off-limits when they played in real life, so it was odd to see Lucy run right into them. Marcella ran fast, sudden worry overcame her.
Entering the garden, Marcella stopped dead in her tracks as she caught sight of a shocking scene. Lord Archibald Graves was dancing in the garden with Lucy. He looked very alive, but his eyes were glazed over.
Marcella reached out towards him, she took hold of his forearm, and Lord Graves stopped dancing. He let go of Lucy, and then fixated his gaze on Marcella.
Lucy disappeared into the gardens as if she was a ghost. Marcella hesitantly backed away from Lord Graves, but he followed her. He then came face to face with her.
He then said, “Lady Marcella, what a surprise. What are you doing here?”
Marcella replied with caution, “This is my home my lord, why are you here?”
He began circling her like a predator, then said, “I want something from you.”
Marcella whispered back, “No, you don’t. You’re dead my lord.”
He glowered at her then, “I wasn’t supposed to die this young. You, and all of your friends will avenge me, and only then will I leave you all alone.”
“How do we do that, my lord?” Marcella hesitantly asked him.
He sneered at her, “Find my murderers. I knew the one man, the other three were never ever friends of mine.”
Marcella queried, “Who was it Lord Graves? Tell me, please.”
Graves nodded with unease, “I should’ve known that he would do this, he cares for no one but himself. He was my…”
Before Lord Graves could finish his sentence, a dagger came through his chest and Marcella screamed as blood splattered upon her. This was a full-blown nightmare.
Her knuckles were turning a deadly white as she clenched the covers, shrieking for dear life. She could hear a loud thumping coming from her door, and then the smell of smoke overwhelmed her.
Her bedroom door burst, and she gasped awake. Marcella then saw that her bedroom window had been broken. She then looked on the floor amongst the glass shards and spotted several bricks.
Marcella got up from her bed and went over to examine the bricks closely. Zachary ran over to her, picked up one of the bricks and realized it was on fire, “It’s a bomb!”
Zachary threw the brick instantly outside the bedroom window, and it exploded within a second. An orange cloud of fumes began to linger in the air.
A male voice was heard from outside the window, “Damnation!”
Marcella and Zachary ran over to the broken window to see the figure of a hooded man running around the corner of their house.
Zachary yelled to the butler, “Call for an officer now!”
The butler ran from the room, and then Zachary jumped out the window without even a second thought.
“Zachary!” Marcella yelled.
Thankfully the young lord had landed on his feet like a cat as he ran after the man.
Louisa opened the adjoining door between their two rooms and asked with horror on her face, “What happened?”
“A man threw a bomb into my room, and then your brother threw it out the window before it exploded. Zachary then recklessly jumped out the window to chase him down.”
Marcella had tears in her eyes as she picked up a couple of the remaining bricks on the floor, putting them in a pile.
She then whispered to Louisa, “They came after me. They know that we saw them, they know that we know about them.”
Louisa sank to her knees as she said, “We’re in this together Marcella. What are we going to do when an officer comes to the house? Do we tell the truth?”
Marcella shook her head vehemently, “I’m not sure. I’ll stay here and watch the window. Go and find a footman to send immediately for a Dover, or even Lord Westbrook. Hurry, before an officer does show up here and we say something nonsensical.”
Louisa ran out of the bedroom with anxiety in her eyes as she bunched up her dress to run.
Marcella stared at the street below her window for about half an hour before dear Zachary finally came home, in the Dover’s carriage to her surprise.
Both Andrew and Alexander had been together when a frantic footman came to Westbrook’s House in Mayfair. The Pinkerton footman had ran through Hyde Park in record time.
The duo then offered the footman a ride back to Kensington, they then had unexpectedly come across Zachary on the street in his nightclothes. They took him home as well.
Thankfully, an officer hadn’t arrived yet.
Marcella was sitting on the edge of her bed, when she heard loud footsteps coming up the stairs. A moment later, Louisa was ushering a group of men into the bedroom.
Westbrook ran to Marcella, crouching before her, “Are you alright my love? What happened?”
Marcella explained what had happened, she then turned to Zachary and asked, “Did you catch him?”
He shook his head, “He disappeared into the shadows. He ran fast for a big man.”
Alexander and Marcella’s faces shot to one another. Alexander then looked around the room and asked, “Do you mind if I have a moment with
Marcella please?”
They all concurred that the couple could be allowed a moment alone. Louisa then took Andrew and Zachary into her room, closing the door between the two rooms.
The moment the door closed Marcella rapidly spoke to Alexander, “Please don’t be mad, I’m alive. See?”
He cradled her face and kissed it briefly first before saying, “Marcella, if anything were to ever happen to you…I don’t know what I’d do with myself.”
Tears began to form in her eyes as she whispered, “I’m scared Alexander, someone tried to blow me up.”
“We’ll catch them love, I know we will, but for now you’ll need to change rooms immediately.” He critically replied to her.
Louisa knocked on the door, and than snuck into the room quickly. She whispered to them both, “The officer has just arrived, he’s in my room right now.”
The door opened behind Louisa, and she froze. Marcella was surprised at how young the officer was. He introduced himself as Officer Grahams.
Zachary briefed Officer Grahams about the whole incident, and then man said that he now wanted to survey the scene in depth.
“Both of you ladies shall have to move to higher ground. It’s not safe for either of you to stay down here. I’m sure those arrangements can be made in a house like this. We’ll board the window up before I leave.” He spoke in an authoritative manner.
The auburn-haired officer then looked directly at Zachary, “You’re brave my Lord, and lucky to be alive. You could have hurt yourself jumping out a window like this one, and that man could’ve been armed.”
Officer Grahams then turned his sole attention towards Marcella, “From what I’ve gathered here, you’re new in town Lady Marcella, and you have only attended one dance this season. I doubt that you could’ve made enemies that quickly.”
Marcella was shocked by his remarks, and impressed by his knowledge of her. Alexander looked at the man and then courageously spoke to him.
“George, she’s an honest country girl. She’d never provoke anyone to commit such a crime.”
Tempted by Curiosity Page 18
