The Bloomsbury Affair

by Anita Davison

  ‘What are you thinking about?’ Bunny said. ‘You’ve gone all wistful.’

  Having to witness my parents behaving like moonstruck youngsters. She flicked a look behind her, but the pair seemed engrossed in conversation. ‘I was… er… just thinking about the woman in the red coat.’

  ‘I’m not even going to tell you how I feel about that subject,’ Bunny said.

  ‘You just have.’ Flora flicked him a wry look. ‘I know it might sound obsessive, but the coat keeps nagging at me.’

  ‘We’ll not solve this case by chasing red coats. We ought to concentrate on finding out how the imposter knew about Leo’s connection to the Hunter-Griggs to perpetrate his fraud.’

  ‘I’ve given that some thought too,’ Flora didn’t like him to think she focused on the trivial and ignored everything else. ‘Perhaps Sylvia told the woman who helped her when she hurt herself?’

  ‘What brought you to such a conclusion?’

  ‘It’s not a conclusion, just an idea. Dr Billings said Sylvia appeared near hysterics when she arrived at the surgery. Maybe the woman with her tried to calm her, put her at ease by mentioning she lived in London and Sylvia may have said what a coincidence, her husband did too but she hadn’t seen him for years. Sometimes people reveal things in a state of high emotion they wouldn’t normally. She might have mentioned in passing that her husband had been in the army and this woman was devious enough to wheedle more out of her?’

  ‘Hmm. And this woman, whoever she is, uses this snippet of information to devise an entire scheme to deprive Leo of his inheritance? It’s very tenuous.’

  ‘Perhaps not a chance encounter then? Could a relative of the Colonel’s we know nothing about be greedy enough to dispose of the son of the disapproved of second wife to clear the way for the elder two? He said he had a sister in Sussex.’

  ‘Who is most probably dead by now?’ Bunny’s sceptical, almost comical sideways look made her shrink back against the pew.

  ‘Oh, all right, I agree it’s far-fetched. But I’m speculating and I wanted to hear your opinion.’ She winced as the organist played a wrong note.

  ‘I think you’re letting your imagination run wild, Flora.’

  ‘All right, dismiss this aspect for the moment, but whatever is going on, I’m convinced it’s connected to the hotel.’

  ‘The Aspidistra?’

  ‘You know very well it’s The Dahlia. Sometimes I think you aren’t taking this seriously.’

  ‘I’m taking it all very seriously, but could we forget it for one afternoon? We’re at the wedding of two friends who have been through a great deal to reach this day. Could we simply enjoy their happiness?’

  ‘What a sentimental soul you are, Bunny Harrington.’ Smiling, Flora bumped his shoulder with her own.

  A teacher Flora recognized as being from the Harriett Parker Academy paused to exchange greetings and small talk on the way to her seat. She had barely passed on when a young woman from the suffragist society meetings Flora infrequently attended in Victoria Street, stopped to ensure Flora intended to go to their next meeting. Flora having promised to be there, the woman moved away and Flora’s thoughts returned to the former problem.

  ‘We still don’t know how this imposter found out Leo was Colonel Hunter-Griggs’ long-lost son? No one knew. Not even the woman who worked for Sylvia.’

  Bunny sighed. ‘If you insist on discussing this now, and evidently you do, then I suggest you ask yourself how frail is the Colonel? In your opinion is his demise impending?’

  ‘Now there’s a thought. I cannot be sure. His skin did look sallow and his mind wandered a little at times. He almost fell asleep when we were talking as well. Do you think the plan is to kill him too?’

  ‘Not necessarily. They might not have to. Whoever the killer is, he could simply let nature take its course, then no one will be suspicious when the imposter claims his inheritance as he has already staked his claim to the family.’ Bunny clapped a hand to his forehead. ‘Now look at me, even I’ve lumped the twins into the role of murderers.’

  ‘But what happens to the imposter? Do they pay him off or kill him as well?’ Flora sighed. The more she thought about it the more questions she came up with. ‘Inspector Maddox isn’t likely to tell us if the fake Leonard was seen on that train. We’ll have to find out for ourselves. And don’t ask me how, I have no idea. I’ll have to think about it more.’

  ‘Well, we cannot spend any more time on it now,’ Bunny said as the opening bars of Wagner’s Here Comes The Bride echoed through the church. ‘The bride has arrived.’

  Chapter 24

  The couple’s exchange of vows was intimate, emotional and quite lovely, marred only by the stoic faces of Harry’s parents and sisters, all of whom refused to crack so much as a smile throughout the ceremony.

  Harry made his declaration in a firm voice, while Lydia’s responses echoed clear but soft in the sunlit church. Her blonde delicacy was enhanced by a cream silk gown, her petite figure laced into the fashionable ‘S’ shape accentuating her tiny waist. Gigot sleeves puffed out at the shoulders, tapered to points over her wrists, a garland of yellow and white flowers intertwined with spring greenery encircled her head like a fairy queen. A wedding band collar embroidered with rows of tiny seed pearls so rigid, it was a wonder she could bend her head at all.

  As the reverend delivered his sermon on the sanctity of marriage, Bunny groped for Flora’s hand, his grip strong and almost painful. Taking their seats again amongst shuffling of feet and muffled coughs, Flora met his gaze, unsurprised to see his eyes were wet.

  With the register signed, the smiling newly-weds sauntered back down the aisle to Mendelssohn’s rousing ‘Wedding March’, emerging onto the porch in a hail of rice, rose petals and happy laughter, where a photographer struggled to marshal guests into specific groups before the light faded.

  The guests adjourned to the reception on foot in a good-natured, chattering crocodile of colourful hats, flowing skirts and handsome men in frock coats; a procession the groom’s family declined to join and, instead, sat bolt upright in their carriage and stared ahead as they swept past.

  On their arrival at Lydia’s neat villa in Kinnerton Street, the guests filed in to the parlour and formed into groups in a room where yellow and white flowers with hints of mauve filled the ground floor with the scent and colours of spring. China pots and glass jugs of all sizes had been pressed into service along a long table, in the centre of which stood a two-tiered cake of pristine white sugar paste topped with a swathe of artfully arranged yellow freesias.

  Once the speeches had been performed, and the cake cut, Lydia was freed to mix with her guests, making a beeline for Flora. ‘I do so hate being the centre of attention.’

  ‘How could you not be, you look exquisite.’ She brushed her lips across her friend’s cheek.

  ‘Are you sure my entering the church alone didn’t look strange?’ Lydia asked. ‘My father died years ago and it seemed wrong for anyone to take his place.’

  ‘Not at all,’ Flora replied and meant it. ‘Anyone who knows you would understand perfectly.’

  ‘That makes me feel better, and by the way, Flora, I love your dress. Such a simple yet elegant cut and I’ve never seen such fine stitching.’ Lydia’s grey gaze swept the cornflower blue confection with open admiration. ‘If I didn’t know you better, I would think you were trying to outshine me.’

  Flora sought her reflection in the oval mirror over the fireplace and took a few seconds to preen. ‘I thought today warranted something special. But no one should be talking about my clothes to a bride as lovely as you, Lydia. Your own gown is exquisite yet understated, much like you.’

  ‘It is rather lovely, isn’t it?’ Lydia glanced down at herself. ‘Harry insisted I engage this dressmaker his cousin frequents in Bond Street. He said he wasn’t going to let his mother heap more criticism on the fact we had chosen to have a simple wedding.’

  The way society weddings appeared in the p
ress in such lurid detail was well known, and Flora sympathized with Lydia’s aversion to having her history being the subject of journalistic fodder. There was also the unspoken issue that Harry’s two sisters would have made the ugliest bridesmaids in England.

  ‘We planned to hold the reception at the new house in Kensington,’ Lydia interrupted Flora’s train of thought. ‘Only the renovation isn’t finished and Harry refused to postpone again. He said we had waited long enough.’

  ‘This house is lovely, and perfect for the two of you,’ Flora gazed round at the neat little house which had benefitted from some decoration since her last visit. ‘You’ll be working at the academy most days.’

  ‘Which is yet another aspect of my life the Hon. Darnley Flynn and his wife disapprove of.’ Lydia’s smile wavered as her gaze went to the groom’s parents, who huddled in a corner, staring into their champagne glasses as if suspicious they might have been poisoned. ‘They wanted me to resign, but the academy has never been in such demand and I refuse to hand it over to a less dedicated headmistress.’ Lydia’s gaze strayed to her new husband who stood amongst a group of sleek, well-dressed young men that included Bunny, all of whom exuded wealth and privilege. ‘Do you think Harry might have been happier with Evangeline?’

  ‘How could you even think such a thing? Especially today.’ Flora suppressed a groan. She had hoped they had buried the spectre of the sainted, beautiful and wealthy Evangeline Lange some time ago.

  ‘The Flynns wanted him to marry an heiress, not an orphan whose father had once been employed in a Bermondsey factory.’

  ‘Fate evidently had a different plan,’ Flora insisted. ‘Harry was being the dutiful son when he agreed to marry Evangeline Lange. He’s grown up since then and so much happier with you.’

  ‘I certainly am.’ Harry appeared, his face wreathed in a wide smile, apparently having heard her last remark.

  Behind him, Bunny gestured with his glass to indicate Harry might have imbibed a little too much, confirmed when the groom swayed into one of the hired waiters, putting a platter of sandwiches briefly at risk.

  ‘The custom of marrying only inside one’s social circle is ridiculously outdated,’ Harry declared. ‘Bunny here is a prime example. Look how happy you and Flora are.’ He slapped Bunny’s shoulder, threatening to spill his champagne.

  ‘I regard Flora as my equal in every way, Harry, and always have,’ Bunny placed his glass in his other hand and shook droplets off his fingers, lowering his voice to a whisper. ‘You might be wise to change your perspective, or you might find yourself an exceedingly unhappy man.’

  ‘Don’t take me wrong, old boy.’ Harry frowned, genuinely perplexed. ‘I couldn’t imagine life without Lydia now, but we must acknowledge times are changing. The classes should mix more. We have so much to learn from each other.’ His glance shifted to a point over Bunny’s shoulder. ‘Ah, I spy my Uncle Randolph over there.’ His waving arm swung his glass a fraction of an inch from Bunny’s chin, sending him back a pace. ‘I must introduce Lydia to him. He’s stinking rich and a bachelor. I need to inform him he’s been selected as godfather to our firstborn.’

  As Lydia was borne away, she turned and mouthed an apology over her shoulder.

  ‘Don’t think too badly of him,’ Bunny said in response to Flora’s frown. ‘The best man just told me he was so nervous, he was sick three times before the ceremony.’

  ‘Were you nervous before our wedding?’

  ‘Of course not.’ He paused. ‘I only threw up once.’

  ‘Even so, it’s not like Harry to be so careless with his opinions.’

  ‘Maybe the champagne has made him uninhibited enough to voice his true feelings,’ Alice said from behind them.

  ‘Alice! I didn’t see you there.’ Flora turned to where her Mother stood, her cheeks suffused with high colour.

  ‘I doubt Harry did either.’ Alice drained her glass and set it down on a nearby surface without checking where it landed.

  ‘You weren’t offended by Harry’s remark about marrying beneath him? He didn’t mean it, if I thought he did I would have had something to say to him myself. Their entire courtship has been a trial for both of them, what with his family objecting so strongly. For Harry especially.’

  ‘Flora, hush. You don’t have to defend him.’ Alice cupped Flora’s chin gently. ‘He’s only saying what most people still believe. That you should never marry outside your social class.’

  Flora frowned. ‘You don’t think people will think the same about you and William, do you?’

  ‘It’s ridiculous, I know, but I cannot help it.’ Alice clamped her lips together, distress not for away. ‘I’m hardly a prime candidate for an earl’s brother-in-law. A former lady’s maid who bore him a child twenty-five-years ago, married another man to salve my reputation and then ran away leaving that child. They’ll say he’s only being kind to me now for your sake.’

  Bunny’s cheeks flushed red and he backed away. ‘Excuse me a moment, there’s someone over there I need to – um.’

  ‘Coward,’ Flora mouthed as he retreated. She grasped Alice’s hand and pulled her to one side, away from the curious looks they had begun to attract, although, unlike Harry, at least Alice did not appear affected by the champagne. ‘I hope this isn’t a bout of self-pity on your part. It doesn’t become you.’

  ‘Is that any way for a daughter to speak to her mother?’ Alice’s eyes sparkled with mischief. ‘I’ve never cared much what people think of me, but somehow things have changed. I worry too that William has been a bachelor too long to consider marriage now.’

  ‘You’ve discussed it already?’ Flora asked. ‘But it’s only been a few days.’

  ‘Seeing it’s a day for secrets,’ she slid her hand into Flora’s and squeezed, ‘I’ll let you into one of mine.’

  ‘Another one?’ Flora raised an eyebrow. ‘You seem to have a penchant for those.’ Alice’s eyes darkened and Flora added quickly, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.’

  ‘I wouldn’t blame you if you did.’ Alice’s smile held no malice. ‘A week or so after the end of the child abduction case, William saw me coming out of your house at Eaton Place.’

  ‘He saw you?’ Flora inhaled sharply. Their careful plan to ease Alice back into William’s life slowly had gone awry. What had she just said to Lydia about Fate?

  ‘I’m afraid so.’ Alice’s eyes glittered above her sheepish smile. ‘He waved down my hansom and said he knew it was me immediately, but had to make sure he wasn’t imagining things and speak to me before I disappeared. He climbed in beside me and ordered the driver to circle Hyde Park three times. It was all quite romantic.’

  ‘Are you telling me my surprise dinner party was no such thing?’ At her slow nod, Flora gaped. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘I wasn’t sure how you would feel, or even how William and I felt. And, besides, we didn’t want to spoil your evening by admitting we had been meeting for some time.’

  ‘Now I know why you’ve been so happy these last months. And I thought it had something to do with me and Arthur.’

  ‘You know I’m thrilled to have you back again. I have a beautiful grandson and the handsomest, kindest son-in-law anyone could imagine. Naturally I’m happy. And now there is William too.’ A smile played round her mouth. ‘Since seeing him again, he’s all I can think about. Does that sound ridiculously sentimental for a woman of my age?’ Before Flora could respond, Alice nudged her, ‘Look out. Lydia is coming back. Remember, for now it’s our secret.’

  ‘I had to come and apologize for Harry.’ Lydia insinuated herself between them. ‘He never drinks, but that oaf of a best man plied him with brandy as he was shaking with nerves.’

  ‘Bunny told me,’ Flora said. ‘And honestly, Lydia, there’s no need to explain.

  ‘My first wifely lecture will be a stern talk about inadvertently offending his guests.’

  ‘I might do that myself.’ Flora said, eliciting a laugh from Lydia.


  ‘There’s no need, either of you.’ Alice pleaded through her watery smile. ‘Let’s not spoil such a lovely day with things which don’t matter.’

  ‘You’re very gracious, Alice. Now I’ve been dying to ask you how the dinner party went.’ Flora glanced at Alice, who shrugged.

  ‘Oh dear, have I been indiscreet?’ Lydia brought a hand to her mouth. ‘Did it not go well? Only I assumed—’

  ‘You assumed right, but it turns out it wasn’t as much of a surprise,’ Flora said. ‘We were talking about William just now in actual fact.’

  ‘You know I couldn’t help noticing how comfortable you two are with each other,’ Lydia said laughing. ‘Therefore, I’m not in the least surprised.

  ‘You’ve met my friend, Lydia haven’t you, Alice?’ Flora laughed. ‘Not much gets past her. She’s a better detective than I am.’

  ‘It doesn’t take much more than intuition. I’ve seen the way William looks at you,’ Lydia swept a glass of sherry from a tray offered by a passing server. ‘He’s quite a different man from the overly serious diplomat I met when Flora first came to London.’

  ‘I agree, he is,’ Flora said. ‘William has always regretted allowing his sister to persuade him not to marry Alice. And I’m not making that up, he told me himself. He’s worth waiting for, and I’m not saying that because he’s my father. I’ve got to know him this last year and he’s a very special person.’

  ‘He always was.’ Alice’s smile held a world of past memories and maybe even some more recent ones.

  ‘I’ve known Harry for years and yet I still had to convince him we were suited,’ Lydia said. ‘Men tend to find change unsettling. It’s up to us women to tell them what we want and they’ll capitulate rather than risk change to the status quo.’

  ‘Not all men are like that,’ Flora said, feeling slightly smug. ‘For months after the SS Minneapolis docked, Bunny bombarded me with letters, flowers and gifts saying he couldn’t live without me and we must become engaged as soon as possible.’