Her Saving Grace (4 page)

“
Have I said something to upset you?”

“Whatever gave you that impression,” she asked sweetly, with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Please, Lady Wellesley, I just want to find out who killed your father.”

“And I wish you luck with that.”

Now he was starting to become irritable. “Might I speak with your husband?”

Her sweet smile widened. “But of course.”

She made no move to summon him and Nathaniel sat forward. “Is he home?”

“He is always home,
my Lord.”

“Then where might I find him?”
he snapped, getting to his feet. He looked down at her, hoping to intimidate her with his height. It didn’t appear to work.

“
Wellesley Hall, just outside of Bellchester.”

“He didn’t come with you?”

“I told you, he is always at home these days, and this is not our home. If you really need to speak with him, you will find him in the family crypt, near the estate church. I’m sure you won’t need to make an appointment, he doesn’t venture very far from his grave.”

“Oh, I- I’m terribly sorry.”

“Yes, I dare say the fact that you can't call on my husband to bring me to heel, does make you sorry but in any event, he was never a very authoritarian sort of man, at least not with his family.” She got to her feet and smoothed her skirts. “Good day, Lord Copley, I trust that you can see yourself out.”

She left the room and
Nathaniel watched until she was out of sight, wondering just what he had done to offend her. No doubt she wasn’t happy that she (and her father’s disappearance) had been ignored for six years, but that was hardly his fault. Of course, she might not have liked his defence of Smyth either but what he said was true, the man could handle the day to day duties of his job.

S
he had given him a list of names as a starting point and, much as she had suggested, he was certain that these people would be much more forthcoming with him than they had been with Charles Howard’s daughter. Men were usually more open with their own sex, much as women preferred the company of other females.

Still, he was curious about what she had learned and he
looked to the leather chest she had gone into earlier. What he wanted to know was probably in that box. It was probably locked but he felt that he could easily carry it with him, although he doubted that he would be allowed to take it. He approached and tried the catch, only to find it was locked.

A cough from behind him made him turn and he blushed at having been caught.

“This way, Sir,” the butler said, his voice so disapproving that he only just managed to sound polite.

“Of course.” He followed the elderly man downstairs but it was only once he
was out on the street, that he realised how surreal that whole encounter had been.

***

Damaris was seething. How dare that jumped up want-to-be detective come in here and act as if he were entitled to her help!

She might have been inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, had it not been for the fact that her father had been stran
gled, not killed by the blow to the head. But of course, the broken skull was obvious, whereas the tiny hyoid bone was subtle and easy to miss. The problem was, she didn’t want a detective who looked only for the easy answers, she wanted someone who would dig until they had the truth.

Which meant that she had little choice but to do the investigating herself. She had already made a good start over the past few years but now that she knew her father was d
ead, people might be more forthcoming with her. And if they weren’t, well, she would do whatever it took to find her father’s killer.

Horse Guards was a large Palladian style building in Whitehall, and home to the War Office. At the front desk, Nathaniel was directed to the Department of the Secretary, and then to the Judge Advocate General’s office, who handled courts-martial.

Since he had been a barr
ister, it seemed fitting that Charles Howard had worked here. The Judge Advocate General, Sir John Beckett wasn’t available to see him, which wasn’t surprising and by Nathaniel’s reckoning, he had been appointed three years after Charles Howard had disappeared anyway, so was unlikely to be of any help.

Instead, he was directed to a meeting room and told to wait, which he did for perhaps ten minutes, until a gentleman entered. He was middle aged,
smartly dressed and had a slightly harassed air about him.

“Lord Copley?” he asked.

“Indeed.” Nathaniel got to his feet and shook hands with the gentleman.

“I'm Peter Jennings. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Not a problem, Sir.”

“I understand that you’re
here to talk about Charles Howard?”

“I am and I'm sorry to say, I have some regrettable news.”

They both took a seat at the table.

“He’s dead,”
Jennings stated rather than asked.

“Yes. How did you know?”

“Charles was a responsible man; even supposing that he did run away with a mistress, he would not have simply walked away from his position here. When I read about the remains being discovered near his home… well, I put two and two together, although I am sorry to have been proved correct.”

“How well did you know Mr Howard?”

“We were friends; I kept rooms in the same club, but our families didn’t often socialise together.”

“Oh?”

“It’s nothing sinister.” He smiled. “Charles’ family home was in Lanford, whilst mine is in Northumberland.”

“And you commute to London?”

“Yes.”

“Does that not get tiresome?”

“It does,” he agreed. “Being so close, Charles returned home each weekend, but it would take me all weekend to get home, then I’d just have to turn around and come straight back.”

“Quite.
Would it not be easier to keep a home in London?”

“Probably, but my wife dislikes Town and prefers to be close to her family. I return home for a few weeks every few months, and the arrangement works well for us.”

Given his eagerness to begin the investigation, Nathaniel now found himself quite stumped as to how to proceed.

“So, are you another on
e of Lady Wellesley’s detectives?” Jennings asked.

“Not quite, although I am looking into her father’s death. I'm the
new Justice of the Peace for Lanford.”

“Well, I can't tell you anything that I haven’t already told her, and her detectives.”

“Since you were friends with the deceased, I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of man he was?”

“I suppose. Well, he was
born to an Earl but he didn’t inherit title or lands. He chose law as his profession and studied hard. He met and married his wife for her connections but it wasn’t a love match.

“And what of
his personality?”

“R
esponsible, bound by duty; he took his work very seriously, perhaps too seriously at times-”

“You don’t think his death could have had something to do with his work?”

“No.” Jennings looked amused. “For obvious reasons, I can't go into details about our work here but suffice to say, most of it is administrative.”

“How did he come to work for the War Office?”

“Through the Duke of Wellington.”

“Are they related?”

“Well they weren’t but they are now, in a roundabout sort of way.”

“Of course, Wellesley is the family name.”

“Quite right.
Damaris’ husband was William Wellesley, Earl of Bellchester and a cousin to the Duke of Wellington. Charles arranged the match for her. Unfortunately they hadn’t been married for a year when her father disappeared, then her husband was killed a year later, at the Battle of Waterloo.”

“Did they have any children?”

“The war kept him away a lot but they did manage to have one child, and another on the way. The news of his death hit her hard however; she lost the baby, and the elder child died not long after.”

“How awful.”

“Yes, the poor girl certainly has faced more than her share of tragedy.”

“And how did
the child…?”

“The whooping cough; terrible shame.”

“Is someone taking care of her?”

“Oh, her husband saw to that.
When his young son died, the title passed to Wellesley’s brother, of course, but almost the entirety of her husband’s estate was bequeathed to Damaris and her children but obviously now, she is his sole heir.”

“So much heartache for one so young.”

“She’s a strong girl but you’re right, it is a terrible shame.”

“
After such tragedy, I’m surprised she didn’t go to live with a family member.”

“I wish I could say that I was
, but the relationships in that family were always odd.”

“How so?”

“Charles and his wife gave the impression of being in competition, and part of that was that she favoured the boys, while he favoured Damaris. They pitted the children against the other parent, and each other at times, hence she was only close to her father. She has reconciled somewhat with the younger brother but he resides in Edinburgh; not exactly within easy travelling distance.”

“
So that’s why the sons don’t look after Howards’ house.”

“Exactly. Her father’s
family offered to take her in but she declined. She still writes to me occasionally, mostly at Christmas time, and seems to enjoy living alone.”

“Whatever does she do with herself?”
Nathaniel didn’t think she was the type to spend her days sewing samplers.

“
I believe she has discovered a fascination with science and spends a lot of time reading about it. I think she even does a few experiments.”

That seemed like an odd hobby for a woman
but he supposed that something like botany would interest a lady and whilst unusual, it was harmless.

“Forgive me, Lord Copley, but you appear to have more interest in Lady Wellesley than her father.”

Nathaniel blushed a little.

“Oh, don’t be embarrassed,
if I were a few years younger, and single of course, I might very well feel the same but you seem like a nice fellow, so I hope you won’t take offence when I offer you some friendly advice. Don’t set your hat at Damaris; you will be disappointed if you do.”

Nathaniel
was surprised by the sinking sensation he felt, almost as if he were falling, but he swallowed his disconcertion down and said, “You sound very… certain about that.”

“She is beautiful, respectable, childless and rich; what man wouldn’t want her as his wife,
even if she is a widow and at a rather advanced age? Many have tried to get her attention over the years but she shows no interest.”

“Is she still grieving?”

“Some believe so.”

“Did she really love her husband, then? It sounds as if they didn’t see each other very much.”

“It was the war that kept him away, not distaste. That’s also the reason William’s family wanted him to marry, so that he would have an heir if the worst happened. As for love?” Jennings shrugged. “She cared very deeply for William, I know that, and she respected him but love? Perhaps the love one has for a good friend or sibling, but not romantic love.”

“And what do you believe, about her still grieving?”

“I haven’t set eyes on Damaris since her wedding day so I cannot say for certain, although I feel I know her through my friendship with her father. Personally, I think that she has simply closed herself off from the world at large, to save herself any future pain.”

“I can certainly understand that,” he agreed, and found himself willing to forgive her sharp words earlier. “Back
to the real reason I'm here, is there anything you can tell me about Charles that you haven’t told anyone else, perhaps to spare Lady Wellesley’s blushes?”

“I didn’t tell her about her father’s mistress in the beginning, for precisely the reason you state, but
her husband had hired detectives and one of them discovered Marissa’s identity. When I realised the game was up, I wrote back telling her all I could remember.”

“That must have been hard for her to hear.”

Peter Jennings smiled. “Hardly. She wrote back expressing her thanks, said that she was pleased to know that her father had found a woman who loved him.”

Nathaniel
thought about that and realised that, given the adversarial relationship her parents had, as well as being her father’s favourite, perhaps her opinion would be different to that of most women.

“However you conduct this investigation, Lord Cople
y, I would advise you not to underestimate Damaris. She is not a typical, high-strung woman, prone to faint at the mere discussion of blood. In many ways, she is as intelligent, brave and stubborn as a man, and she won’t take kindly to being coddled.”

“Thank you
, for the advice and your help.”

“Not a problem, dear boy. If there’s anything else I can help you with, please feel free to contact me again.”

“I appreciate that. If I could just ask one last thing?”

“Of course.”

“Is there anyone else you would recommend that I talk to?”

“Your best chance is to visit ou
r gentleman’s club, he had a lot of friends there. I’ll tell you what, if you can wait five minutes, I’ll write you a letter. Members can bring a friend and while that friend going without me would be unusual, given the circumstances and your family, I doubt that they will object.”

“Thank you and if I may, do you know how I
can contact his mistress?”

“Me? No. Damaris however, is
her new patroness.”

He was stunned for a moment.
“You mean to tell me that Lady Wellesley indulges in… well, illicit acts with prostitutes?” He sounded outraged.

“No, my dear boy
, of course not, and for the record, Marissa was never a prostitute.”

“
Then what exactly do you mean by ‘patroness’?”

“That Damaris pays for her lodgings and
gives her pin money. Marissa no longer needs a gentleman to take care of her, so she is free to find herself a husband, if she so wishes.”

“And has she?”

“Not to my knowledge but equally, I haven’t heard of her taking another lover.”

“And would you have been likely to hear?”

“London Society is quite close knit, even more so amongst men, with our gentlemen’s clubs and gambling dens. You must understand, Marissa was an exceptionally handsome woman, and with a large heart. If someone had been lucky enough to find themselves in her affections, I hardly think they would keep it to themselves. As a rule, we gentlemen do like to brag about our conquests.”

Nathaniel
nodded his understanding. “Thank you, Mr Jennings, you’ve been a big help.”