Love Is Blind (20 page)

Clarissa sighed and briefly considered saying no, she wasn't; then she decided the truth would serve better, and she regaled Lady
Mowbray
with the story of her own clumsiness in breaking her spectacles, and of Lydia's blaming Joan.

Lady
Mowbray
made murmurs of consolation, but agreed it was no one's fault. Accidents happened, after all. Then she said the oddest thing: "Adrian will be relieved."

Clarissa blinked at the strange comment, turning quickly to peer out the window to hide her concern. Did he dislike spectacles so much then? Was he abhorring her decision to wear them? She had hoped to ask Lady
Mowbray
if they might not stop to see if she

could find a new pair in town, but now hesitated to suggest it. Frowning, she pondered the matter as they rode through the city streets.

She continued to consider as she stood patiently for the dressmaker to fuss, pluck, and tuck in the creation everyone had assured her was lovely. And once finished, and the dressmaker had helped her undress then turned her attention to Lady
Mowbray's
gown for the wedding, Clarissa wandered to the front of the shop, her thoughts still distracted.

"Is there something I might get for you, my lady? A tea, perhaps, while you wait?"

Clarissa recognized the voice of the dressmaker's assistant, and so she paused to ask, "Is there a shop near here where they make spectacles?"

"Oh, yes. Just two stores up from here," the girl said, happy to be of help.

"Thank you," Clarissa replied. Her gaze slid to the back room of the shop. The dressmaker would be dressing Lady
Mowbray
in there, fussing and plucking at her gown. So, when the assistant moved off, Clarissa hesitated only a moment, then slid out the door. There, she paused. The girl had said two shops up, but hadn't said which way. Clarissa hesitated, then went left. She would try one way first, then the other if she did not succeed.

As it happened, Clarissa chose the right direction. She found out by stopping at each store and pressing her face to the glass to see what was displayed within. Two shops up, she found what she was looking for. Just entering the shop made her feel good. She was that much closer to being able to see again.

"Can I help you, my lady?"

Clarissa turned with a start and squinted at
the
man

who moved so silently that she had neither heard nor seen him approach. Forcing herself to relax, she said, "I need spectacles."

"Well, then, you have come to the right place, my lady. I have a wide selection."

And it was as simple as that. Clarissa left the shop several moments later with a new pair of spectacles perched on her nose and a wide smile on her face. It was wonderful. It was bliss. She could see again!

Clarissa peered up and down the street, looking at passing people, taking in the fine details of their clothes and the small lines on their faces, then turned her attention to the horses and carriages. Wonderful! A pleased little sigh slid from her. After a moment, she headed back toward the dressmaker's shop at a quick clip, wanting to get back before Lady
Mowbray
noticed her missing. In fact, she didn't think she would inform the lady of her little trip just yet. Not about her new spectacles. Clarissa wished to feel Adrian out on the issue first. If he truly had some disgust for spectacles, she would wait a bit before wearing them in front of him .. .just long enough for him to start to love her. Once he loved her, surely he would not mind so much that she needed them.

At least, that was what she hoped. Clarissa had no desire to go through life blind.

Pausing outside the dressmaker's shop, Clarissa took one last clear look at the world around her, then removed the spectacles with a little sigh and slipped them into the small bag inside her skirts. They would be her little secret for now. She would enjoy them when she was alone, and keep them tucked away otherwise until she knew where Adrian stood on the issue.

Half-blind once again, Clarissa stepped into the

dressmaker's shop and had just moved toward a bit of cloth on a side table when Lady
Mowbray
came breezing out of the back.

"Are you ready to go, dear?" the woman asked. "I thought we might have tea at Adrian's today. That way you can get to meet your staff."

Clarissa's eyebrows rose. "Adrian has his own home in town?"

"Oh, aye. He bought it when he was young and wild and wanted a place of his own to misbehave." Lady
Mowbray
gave an amused shake of her head. "Now he keeps it just to annoy me, I think. And to avoid my nagging him to attend this party or that play."

Clarissa smiled faintly. "Tea with Adrian sounds lovely, my lady."

"Come along, then." Adrian's mother took Clarissa's hand to lead her from the shop, adding, "Clarissa, dear... I know you do not get along well with Lydia, and I want you to know that if ever there is something you need, anything at all, or if you simply need someone to talk to, I would like you to feel free to talk to me. I am very pleased to count you as my daughter, and would like to treat you as one."

Clarissa swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and nodded. "Thank you, my lady," was all she could say.

Chapter Eleven

"There you are." Adrian set the bag of coins on his desktop and
setded
back in his chair with a sigh. Martin Hadley scooped it up.

Adrian had used Hadley for the first time several years ago, when things had begun to go missing from his family estate. The man had been recommended to him by a neighbor, who had used Hadley on several occasions and found him quite competent at handling such matters. Hadley had taken a job at the
Mowbray
country estate as a footman—or at least had appeared to. In truth, his sole occupation had been finding out where the
Mowbray
silver and heirlooms were going. He had caught the maid responsible within a week of his arriving on
the
scene.

Adrian had been properly impressed. He'd used Hadley again on other occasions, and had had enough faith in him that he hadn't hesitated to call when he'd found himself frustrated in his efforts to

meet up with Clarissa. He'd hired Hadley to find out what functions she and her stepmother were attending in the hopes of finding a way to steal Clarissa away. Now, of course, that was no longer necessary, because of their engagement, and so Adrian had decided to settle his account, which was what he was doing today. But that wasn't the only reason he'd wanted to see Hadley.

"Thank you, my lord. I appreciate your settling your debts quickly. Few enough do, and have to be chased down for payment." The bag of coins safely stored in his pocket, Hadley relaxed in his seat and raised an eyebrow. 'You mentioned in your note that you might have another matter for me to consider?"

'Yes. It, too, is in regards to Clarissa." Adrian frowned, his gaze sliding to the window overlooking the gardens behind the house. "There is a possibility someone is out to harm her."

Hadley's eyebrows rose. "My lord?"

Adrian glanced back. "I presume during your previous investigation you became aware of the exceptional number of accidents she has been suffering."

Hadley nodded slowly. "It would appear the lady normally wears spectacles, but her stepmother took them away. The girl is uncommonly accident-prone without them, and miserable on top of it."

Adrian felt himself relax a little, encouraged that the man had sorted out that bit. No one else but himself seemed to have. Hadley was a good man. He would figure out this new situation.

'Yes, most of those accidents were probably caused by her missing glasses, but there are one or two I wonder about."

Hadley pursed his lips, then said, "My guess would

be that her fall into the street, where she was nearly hit by a carriage, is one of them."

Adrian nodded, unsurprised that the man had heard the tale. Hadley was known for his thoroughness.

"And the other?" the man asked.

"The night of our engagement, Lady
Crambray
held a ball. I made plans with my cousin Reginald
Greville
on how I might see Clarissa. He was to accompany a friend to the ball, find Clarissa, ask her to dance or otherwise take her aside, and tell her to meet me out by the fountain.

"With this plan in motion, I went to the ball a little earlier than he, in order to make my way to the fountain and be waiting there when she arrived. That being the case, imagine my surprise when I got to the fountain and found Clarissa floating in it."

Hadley's eyebrows rose and he sat up straight. "What happened?"

"She said she got a message from me, rushed out to the fountain to see me, and—in her haste—ran into a branch."

Hadley frowned. "How did she end up in the fountain?"

"Clarissa says she recalls stumbling forward, and must have tumbled into it as she blacked out."

Hadley blew a silent whistle between his teeth and sat back, then shook his head. "Well, it is plausible enough, my lord. Why do you think it might not have been an accident?"

"Because I did not send her a message."

'Your cousin—"

"Was to speak to her personally, which he never managed to do, because she was already floating in the fountain when he arrived," Adrian said. "Clarissa

received a
written missive
telling her to meet someone there. It was signed A.M.,' but I did not send it!"

Hadley sat up again, a frown pulling at his face. "That is troublesome. But she recalls running into a branch?"

"She is blind without her spectacles. Clarissa would not know what she ran into," Adrian pointed out. He added, "If she ran into anything at all. As far as I could tell, there were no branches low enough to strike her. Even if one had, it is difficult to believe she could have stumbled so far."

"I should like to see this fountain and the area around it, I think," Hadley pronounced, and Adrian nodded.

"I will arrange it," he said; then he glanced at his pocket watch and murmured, "Actually, my mother was taking Clarissa out for a fitting this morning, and mentioned something about having tea with her afterward. We could join them, and I could ask to see the fountain by daylight. You could accompany me."

"How would you explain my presence?" Hadley asked curiously.

Adrian shrugged. "As a friend, or my assistant."

"Your assistant is the better option," Hadley decided. "You can claim you want me to see the fountain because you are considering having one put in at your country estate and you want me to see what you're looking for."

"That would work." Adrian nodded slowly and got to his feet. "Come; we can head over there now."

He led the way out of his study, but had barely stepped into the hall when Jessop appeared, moving toward him at an unhurried pace.

"Are you going out, my lord?" the man asked with

an air of deference that was normally absent. Adrian knew it was present now only because Hadley was.

"Yes. My mother mentioned having tea with Clarissa after their fitting, so we are going over there. They should be done with
thiat
by now, should they not?"

"I would not know, my lord," Jessop said in a tone so dry it almost crinkled.

"Hmm." Adrian scowled faintly, then said, "Have the carriage brought around front, please."

"Very good, my lord." Turning on his heel, Jessop headed back up the hall. Adrian moved to collect his own coat and hat and Hadley's, then led the way outside.

"Are you starting to question the carriage accident because of this debacle by the fountain?" Hadley asked as they donned their coats and waited for the carriage.

"The fact that she was lured to the fountain by a letter I did not send made me wonder," Adrian said. "That, and the fact that she was bumped into the street. And then there is the fact that she has no idea who bumped her. And there is her fall down the stairs."

"I had not heard about that one," Hadley said. "What happened?"

"Clarissa normally has someone to escort her, usually her maid. This time, she said she grew impatient with being escorted and so decided to make her own way below. She tripped over something at the head of the stairs. No one appears to know what she fell over, however." Adrian frowned. "It may sound silly, but I would have thought that, when they found out she'd tripped, they would have looked at the top of the stairs to see what it was she stumbled over. No one appears to have done that."

Hadley remained silent, considering, and Adrian shifted impatiently. "I know there is no evidence to support that both accidents were anything but accidents, but it troubles me now. Yes, after the fountain incident."

"Her apparent clumsiness is certainly convenient if someone is causing these accidents," Hadley murmured thoughtfully.

"That did occur to me, too," Adrian agreed.

"The stepmother took the spectacles away. Are you thinking she is behind these mishaps?" Hadley chewed on his lip. "She certainly seems to hold some strange dislike for the girl. At least, that's the way it appears to me. Mind you, I was not looking into that aspect of things, so I could be wrong there."