Lady Alice's Dilemma Read online

  Alice stopped suddenly in the doorway as both Fenny and Philip rose at her entrance. Another woman did not rise, but stared at her with unmistakable anxiety. She was pale but her eyes were alive and she smiled as Philip swept Alice into his arms and hugged her.

  “Alice, I’m so glad you have come so we can say goodbye properly. Come let me make you known to Celia.”

  Alice took the thin hand that was held out to her. “Thank you so much for helping us,” Celia said, simply. “Philip has told me all about it.”

  “I was happy to do so. How do you feel?”

  “Much better now. I am so cared for and cosseted.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “Amelia will be a little time, so I must tell you that she still does not know Master Philip’s true situation. Be careful what you say in front of her. She can hold her tongue but the less people who know the real story, the better.”

  “Thank you, Fenny.” Alice sat down next to Celia and looked at her brother.

  “You had my letter?”

  “Yes and I think you are right. So I have made arrangements and we will leave this evening. There is a moon so we should be able to find the way well enough. Fenny will be glad to be rid of us, won’t you, Fenny?”

  “Not at all, Master Philip, I’m sorry to see you go but I wish you a very safe journey.”

  “As I do,” Alice murmured. At that moment the door opened and the elder Miss Fennimore bustled in carrying a tray with cups, a fat brown teapot and a plate of small cakes.

  “Amelia’s cakes are famous,” Miss Fennimore said. “No one can make scones like her.”

  Alice rose and helped to set tables and hand out cups. When everyone was served, the elder Miss Fennimore excused herself.

  “I’m sure you have things to discuss together and I need to go shopping, so I will leave you. Very nice to meet you, Lady Alice. Perhaps you will call on us again on another occasion?”

  “I would be delighted. Thank you.”

  Once Miss Amelia Fennimore had departed, the group discussed Philip and Celia’s journey in more detail.

  “Are you sure you are well enough to travel?” Alice asked Celia.

  “I have to,” Celia said passionately. “The sooner I am in France, the sooner Evelyn cannot drag me back and perhaps murder Philip into the bargain. The longer I stay here, the more danger I put you all in. I understand that now. I didn’t when Philip first came for me. I will find the strength somehow. Don’t worry about me.”

  Alice found it very hard to say goodbye to her brother. She kissed him and received a hug in return.

  “You will write to me?”

  “As long as you are in London. If you go back to Kirkmore, I will have to send my letters via Fenny. Mama would probably put them on the fire if she spotted my handwriting. Take care, little sister, and thank you again.”

  Chapter Twelve

  When Miss Fennimore showed her to the door, Alice was surprised to see Sarah standing at the end of the street. She hurried up to her.

  “What are you doing here, Sarah? I told you to wait for me in the Square.”

  “Forgive me, my lady. I did as you said until I noticed a man watching you. He has been on the other side of the road from us ever since we set out from Lady Maitland’s. At first I thought nothing of it, except that it seemed odd he was going in exactly the same direction. When you left me, he continued after you. That worried me, so I followed him. You went into your governess’s house and he stopped and just stood there. He was waiting for you to come out again, I’m sure of it. I walked up the street myself, intending to ask him what he wanted but as soon as he saw me, he turned and hurried away. He wanted to see what you did, Lady Alice and I didn’t want him to do you a mischief. So |I waited for you here. I hope I did right?”

  “Goodness! Yes, of course you did right, Sarah. I wonder why he was interested in me.” Alice tried to keep her voice steady but inside she was trembling. “Where did he go?”

  “Around the corner.” Sarah turned to show Alice but then swung back. “Don’t look now, my lady, but he is behind us now.”

  “Then I’m going to ask him what he means by following me.”

  Sarah gripped Alice’s wrist and she stopped in surprise at the touch. “Don’t do that, my lady, not here. It’s too quiet. If he tried to rob you, we wouldn’t be able to stop him and there’s no one to help us if you screamed. Let’s find somewhere where there are more people around.”

  Alice nodded. “Yes that’s sensible.”

  The two girls walked quickly down the street. The man did not come any closer and Alice thought better of confronting him. After all, he was unlikely to answer her questions and admit to following them. She kept walking until Sarah, who from time to time took advantages of bends and bushes in their path to cast glances behind her, hissed,

  “He’s gone, my lady.”

  “Where?”

  “He turned into Brook Street.”

  Alice swung around. The man was definitely not there any more.

  “Come on, Sarah, let’s see where he is.”

  The two girls hurried back and peered carefully round the corner. They saw him standing in front of a doorway and talking to the porter who guarded the entrance.

  “Oh my goodness!” Alice exclaimed, “I know that man!”

  “Who is he, my lady?”

  “A Mr. Charville. Lady Maria Sinclair introduced him to me at our ball the other evening. She said he was a distant cousin of hers. I wonder why he was following us.”

  “Perhaps he recognised you too, my lady.”

  “If that’s the reason, why didn’t he come and speak to me?”

  Alice glanced down the street. The porter was alone. Mr. Charville had vanished.

  “What building is that, Sarah?”

  “It’s a hotel, my lady, Milvert’s Hotel. It’s quite famous.”

  “Milvert’s? I’ve heard the name somewhere before.” Then with a start, Alice remembered. This was the hotel where Staunton had been staying. She fumbled in her reticule and abstracted a few coins.

  “Take these, Sarah. Go and see if you can induce the porter to tell you if Mr. Charville is a guest in the hotel or if he is visiting someone. Hurry, in case he comes back and sees you. I’ll wait here for you.”

  “He’s not staying there, my lady,” Sarah reported to her a few moments later. “He’s a visitor. He asked for one of the guests, a Mr. Staunton.”

  “Did he indeed? I thought Mr. Staunton had gone out of town.”

  “Apparently he returned early this morning, my lady.”

  “Thank you, you have done well.”

  “It was easy. When I mentioned your name and greased his fist, the porter was only too happy to answer my questions.”

  Alice’s brow wrinkled as she considered the implications of this information. What should she do next? Philip must be told that she had been followed to Fenny’s house. It was no longer safe for them to stay there even a few hours more. They must leave at once. Staunton had recognised her, she knew that already and he must have sent Mr. Charville to find out more. Perhaps he was having her aunt’s house watched, hoping to speak to her or find out where she went. Stupidly, she had led him directly to the place where Celia was staying. She must warn Philip, at once!

  Forgetting Sarah’s presence she cried,

  “Oh! I must go back…”

  Horror made her careless. Without thinking, she stepped into the roadway with the intention of summoning a hack. A fleeting glimpse of horses, trotting fast and then she remembered nothing more.

  Alice’s eyes fluttered open. Dim light filtered through her curtains. Her aunt sat beside her and a strange man bent over her holding a glass tube to her nose. The fumes went up her nostrils and she sneezed violently.

  “Oh my head!” Alice wanted to scream with the pain but only a murmur actually escaped her lips.

  “Do you remember what happened to you, Lady Alice?” the strange man asked.

  Alic
e frowned, trying to make sense through the thudding in her brain. “Not really… horses. I remember horses.”

  “That’s right. You stepped out into the road in front of a phaeton which knocked you down. Good. Now you must lie still and not worry about anything. You have sustained a blow to the temple so you need to rest.”

  “But there is something I have to do…” The effort of remembering made Alice’s head hurt even more.

  “One of us can do it for you,” Lady Mary said. “Do you remember what it is?”

  “No, I can’t.”

  “Don’t try, Lady Alice. You should go to sleep. You’ll remember what is troubling you eventually, I’m sure. Come now, my lady, drink this down.” The doctor held a glass of white liquid to her lips. Alice obediently drank it, although she nearly gagged at the bitter taste. Soon afterwards, her eyelids felt heavy and closed.

  When she woke again, the room was dark save for a soft glow from a lamp on a table by the window. No one was with her, but Alice distinctly remembered that the click of her door had woken her up. Someone had just gone out. The pain in her head seemed a little better and something within her made her realise that she needed to think hard. She had had an accident; the doctor had said so. Horses and a carriage, driving fast towards her. Images formed in her mind, Fenny’s face, Sarah’s and Philip’s, Mr. Charville’s. She sat bolt upright. That was what she had forgotten! Staunton knew by now that she had visited Fenny but Philip did not know that she had been followed! Oh what time was it? She fumbled with her small repeater clock and pulled the chord. She counted the strokes. It was past midnight but not yet the half hour. What time had she been injured? She had visited Fenny after breakfast and she had intended to return in time for lunch. She groaned. Almost twelve hours had passed while she lay unconscious. It might already be too late. Anything could have happened. She had to find out. She threw back the covers and her head started to swim. She forced herself to stand up, clinging to the bedpost as the room swayed. She waited a few moments until everything steadied. Then she went to the fireplace and lit a taper from the glowing embers. As the candle flared, she looked around. Sarah had undressed her and tidied her clothes away. She was wearing her nightdress. Alice went to the wardrobe and found the dress, pelisse and bonnet she had worn the night she had helped to rescue Celia. They were the warmest that she possessed and the least conspicuous as well. She trembled, but she knew it was not with the cold. Could she really do this? She had never been out alone at night and there were terrible tales told about London streets and alleyways. Anything could happen to her. Then she thought about Philip and Celia. If she did not go and Staunton found them, she would not forgive herself. She gritted her teeth and put some small coins into her reticule. She would take a hack if she could find one.

  Don’t be so fainthearted, she told herself. Philip would do anything for you. Yes but he is a man not a woman. He does things I can’t. So you will be happy to watch him hang or rot in prison? the voice in her head sneered. Alice knew she must at least try. Resolutely she went to the door and turned the knob. She looked out into the corridor. A pair of candles stood burning on a table but no one was around. I’ve left the house in the night once before, so I can do again. But Philip was waiting for me then… Now! Do it!

  Alice stepped out into the corridor, closing her door behind her. She edged along the wall, avoiding the creaking boards. This time, she was not as steady on her feet. She was passing an alcove which held a table with a vase on the top. She swayed, caught the table with her side and the vase came crashing down. For a second Alice stood there in horror, knowing that someone would certainly be woken by the noise. Then she picked up her skirts and ran. She flew through the baize partition, down the stairs and into the kitchen. She found the key, turned it in the lock and pulled the bolts. All the while she expected to feel a hand upon her shoulder, stopping her. It did not happen. She opened the back door, fled through the yard and down the alleyway. She bumped into obstacles, touching the walls for support until she was out into the street that crossed her aunt’s road.

  She was never sure in which direction she went, only that the streets were lighted and that there were carriages about. A hack was discharging its passengers outside one of the houses. She rushed up to it before it could move off.

  “Can you take me to Granville Place near Portman Square, if you please?” she gasped.

  The driver stared at her with astonishment. Then he looked her up and down, turned his head away and was about to flick his reins when Alice caught at them.

  “Get off them reins, missy,” the driver growled at her.

  “Please, please, take me to Granville Place. My mother is very ill and I must go to her.” Alice did not need to feign the tears trickling down her cheeks.

  “Are you running away from home?” the driver asked suspiciously. “Is the Watch after you?”

  “Oh indeed I am not!”

  At that moment a group of men walked by. Seeing Alice, they started to shout at her, making demands which she heard but could not understand. They began to come closer.

  “I can pay you,” she shouted at the driver.

  “Show me.”

  Having no idea of the cost of a journey to Granville Place, Alice poured all her coins into his open hand. She saw his eyes widen in surprise and realised she must have given him far more than his usual fare. His fingers closed quickly over the money. He swung open the door of the hack and said,

  “Get in.”

  Hurriedly she scrambled into the carriage. The horse was whipped up and they trotted off.

  Meanwhile, unknown to Alice, the falling vase and her running footsteps had indeed been heard in Lady Maitland’s house. Kitty put her head out of her room in time to see Alice’s retreating back. She ran out into the corridor and through the baize door but by that time, Alice had vanished. Realising she had on only her nightgown, Kitty retreated to her bedroom, only to meet her mother coming towards her. Lady Mary was frowning and held a poker clutched in her hand.

  “Kitty, what in the world is happening?” Lady Mary asked.

  “I don’t know, Mama,” Kitty replied, wondering what her cousin was doing but not wanting to give her away. She was also not certain it was, in fact, Alice, but if not, who was it? “Someone knocked over this vase and woke me up.”

  “What were you doing in the servants’ quarters?”

  “A figure ran through the baize door so I followed them. They went down the back stairs.”

  Lady Mary turned pale. “Whatever next! And you ran after them! They could have done you a terrible mischief.”

  “I never thought of that. I’m sorry, Mama.”

  By this time they had been joined by Lizzie, Miss Dunstan, the children’s governess, and several servants including Lady Mary’s maid.

  “What are you thinking about to give your mother such a fright, Miss Kitty? Come along, my lady. Sit down in your room and I will fetch you some hot milk to sooth your nerves.” Jane, the maid, took the poker from her mistress’s hand and looked at it with horror.

  “No Jane, you mustn’t go down into the kitchen. The intruder went that way. If they are still down there, they might hurt you. Tell her, Kitty.”

  All eyes swung around to Kitty. The butler, Reynolds, had arrived by this time, wrapped in a colourful dressing gown.

  “What happened, Miss Kitty?” he asked.

  “I heard a noise outside my door. A heavy crash and then the sound of running feet. When I looked out into the corridor, I saw someone running away.”

  “What’s going on? Reynolds?”

  They all swung around. Edward stood there, still wearing his driving coat, as if he had just this moment entered the house. He held a branch of candles in his hand and had a frown on his face.

  “There has been an intruder, Sir Edward.”

  “Indeed? Tell me.”

  “I have only just arrived, sir. Miss Kitty was here before me.”

  “Kitty?”

  K
itty told her story once again.

  “Was this figure a man or a woman, Kitty?”

  “A woman.”

  “She departed down the backstairs, you say? Reynolds, James, come with me. The rest of you wait here.”

  Edward hurried along the corridor and threw open the baize door. He ran down the stairs. The disorder in the kitchen was immediately apparent. They ran out through the yard and out the gate. Edward directed the butler and James to go in one direction while he went in the other. He quickly realised that the intruder had escaped and retraced his steps into the house. Once he reached the bedroom area, he ordered a search of the premises and then for everybody to gather in the hall.

  A short time later, the family and staff were assembled. Lady Mary and her daughters sat on one of the benches while the others stood around waiting. Edward climbed up a few stairs, turned and asked,

  “Are we all here?”

  Reynolds cleared his throat.

  “I am sorry, Sir Edward. Lady Alice is not in her room. The rest of us are present.”

  “Where is she, Sarah?”

  “Indeed, sir, she was in bed and fast asleep when I left her.” The maid stuttered through her tears. Kitty thought that Edward sounded furious with her.

  “Mama, Kitty, Lizzie, Sarah, please go into the library and wait for me. Jane if you would be so kind as to fetch a drink for your mistress.”

  “The rest of you,” he said once the family and Sarah had gone, “I want you to search the house. Find out if there is anyone here who should not be or anything that is out of place or missing. Reynolds, examine all the doors and the locks. Have any of them been tampered with or the windows broken? Bring me the information when you have finished.”

  “Should I have James or Paul check outside, sir?” Reynolds asked.

  “Not yet. No need to publicise this event if we do not need to.”

  He turned and strode into the library. Lady Mary sat beside the fire looking tired and strained. Her maid, Jane, hovered around her. The girls were sitting awkwardly on the sofa, holding hands.

  “Where can she have got to at this hour, Edward? Are you sure she is not here?”