“Oh, she’s moping around somewhere,” Andrew noted, less angry than his mother and more worried by her volatile mood. “Go find her if you like. It means nothing to me.”
Diana opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. She didn’t have to go far to find Kitty, who had come down from her room and sat at the bottom of the stairs crying silently.
“How’s Percy?” Kitty asked.
“Much improved,” Diana answered. “I assume you’ve heard that I won’t be marrying Andrew.”
Kitty nodded, red-eyed and puffy with weeping.
“I do understand, you know, but don’t judge him too harshly. He’s never been good with money. Or people. Or pretty much anything else. But Mother always pretends the opposite. Things aren’t always what they seem, are they?”
Lady Birks stuck her head out from the library.
“Kitty? Come and sit with me in here, please. You’re not a child to sulk alone on the stairs.”
“Yes, Mother,” Kitty said dutifully, wiping her eyes again.
Diana hugged her impulsively, and Kitty returned her embrace for a moment before obeying her mother’s order. They both returned to the library.
“Kitty, as you’ve probably detected from your ill-mannered eavesdropping out there, Diana is jilting poor Andrew and abandoning our entire family in our darkest hour,” Lady Birks explained dramatically. “This is the last time you’re likely to see one another. I hope that one day we can all find it in our hearts to forgive this young woman, but it will not be easy.”
“Are we poor now?” Kitty asked. “I heard what you were all saying about money. Will we have to give up Hayward House?”
“Andrew will make it all right,” Lady Birks said confidently. “He has a brilliant career ahead of him. By this time next year, with his skills and contacts, he’ll be sailing ahead again, even without Lady Diana.”
“Mother,” Andrew growled, instinctively reaching out for the drinks cabinet door again and rattling it with annoyance when he found it locked.
“Well, you will, darling boy. No one is going to get in your way, not Allerton, not the constables and certainly not Lady Diana Arnold!”
“Please don’t carry on like this, Mother,” Kitty begged, breaking down in a new flood of tears. “It isn’t fair to Andrew if he’s not who you want him to be. It doesn’t help anyone to pretend he’s someone he’s not. We need to help him in other ways.”
“I don’t need your help, Kitty,” Andrew sneered. “Although you’re right that I wish Mater would stop talking so much and just give me back the key to my own damned drinks cabinet.”
“Enough!” Lady Birks snapped at her children, and the room fell silent. In the hush, everyone heard the sound of a commotion outside.
“What’s going on out there?” Andrew asked with further irritation. “I thought they’d have Allerton halfway to town by now. Infernal man. I don’t know why we ever hired him. These constables are right that he’s never done a damned thing for the gardens, as far as I can see.”
“As if you’ve ever paid the slightest attention to the state of the gardens, Andrew,” his mother said dismissively. “We hired Allerton because he was cheap if you recall, less than half the price of the agency men we were offered. As these gentlemen today have so crudely and unnecessarily brought into light, we’ve been under a great deal of financial pressure.”
“I’m sorry, Mother,” Andrew mumbled dejectedly.
“So, our only option for a gardener and odd jobs man was Allerton. I’ve taken on a great deal on your behalf, Andrew. Without a wife to support you.” Henrietta paused and shot an accusing glance at Diana before continuing, “Be assured that I will continue to act in your best interests.”
“Yes, Mater…”
Over the course of the morning, Diana had become more and more struck by Andrew’s weakness. She had come to Hayward House prepared to face down an evil villain but found herself feeling only contempt and even pity for a hollow man who was prey to his own vices. The idea of Andrew deliberately planning Percy’s murder felt somewhat ridiculous. She wondered if it had been a drunken misunderstanding.
The raised voices outside suddenly sounded even louder and closer.
“Ask her yourselves, ask Lady Birks!” They all heard the gardener shouting angrily.
Henrietta’s face turned bright red as she went to the window to see what was happening. Edmund and Mr. Langford followed, looking over her shoulder.
On the driveway, beside one of the flower beds, Allerton stood restrained between two of the hired men while Mr. Burnham stood before him, asking questions in a low voice
“I don’t bloody know why. I don’t ask those questions. That’s the family’s own business,” Allerton shouted in answer to whatever had been asked of him. “Ask her!”
Pulling back the curtain and pushing up the sash angrily, Lady Birks stuck her head out of the window.