“Jacob—” Unity began to address him, but then Grigson interrupted, entering the room briskly and presenting Edmund with a sealed note on a silver tray.
“An express message, Your Grace. It arrived this very minute. No answer was expected.”
“An express?” Edmund muttered, breaking the seal as Grigson left the room. He looked at the handwriting. “It’s from none of the Arnolds.”
Jacob and Unity watched expectantly as he read, his green eyes opening wide and then narrowing again.
“You’d better read it yourselves,” he said, tossing it on the table with some agitation. “Lady Birks has escaped.”
ChapterTwenty-Two
Sophia and Beatrice had risen and breakfasted early so that they might ride together in Hyde Park before the crowds came out. Edmund ate together with his mother, glad that he didn’t have to hide his concern before his sisters.
“As Mr. Langford said in his letter, Lady Birks is an older lady, alone and without access to any money, clothing, or transport. How far could she realistically get by herself?” he thought aloud as he chewed a piece of toasted fruitcake. Unity drank the last of her tea thoughtfully.
“Not far, in my view. She has probably found a local bolt hole and is hiding out there, hoping that she remains out of view until people begin to forget her. Perhaps she’s with a former servant or a tradesperson who remembers her fondly from years ago and knows little of what has recently transpired.”
“But the woman is still mad.” Edmund sighed and shook his head. “You should have seen her face, Mother, her eyes when she realized she’d failed to poison Diana… I can’t forget that expression or the intensity of her hate. If the guards Mr. Langford employed had seen that expression, they would have been more careful when transferring her to Dr. Britten’s mental institution.”
Finished with her breakfast and risen from the table, Unity put her arms briefly around her son’s neck when she passed his chair and kissed his hair lightly.
“Don’t dwell on it, Edmund,” she advised him. “All the constables in the local area have been alerted, and I’m sure they’ll find her again soon. When they do, they won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“You’re right, Mother. Still, I must make sure that Mr. Langford’s message reaches the Arnolds too as soon as they arrive in London. They’ve been traveling slowly because of Lord Templeton’s health and had already left Fernside by the time Lady Birks escaped.”
“It will be another shock for all of them, I fear. As we’re planning to have Beatrice with us when we call later today, I suggest that I go a little earlier and speak to Esther alone to make sure that your note has been read. She will know best how to tell her husband and Kitty.”
“They must take some basic precautions even if the chances of Lady Birks reaching London are small,” Edmund warned, his brow wrinkling again.
Unity nodded her agreement and left to prepare for her various morning calls.
* * *
“Oh my!” Diana exclaimed, looking up from the thick pile of cards and programs on the coffee table in her family’s drawing room with astonishment in her wide hazel eyes. “There’s so many. I didn’t remember there being quite so many events.”
“You’re coming to Lady Alton’s ball, too,” Beatrice added, bouncing a little on the sofa beside her with glee, seeming younger than her eighteen years and far more girlish than Diana. “I’m so glad. I thought I wouldn’t know anyone there and would have to spend the whole evening with Edmund. He is good company, of course, but he is still my brother.”
“I will lend you my brother Percy, if needs be, if you will lend me Edmund for a dance or two,” Diana said with a twinkle in her eye. “I’m sure that neither of them will complain.”
Edmund gave them a short bow of acquiescence from where he stood beside the fireplace, meeting Diana’s eyes briefly and knowingly as he rose.
As was arranged between Esther and Unity, the Turner family was the first to call on the Arnolds that day. There were many arrangements to be finalized for the Season. Lord Templeton remained in bed to recover from the long journey, and Percy was meeting his father’s agent in his stead.
Edmund leaned against the mantelpiece, watching Diana’s small but capable hands at work with the cards. His nagging worry over Lady Birks’s escape was temporarily put aside as he watched the successive expressions of pleasure chasing across Diana’s face. She was radiant today with a glow as intense as when she lay naked with him on the forest floor, seeming to draw him closer with each gasping breath.
Diana had clearly taken the message about Lady Birks well. When Edmund arrived with Beatrice and the family clustered around to welcome them, she only pressed his arm and whispered briefly in his ear that they would find her soon.
Then, with a knowing glance at Beatrice, she fell back, and her voice took up the normal register for a social call with family friends.
Lady Templeton and the Dowager Duchess both smiled at Diana indulgently as she sifted excitedly through the various invitation cards, showing some to Beatrice and setting others aside for particular consideration later.
Her clear delight over the invitations felt like ample reward to Edmund for the efforts he and Jacob had made on her behalf and Kitty’s. With her father’s health improving every day, her betrothal to the man she loved, and her season about to begin, Diana seemed brimming over with joy.
“You’re invited to many of the same events too, Kitty, apart from those for girls in their first season,” Unity said to the dark-haired young woman sitting quietly in the corner, trying to draw her into the conversation and fun.
“You’ve been very kind,” Kitty murmured, a slight wobble in her voice. “Everyone has been so exceedingly kind to me. Do excuse me for a moment. I will ask the servants to bring more tea.”
She left the room as unobtrusively as she could, Edmund guessing that recent traumas and the news of her mother’s escape both affected her more than she cared to reveal.