To Save a Lady Read online

  To Save a Lady

  By Lindsay Downs

  Published by TouchPoint Romance

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are

  fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and

  persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks,

  service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be

  the property of their respective owners, and are used only for

  reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are

  used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in

  whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a

  copyright violation.

  TO SAVE A LADY

  Copyright © 2017 LINDSAY DOWNS

  Cover Art Designed by Heidi Sieverding

  To the brave women and men of the US Armed forces

  Chapter One

  London May 1835- St. James Palace

  After being presented at court, Lady Jolene Markson, eldest daughter to the new Earl and Countess of Hampshire, carefully backedout of the Throne Room. Once at the door, she turned and started for her mother when a maid stepped up.

  “Yes, may I help you?” Jolene asked.

  “M’ lady, I was directed to tell you congratulations on a successful presentation, then give you this.”

  Jolene glanced down at the piece of foolscap closed by a plain wax seal which didn’t register, but the handwriting did. The note was from her dear friend Vikki. Accepting the sheet, she slipped it into her reticule then with a nod swept up to her mother.

  “What was that about,” Kristina inquired.

  “If you don’t mind, Mother, I’d rather explain once we are in the carriage. There are too many ears around. I would also like to return to the townhouse and get these horrible feathers out of my hair,” she whispered.

  She followed her mother out and to the Hampshire coach. Helped in by a footman, after the countess, Jolene waited until they were on their way back home before speaking.

  “It is a note from Victoria. I suspected something was up, and now she’s reaching out to me. When I saw her, standing beside the queen, take a half-step back then smile, I knew it would be today. When, where, and how, on that I wasn’t sure of until the maid approached and handed me the note.”

  Taking it out of her reticule, Jolene read it.

  Jolene,

  I, or rather, my friend needs your help. Please come to 22 Brompton Road tomorrow at two.

  Send your reply in the usual way.

  Enjoy your ball tonight, and send my love to your parents.

  Vikki

  She handed it to her mother and waited for her to finish. What Jolene found interesting was thatthe princess was cryptic which always added to the intrigue of the case.

  When she took it back, she folded and returned it to her reticule before turning, again, to her mother.

  “As you noticed, I’m out tomorrow. I do hope there aren’t too many visitors.”

  “If there are, daughter, I will tell them you are resting,sinceyou will be attending the Watson ball later. Let me ask you this, do you have any idea what she wishes of you?”

  Carefully, Jolene thought back over the past several days, in particular the articlesin The Times. At first nothing came to mind, then she recalled a few lines regarding a murder. She was about to say something when the coach came to a halt and the door was opened by none other than her father.

  “Welcome home, Lady Jolene,” he teased then gave her a sweeping bow before handing out his wife then her.

  “Thank you, Lord Hampshire. May I have a few private moments of your time with Mother?”

  “Yes, but first get those ridiculous feathers out of your hair, and that is the last time I ever want to view any part of a bird there.”

  Escorted into the townhouse, Jolene separated from her parents and swept up to her suite to be met by her maid.

  “Emmy, get these things out of my hair, then make sure the pink ball gown is set for tonight. After speaking with the earl and countess I’m going to nap.”

  “Yes, m’ lady, and welcome home.”

  Taking a seat at her dressing table, Jolene waited for her hair to be repaired then stood and made for her father’s office. At the door, she knocked and waited for admittance then took a seat on one of several settees, this one happened to be shared by her mother.

  “Have you told Father?”

  “No, I thought it best come from you, my dear.”

  “Are you sure?After all, wasn’t it from you and he that I developed the talent.”

  “That’s so true.”

  “Would you ladies please stop. You’re making me crazy.Tell me, what is so important?”

  “Oh Father, you’re no fun. Anyways, it would appear Victoria has the needs of my talents in solving the unsolvable. What she wishes me to do I’m not sure, but it might have something to do with a murder several days ago. That’s the only occurrence which would have her wishing to speak to me about.”

  “What would you like or need from us?”

  “As of the present, I’m not sure, but when I meet with her tomorrow afternoon I should learn more. At that time,you both might need to call on certain people, who I’m not aware of, to discover what they might find.”

  “Would you mind if we contacted your uncle Ethan?” Robert said.

  “Not until I know more about the case. If you’ll excuse me, as promised, I’m going to read for a few minutes then nap as tonight will be long.”

  With that, she swept from the office and up to her suite. Stepping in, she waited for Emmy to help her from the gown. In a bathrobe, she took a seat at the dressing table and suffered in silence while her hair was taken down. That done, finally, Jolene picked up her journal and entered the events of the day. In a secret code, that she had devised, she made mention of the note she had been given. Then she selected a book and retired to her bed but stopped before crawling under the covers and turned to her maid.

  “I need you to find The Times from two days ago.”

  “Yes, m’ lady, if you promise while I’m gone you’ll read for only a few minutes then close your eyes.”

  “I do. Now be off with you.”

  Once alone, except for Samson, her collie after Beau had passed, Jolene crawled between the sheets and started reading. After a few pages her lids drooped and the words on the page blurred.

  Sometime later, she wasn’t sure when until the hall clock struckfive times, Jolene woke, closed her eyes then opened them. The sight hadn’t changed. A black nose and the tip of a pink tongue. Past them, two black eyes which appeared to smile back at her.

  “May I get up?”

  “Woof.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” she informed the fur ball then tossed off the covers and slipped from the bed. She laughed when he replaced her and with his teeth dragged the sheets over himself.

  “You are such a brat, and you’d best be careful if Emmy finds you there.”

  “I already have and give up as he possesses a stubborn streak. Very similar to a certain young lady who shall remain nameless,” Emmy uttered from the door.

  “Then do you have a recommendation on how to stop Samson from sleeping in my bed?”

  “No. Him doing it shows he loves you as the marquis does,” Emmy answered.

  Jolene groaned while glaring at Emmy. “How many times have I told you not to say that horrid man’s name. Without a doubt, he is the most impossible, overbearing, demanding gentleman, even worse than father, I’ve ever had the misery to meet.”

  Much to her pleasure, Emmy didn’t say anything and insteadopened the door wide to allow several footmen to enter carryi
ng buckets of hot water. Once the bath was set, Jolene selected a rose scent to add fragrance to the water, thus her skin and hair.

  As she lounged in the comforting bathwater, her mind drifted back to the last time she’d attended a ball at her parents’ townhouse. She’dbeen about eight years old, and they had held the most unusual of balls. Not for adults but for the children of peers. Theevent had caused a huge stir within the ton, but they hadn’t cared. Especially when the Duke and Duchess of Clarion had publicly endorsed the event. It was there that she had first met the Marquis of Lange.

  They had shared several dances, including a waltz. It was then she found being heldproperly in a young gentleman’s arms wasn’t all that horrific. Over the preceding years, they had met at select social engagements and the beginnings of a possible tender had started to develop. At least from her point. For him, that was another matter if the broadsheets of late were correct.

  The thought of the newspaper reminded her of the errand she’dsent her maid on before falling asleep.

  “Emmy, come here,” Jolene called out.

  “M’ lady? Are you ready for me to help wash your hair?”

  “I am, but first were you able to hunt down The Times?”

  “Yes, I was able to and found the story you wish to read.”

  That was one of many things she loved about her maid. The woman was able to read her mistress and find or answer a question before it was asked.

  “What did it say? Anything of interest?”

  “Only that the body of a young man had been found with a knife in his chest by The Thames.The Met Police Service had no suspects but were continuing their investigation.”

  Jolene stroked her chin in thought about what she had just learned about the killing. She suspected the murderer had to be a man as a woman wouldn’t have had the strength, for the most part, to use such a weapon. If she didn’t miss her guess, and she rarely did, having learned the ins and outs of the minds of the police from her parents, the police would attempt to blame a woman. Most likely a scorned lover. Setting those thoughts aside she started, with Emmy’s able assistance to wash her hair.

  Later, sitting in her undergarments and bathrobe at the dressing table, Jolene waited as Emmy, for the second time that day, created a miracle with her hair. This time, instead of those horrid feathers, there were three pink roses. Where they had come from she didn’t ask. After it was set, she stood, slipped off the robe, and stepped into the gown. Once the tiny buttons were fastened up the back, she stepped back over to the table and her jewelry box. Rifling through it, she tried to find the perfect necklace which would complement the dress. A knock on her suite door interrupted the search.

  “Come in,” she called out, then glanced over as her mother sweptin, a long,dark-green box held in her hands.

  “Darling, your father and I are so happy you chose that ball gown.”

  Jolene waited while her mother opened the box revealing a pink diamond necklace with matching earrings. She gasped.

  “Oh mother, they are so beautiful. Help me put them on.”

  Now bejeweled, she slipped on her white, ending at the elbow, gloves then hadEmmy fasten the tiny buttons at the wrists. After a final glance in the mirror, she turned to her mother.

  “Shall we greet the guests? I do hope The Duke and Duchess of Clarion will be attending, at least the dinner.”

  Considering their advanced age and that the duke was confined to a bath chair from a riding fall, they seldom went out but did receive visitors. Her, as they were her godparents, especially. Accepting her mother’s arm, she swept out and down to the formal parlor then waited while her parents were announced, then she.

  Chapter Two

  Glancing out the window of her carriage at the people as they strolled along the sidewalk, Jolene thought about what secrets they were keeping. She suspected many. Especially the ladies who refused to glance or converse with the gentleman at her side or even gaze into their eyes while talking. Had the lady overspent her pin money? Or, had she taken a lover because her husband no longer paid her attention? These thoughts and others slipped into Jolene’s mind only to be replaced by wondering what Vikki wished of her.

  Even at the ball last eve, given by her parents in her honor of having been presented to court, she overheard a few juicy tidbits. At least with one she shouldn’t have as it caused her to blush brightly. Jolene turned her attention to her younger brother who was acting as chaperone, not that she needed one but her father had insisted, then down to Samson.

  “Ready for another adventure?”

  “Woof.”

  “Sister, you aren’t going to get into trouble, are you?”

  She was more than aware of what he was talking about. Her last case. An earl had come to seek her help as his three-and-ten-year-old daughter had disappeared. On questioning the peer, in the presence of her father, Jolene had learned the girl had taken an interest in a young man from North Africa, a Berber. Almost immediately, her thoughts turned to white slavery. When the earl had left, she told her father what her first thoughts were,and he’d agreed with her.

  Within days, and lots of walking about some of the less desirable parts of London, with Samson at her side, she had found the house, or a better description would have been hovel, where the daughter along with several other girls were being kept. When she heard the man talking to someone, she learned the ship would be sailing within the hour. With no time to get aid, Jolene had waited until the procurer had departed, or so she’d thought, then she slipped in. She had started to free the young girls when the man returned. Captured, she was sure her fate was sealed when Samson led her brother and Brendon in.

  After the man was secured, she learned from Brendon he and her brother had been directed by her father to follow her from a distance. It had been her collie who’d come to get them, thus saving her. That had explained where Samson had disappeared to at the most dangerous, for her, time. From then on, she’d promised her parents to always have one or both young men with her.

  “That,Brother,I won’t be able to answer until I learn what Vikki wishes me to do. It could be something simple, such as taking a note to someone, or it could be to find a murderer.”

  If she didn’t miss her guess, her friend would wish her to solve the second one. Everything about the posting in The Timesappeared to be weak. From previous experience, the Met Police were excellent at their job but to make the public aware they didn’t have a suspect, to Jolene,made no sense at all.

  Much to her relief, the carriage came to a stop, and a footman opened the door then handed her out. Not even bothering to glance back, she said, “Samson, come.” In a heartbeat, he was at her side, and together they climbed the stairs of a simple while modestly elegant house. The door opened, and she led her collie in.

  “Good afternoon, Jones. How’s the arthritis?”

  “And to you, Jolene. Tomorrow you might need your umbrella as my knees are telling it’s going to rain,” the old man and part-time butler, if that’s what he actually was, said. Jolene had suspected there was more to him than presented but stayed her curiosity. Then there was the fact he used her Christian name. Considering where she was, why and who she was about to meet, that was normal.

  “Thank you for the warning.”

  “She is in the back parlor.”

  Without another word, Jolene walked down the corridor until she came to the sitting room. Stepping in, she smiled then dropped her hand and patted Samson’s head.

  “Vikki, what may I do for you?”

  As in the past, there was no small talk. Straight to business.

  “I’m sure you saw the tiny story the other day in The Times regarding a body found along The Thames.”

  “The one where a knife was in his chest?If that’s the one, I assure you, no lady, no matter what their class, could or would do that.”

  “Why do you say that and with such conviction?”

  “To begin with, women tend to use a poison of some kind. Even a t
art wouldn’t wish to get her hands, much less clothes, dirty from the blood. Which, I might add, will spurt out especially if the knife strikes the heart or an artery. Choking would be another option, but she would run the risk of being overpowered by the man.”

  “What if she found out the man, her love, was cheating on her?”

  “I stand by my words with a codicil. If she had a way to obtain a pistol, she might shoot him and not in the chest but someplace lower.”

  From the shocked expression on her friend’s face, Jolene suspected she knew were the ball would end up. After a moment, Vikki collected herself.

  “Then, my dear, you are the perfect person to prove my friend is innocent of murdering the man. The authorities haven’t said, but they believe Julie Patrick is the murderer of Jack Cooper.”

  “How do you know the girl? And where is she now?”

  “Her mother is on my personal staff, and she works in the kitchen. When I learned of a fight between Julie and Jack I knew they needed to be separated so I dispatched her to Windsor Castle with instructions to remain there until sent for.”

  “And I have only arrived back in London a short while ago.” Jolene heard from behind her. Even Samson didn’t react to the entrance of a stranger. To Jolene this was an excellent sign.

  “Step farther into the parlor and pat my collie on the head, then let him sniff you. Only then, if he doesn’t growl or snap have a seat across from me,” Jolene ordered without glancing at the girl while earning a smile from Vikki.

  Nota single snarl but only panting from Samson was a good sign for Jolene and told her the girl was innocent. Now, she had to prove it, while keeping the Met Police from taking the poor girl into custody. She waited until the young ladytook the seat as directed.

  Jolene then took a page from her uncle’s book on interrogating someone. Carefully, in silence she studied Julie. How she sat? Straight as one should or slumped in the chair?What did she do with her hands? Hold them calmly in her lap or wring them?Then, maybe and perhaps more importantly, did the girl meet her gaze or peer to the floor? Individually and together they would and could tell her more about the girl than any answer to a question.