An Audacious Woman: A Historical Romance Mystery (Tabitha & Wolf Historical Mystery Series Book 5) by Sarah F. Noel

Author:Sarah F. Noel [Noel, Sarah F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Tuesday, October 31, 1897

The following morning, the dowager rose, dressed, and went down to find some breakfast with an air of despondency. She sat at the kitchen table, eating the toast and jam the accommodating cook had made for her, considering her options. The dowager thought of Tabitha’s corkboard with its notecards and wished she could employ such a mechanism now. But this wasn’t her house, and she had already caused suspicion. It was too dangerous to leave any evidence of her investigation around. And so, instead, she considered what she knew so far. And the answer was: not very much.

There was no doubt that Margery Sharpe was missing. But beyond that, everything else was speculation. It was still possible that the woman had merely gone to stay in the country. There was no doubt that her relationship with her twin sister was cool enough that it was highly unlikely that Vicky Sharpe would have been alerted to such a trip.

Then, the dowager considered the Ladies of KB. Not that the dowager had much experience of such things herself, but if she had to put a label to the relationship they seemed to have with each other it would be that they were all friends. But they were also all busy businesswomen, running their own establishments. She had found no evidence that they ever met between their monthly get-togethers. Would Margery have sent word to one of them? Particularly if she suspected she would be missing one of the luncheons. Maybe. However, as the ladies had explained their meetings, they set a date and place for the following one, and then whoever was available just showed up. So, it was unlikely any of them would have been worried if Margery didn’t attend one.

As far as she could tell, Lou acted as a right-hand woman and confidante, so it was suspicious that she hadn’t been warned and asked to manage the brothel in Margery’s absence. But then, the dowager had left her home and not bothered to alert her servants as to her whereabouts. No, as far as the dowager could see, while it was certainly possible that some harm had come to Margery Sharpe, it was far from a given.

Considering the brothel and, more to the point, its partner gaming rooms, the dowager had a strong suspicion that something questionable was taking place. But she had no proof of this. A locked drawer and some vague threats from The Rascal hardly constituted damning evidence. It was clear that he didn’t like the dowager. Perhaps, The Rascal’s threatening attitude towards her was nothing more than a manifestation of those two things. Even if something nefarious was going on, what did that have to do with Margery Sharpe's supposed disappearance? After all, she was a partner in this venture. Presumably, she was party to whatever might be going on there. Or was she? Perhaps Margery had become suspicious of shadier activities than gaming, asked too many questions, and finally, been permanently silenced.

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