Clarendon Estate (The Sinclair Society Series, #3) by Swafford Bethany

Author:Swafford, Bethany
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regency mystery, historical mystery series
Publisher: Lilac Petal Press
Published: 2021-06-27T16:00:00+00:00

NO MORE THAN A HALF hour later, Lady Leith entered. “I have torn my hem, Nelson,” she said with a raised voice. She closed the door behind her and her expression shifted to one of concern. “Juliet, what has happened? I have never seen you look so pale.”

“The cipher is gone.”

Her eyes widened. “What? How? You keep your door locked, do you not?”

“I do, but there was another key. My father’s watch had been moved. I could smell perfume as soon as I stepped into my room. When I opened the book of sonnets where I kept the cipher , it was gone.” Habit made me go to the wardrobe to find a replacement gown for her. We had a pretence to maintain.

Lady Leith groaned. “Who would have done such a thing?”

“I am certain it was Miss Hanson. Fanny told me the dowager’s maid has been poking about the maids’ rooms, no doubt making sure which was mine,” I said. Selecting a pale yellow gown, I held it up for her approval. “She also said something to me earlier, which made me uneasy.”

She gave a nod without giving the gown more than a brief glance. “What did she say?”

As I helped her out of her dress, I explained how Miss Hanson had approached me and the things she had said. I’d momentarily considered sparing Lady Leith from the maid’s ruder comments, but I was too angry to censor myself. It was no doubt best that she knew what we were dealing with.

“This is outside of enough,” Lady Leith said, her eyes sparking with anger. “I shall have the Dowager House opened up immediately. I won’t even ask the dowager whether she is ready for the change. It shall be presented as inevitable.”

“How will we get the cipher back?” I was more than ready to have the dowager and her maid far from us, but the cipher was irreplaceable.

“As you said, there are only two people Miss Hanson could have given the cipher,” Lady Leith said as I buttoned up the back of the yellow dress. “I’m sure I can think of a way to get both of them to return the cipher.”

“How?” Both the dowager and Mr. Stone had shown they were not reasonable when it came to dealing with Celia.

“At dinner, I will simply announce that I left a puzzle in one of the books and now it is missing.”

Could such a simple approach really work? “You think whoever has it will give it up, just like that?”

“At the very least, Mr. Stone will know the cipher was not of your doing even though it was found in your room.” Lady Leith caught my hand. “When my husband returns, I’m going to insist Mr. Stone be replaced or be sent to Horace’s small estate in the north. He is causing unnecessary trouble.”

Her determination made me smile. “The mistress has made her decision.”

“I will not allow my children to be raised in an environment where I am not respected as the mistress of the house,” she said fiercely.

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