“Dorrie—”
“I’m not angry you’re married, Somer, but I was alone at a ball, and so was Ellen.”
Somer looked close to tears.
“Stop.” Dorrie held up a hand. “I am not saying this to make you cry. It is a fact. You are married, and your husband should be the most important person to you. Ellen is nice, and things in her life are imploding, so we started talking, as she knew we ran this business.” Dorrie waved a hand.
“And she needs our help?” Warwick asked.
“She does, and you will both show her respect. There will be no snide looks and comments.”
She leveled her siblings with a look. They both nodded solemnly.
“That night I told Dev I was out investigating a case, it was for Ellen.”
“You never gave us a name no matter how much we pushed. Now I know why,” Warwick said.
Dorrie said nothing further and went to the door to invite Ellen in.
She was like Samantha: elegant and pretty. Everything she wore looked wonderful on her, and today’s cream dress was no exception. Lace was stitched down the front in two lines, and she wore a cape the color of old gold tied at her neck. A band of matching gold was tied in a bow under her bodice. Her shoes matched, as did her bonnet. Her hair was a dark blonde, and her eyes blue.
“Please take a seat, Ellen.” Dorrie waved her into the chair before her desk. “Of course you know my siblings.”
Warwick bowed and Somer curtsied; they then drew their chairs closer to Dorrie’s desk.
“I trust my siblings implicitly, Ellen. Anything you say in this room will not be shared. Your being here when we arrived tells me you want them included in the investigation I began?”
“Thank you, yes.” Even her voice was different out of the eyes of society. Like many women, she put on an act. “I really don’t know where else to turn. I am quite desperate, and I know coming here is taking a risk, but I feel I can trust you.” Her eyes moved from Dorrie to Somer, and then Warwick. “I am also aware that this is possibly a fruitless endeavor as my father can do as he wishes with his money and possessions. But I must at least try.”
“I understand that we have not always been friends, and that is my fault,” Ellen said, looking at Somer.
“We all put on a façade when we leave the house, Ellen,” Somer said. “I hope you don’t mind me calling you that.”
She shook her head.
“We will do what we can for you, Ellen,” Warwick said in his most gentle and soothing voice.
“I don’t know what else to do.” The tears that started falling down Ellen Nightingale’s cheeks spoke clearly of her distress. “I-I’m sorry.” She dug around in her reticule for a handkerchief.
“Tell us what is going on, Ellen. Start at the beginning for the benefit of Somer and Warwick.”
Ellen told her story again.
“I have been made aware of more details since I last spoke with you, Dorrie,” she added. “I noticed two paintings have gone missing from the gallery in my father’s townhouse. Both extremely valuable. When I asked him about them, he said where they are is none of my business. Then two weeks ago, I noticed the necklace that was given to me by my grandmother was gone. I asked my family, and my mother told me that I was clumsy to have lost it.”
“And you don’t believe this is the case?” Somer asked.
“No. I am very careful with that particular necklace as it is very dear to me, as I loved my grandmother.”
“What do your older brothers say?” Warwick asked.
“Leopold, my eldest brother, is in France. He is there visiting our cousins, and I have no idea when he will return. I wrote to him about my worries; his reply arrived yesterday and said that I was being silly and to put it from my mind. Alexander is in the army, and I have not been able to speak with him. Fredrica, Matilda, and Theodore are younger, and I have no wish to involve them in this.”
“Of course,” Somer said.
“I tried to speak with my mother, but she became hysterical and told me to go away. So I went through my father’s drawers. There were stacks of unpaid bills and demands for payment. I could find nothing else, but I did hear father discussing an opal mining investment he has put money into.”
“Do you know the name of the investment?” Warwick asked.
