He picked up the walking stick. “I don’t know. She didn’t offer an explanation, and I didn’t ask. She told me the child was mine and I had an obligation to finance its upbringing. But she could bring no proof, so I refused.”
A rage swelled within me. It wasn’t for his arrogance, although that was certainly galling. It was for his callous disregard for a woman he’d once cared about and who needed his help. But I was even angrier on Millie’s behalf. She was his child, his responsibility. By refusing to believe Pearl, he was denying Millie the opportunity to live a comfortable life. He was pathetic and mean.
I gritted my teeth. “She’s a girl, my lord, not a thing. Please refer to her as she, not it.”
He climbed into the carriage and grabbed the door handle. “If you don’t mind, I have an appointment.”
I positioned myself so that he could not close the door. “Where were you on the afternoon Pearl died?”
“I was not at the theater. That answer will have to suffice.”
“It doesnotsuffice. Where were you?”
He pulled on the door, but I didn’t move. “Drive on!”
The coachman peered around from the driver’s seat and saw me standing there. “But sir—”
“I said drive on!”
The coachman gave me an apologetic look then urged the horses forward. I jumped back to avoid the wheel, tripped over the gutter and landed on my backside. If the coach had started off at a faster clip, I would have been run over. The coachman had spared me that.
The door to the townhouse opened and the butler stood there. He peered down his nose at me. “Lady Wrexham wishes to see you.”
I glanced up at the second story window where I knew the drawing room to be. She must have been watching. I dusted off my skirts, picked up my umbrella and newspaper from where they’d fallen, and headed up the steps. I handed the butler my umbrella and newspaper with a smile.
He passed them on to Mr. Adams, the footman, as if they were dirty rags.
“Are you injured, Miss Fox?” Mr. Adams asked.
“Thank you, no. Very kind of you to ask.” Rather surprising too, admittedly. I didn’t think he liked me much, but it appeared he liked me somewhat more than the butler.
Going by the elderly fellow’s disdainful turn of his mouth, that wasn’t setting the bar very high.
He led the way up to the drawing room and announced me at the door before leaving us. Her ladyship did not ask him to bring tea, so I assumed this was not going to be treated as a social call. I prepared myself for a few rounds of parries and strikes.
But this time, I expected success. I’d come armed with information.
Chapter 12
Lady Wrexham sat like a statue on the sofa. Not even her chest moved with her breathing. It was as if she was holding herself together, trying to keep her composure from fracturing. Or perhaps moving caused her pain. If she were ill, it was possible.
She did not invite me to sit, but I sat anyway, and received a disdainful look for my impertinence.
“I see you spoke to my husband,” she said. “What about?”
I’d initially felt sympathy for this woman, for having a husband who kept mistresses, but the more I saw of her, the less sympathy I felt. That made it easier to be honest with her. “I told him I knew that he fathered Miss Westwood’s child.”
A ripple of something crossed her face. Surprise, certainly, but not shock. She must have known about Millie. “My husband says you are a journalist. Did he offer you money to not write about it?”
So he still thought I wrote for the newspapers. It seems she did now too. “No. But rest assured, I have no plans to mention his name in my article. I just want to get to the bottom of Pearl’s death. I’m convinced she didn’t kill herself.”
She fidgeted with the large ring on her hand. “Why does it matter? Miss Westwood is gone. Let her rest now.” She sounded tired, as if the saga with Pearl had drained her.
“It matters to those who loved her. It will matter to her daughter, one day.”
“I doubt that. The girl is simple.”
“How do you know?” When she didn’t respond, I pressed on. “You overheard Pearl telling your husband that day she called here after Christmas, didn’t you? You would have also overheard her asking him for money to support Millie.”
