“Yes. You see, I didn’t realize Amy had gone missing at all until after Kitty Yardley vanished. Before that, I thought she’d simply run off with her suitor.”
“Her suitor?” Emma’s blue eyes sharpened. “Amy had a suitor? Who was he?”
“She had a suitor, or a sweetheart, or some such thing, yes. I don’t know who he was, or anything much about him, as I try to avoid servant’s gossip, but I daresay Hannah could tell you more. She’s one of our kitchen maids. She and Amy shared a bedchamber, and weregreat friends.”
“But there was a suitor, or a sweetheart, or some gentleman or other? You’re certain about that?”
“Yes,quite certain.”
Emma nodded. “You’re already proving tremendously helpful, Lady Lymington.”
“Am I, indeed?” Lady Lymington’s face flushed with pleasure. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. I do so want to help,Miss Downing.”
“You are. Now, you said you thought Amy had run away with her sweetheart, until Kitty also went missing.When was that?”
“About six weeks later, in October, five weeks or so after Lord Lovell was sent down from Oxford and returned to Lymington House.”
Emma bit her lip, thinking. “Did Kitty have a sweetheart, as well?”
“Oh, goodness, no. Kitty was a quiet, meek little thing—terribly shy, you know, so much so she didn’t have many friends even among the other servants.”
“There’s no question of Kitty’s havingrun off, then?”
“Well, it did occur to me at first that she might have run off home. She comes from a large, close family, Miss Downing, and I know she was dreadfully homesick for them, but Kitty isn’t the sort to leave without giving notice. It wasn’t until after Kitty vanished that I began to wonder if Amy hadn’t run off, after all. Two missing servants, you know, are a great deal more sinister than one.”
“Sinister indeed, my lady.”
“I can’t tell you how much I regret not realizing it sooner, Miss Downing. It’s haunted me for weeks, that I might have been able to prevent Kitty from meeting such adreadful fate.”
“You couldn’t have known, Lady Lymington. The sad truth is, young girls like Amy are lured from their homes far more often than they’re kidnapped. Given the circumstances, you had no reason to suspect foul play.”
“Perhaps that’s so, but it’s small comfort now.” Lady Lymington’s eyes filled with tears. “I know it may seem to you as if I don’t care about what happened to my housemaids, but I assure you, Miss Downing, that isn’t the case. I care verymuch, indeed.”
Samuel reached out to grasp his mother’s hand, alarmed at her tears, but before he could say a word, Emma spoke, her voice soft with compassion. “I can see you do, my lady. Try and remember, won’t you, that you’re not the villain here? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Lady Lymington nodded, sniffling, and Samuel listened, throat tight as Emma murmured soothingly to Lady Lymington while she gathered herself together. Only then did Emma resume her questions. “Can you tell me anything more about either Amy or Kitty, my lady?”
“No, I’m afraid not.” Lady Lymington dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. “It was a dreadfully confusing time, Miss Downing. Lord Lovell’s father had recently passed, and we were all waiting for Samuel to return to England, and then Lovell ran off to London, and got into that dreadful duel. I was torn in a half-dozen different directions, and didn’t pay attention as I oughtto have done.”
“I understand, my lady. When did Lord Lovell leave for London?”
Lady Lymington thought for a moment. “I don’t recall the precise date, but it was the middle of January, a week or two after Twelfth Night. It was very bad of him. We were all in mourning for his father at the time, you know.”
“In mourning, yes,” Emma repeated slowly. “So it might reasonably be expected by anyone who happened to be interested in your movements that you’d all remain at Lymington House for some months. What of Caroline Francis? Did you happen to notice any change in her behaviorat this time?”
“I did, yes. She was distracted, and frequently disappeared with no explanation. It occurred to me at the time she’d also found a sweetheart, just as Amy had. You can imagine how displeased I was atthat, Miss Downing, but before I could question her, poor Lovell was shot, and we all left Lymington House for London.”
Samuel was watching Emma, who was now perched on the edge of her chair. “Let me just make certain I have this right, Lady Lymington. The family was here at Lymington House, Lord Lovell included, mourning his father’s passing. In that time, Caroline Francis found herself a suitor. Then, against all expectations, Lord Lovell ran off to London, where he was injured in a duel. Isthat correct?”
Lady Lymington nodded. “Yes,that’s right.”
For the first time that morning, Emma’s gaze met Samuel’s. “Caroline Francis was meant to meet the same fate as Amy and Kitty, and Lord Lovell meant to be blamed for it, but he left for London before the culprit could finish off Caroline. Lovell’s sudden departure would have upset all the culprit’s plans, as Lovell could hardly be held responsible for Caroline’s disappearance if he was no longer at Lymington House.”
“That was how she ended up at the Pink Pearl,” Samuel said, picking up the thread. “The culprit’s plans went badly awry once Lovell left for London, and he was forced to change tactics at the last minute.”
“The best-laid plans…”Emma murmured.
“So he brought Caroline to the Pink Pearl, with instructions to spread the lie that Lovell had seduced and abandoned her there, and to implicate him in Amy’s and Kitty’s disappearances.”
