She made a ‘tsking’ sound and leaned back in her chair, her face displaying a look of self-satisfaction, as if she had solved the world’s greatest mystery. “Isabella Farnsworth. Her father owned the mercantile in Tideswell,” she stated, referring to the town nearest Brookshire Hall. “Still does, I think. Her mother...” Here Madeline furrowed her brows and sighed sadly. “Well, it’s a wonder Isabella survived childbirth given Mrs. Farnsworth’s poor health. It was no surprise she died giving birth to the boy.”
His tea forgotten, Daniel stared at his mother. “Was his name Charlie? The boy who always looked as if he’d rolled in the dirt?”
Madeline allowed a wan grin. “As did Isabella. You probably didn’t even know she was a girl,” she teased. “I’m afraid Mr. Farnsworth wasn’t the best at raising his children on his own,” she went on. She watched as her son seemed to struggle with his memories. “They were frequently on the grounds of Brookshire Hall when you were there for the summers,” she explained. “You used to play in the gardens. Hide and seek. Pall mall when you were older,” she continued. “She wore a yellow gown, although it was always filthy, as I recall. You would have thought a father inthe mercantile business would have done better at clothing his children, but...” She allowed the sentence to trail off.
“Izzy. She smelled of lemons,” Daniel murmured.
Madeline sipped her tea, a lip quirking at seeing her son so perplexed. “And honeysuckle?” she prompted.
Daniel’s eyes rounded. “How did you know?”
“The garden was filled with them,” she replied.
“They were always full of bees,” he whispered.
“The birds would eat the berries,” she offered, angling her head as she watched him remember his summers as a youth.
He nodded absently and finally straightened in his chair. “Well, that mystery is solved, I suppose,” he said, although his expression suggested he was still vexed.
Madeline leaned forward. “What are you going to do about it?”
He shrugged. “Nothing to do,” he responded. When he noticed his mother’s look of disappointment, he added, “It’s not as if she left a calling card, Mother.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Blinking, he settled back in his chair and took a sip of tea as a means to delay his response.
Had the woman given Arthur Peabody her card before she was escorted into the office? If so, Peabody hadn’t offered it after she had taken her leave.
“Mayhap she gave a calling card to Peabody,” his mother suggested.
The thought that Peabody might know her identity rankled. Daniel was also reminded that only Peabody knew of her visit, which meant he was the one who had been sharing the information as gossip, who knew to how many people?
The fact that his mother’s neighbor had been told was probably only a coincidence. Which meant far more people hadalready heard what had happened in his office, and the gossip was spreading like wildfire.
The details were probably changing with every exchange of the story, too. Her kissing him had probably become him kissing her, which meant his reputation as a perfect gentleman was at risk. His business might even suffer as a result.
Isabella Farnsworth, what have you done?he wondered in dismay.
“You’re welcome to stay for dinner,” his mother said, interrupting his reverie.
Daniel shook his head. “Thank you for the invitation, but I’m due to meet Watson. We’re going to try that new pub on the George the Fourth Bridge.”
“Ah, perhaps he’ll have some answers for you,” she replied.
“Perhaps,” he agreed.
CHAPTER 4
A BEST FRIEND CONFESSES
Later that night, George IV Bar
Standing at the New Town end of George IV Bridge, Daniel winced at the reminder that two of Old Town’s traditional streets, Old Bank Close and Liberton’s Wynd, had to be demolished in order to make way for the elevated street that connected New Town to South Side. The George IV Bar was located where the bridge crossed the Cowgate—right in the middle. At the south end was Candlemaker Row.
“Can I afford this?” Callum Watson asked when he joined his friend.
Daniel glanced at the clerk and shrugged. “It’s a pub,” he replied, before leading them to the new limestone building, its exterior decorated with columns and corbels. Inside they found a gleaming wood bar lit by hanging lamps and new tables and chairs not yet marred from repeated use.
