Gray Lady, page 15
“The body was discovered by the Duke de Archambeau and Madame Chalamet during their nighttime activities.” Nighttime activities! Under Odette’s knowing look, my face flamed. “His Grace has gone out with one of my men to show them the location of the body. Meanwhile, I want all of you to stay inside and cooperate with my investigation.”
Did we have a choice?
“When can we return to our rooms?” demanded Lady Odette.
“When I am done with them,” he replied. “For now, I will be meeting each of you privately. First, Lady Valentina, if you will.”
Tristan’s sister set her cup aside and stood in one graceful movement. After they left and we heard the library door shut behind them, the room buzzed with talk. However, without new information, this quickly faded away.
Lady Odette and her husband retreated to one corner of the room. She was very unhappy, muttering the entire time to him about her grievances. Coralie attached herself to her fiancé and future mother-in-law with a vengeance, which left Madame Rochelle to me.
It wasn’t long before Valentina returned and Sir Corbin was called to be the next victim. The morning dragged onward. The tea tray was mostly depleted of food by the time I reached it, but I was able to snag a crumbling piece of pound cake. Corbin was followed by his mother, Lady Madeleine. After them was Coralie, then her mother. Lastly was Odette, who loudly insisted on going in with her husband or she would write a strongly worded letter to the king about DeWindt’s harassment.
My head was nodding, my chin sinking to my chest, when I was finally called. When I returned to the library, in addition to De Windt, Jacques stood at attention in the corner, along with another man wearing a military uniform. Tristan was back in his seat and gave me a close-lipped, ambiguous smile.
Trying to suppress a yawn, I returned to the chair I’d had earlier. De Windt wasted no time before going on the attack. “Why are you visiting the Montaine family, Madame Chalamet?”
“I was asked by the Floquet family to help with a ghost problem here. You see, the Montaine family has a Gray Lady who—”
He cut me off. “I’m not interested in your tales about the supernatural. The facts only, madame.”
Irritation gave me a second wind, and I said righteously, “It is a fact that I was invited here by the Floquet family. They wanted reassurance that Coralie’s marriage to Sir Corbin would go off without a problem.”
“What problem?”
“The Gray Lady is a family curse—”
“That again?” He waved a hand at me impatiently before going around the desk and regaining Lord Montaine’s chair. “Stuff and nonsense from hysterical women.”
Perhaps it was just as well that Tristan had my man-stopper, otherwise I might have shot De Windt. I said firmly, “Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it is the reason I was brought here.”
“Rumor says you are here because of a man.” His glance shifted to Tristan. I bet I knew who had told tales out of school: Odette!
“I can’t help gossip. Or the people who listen to it, taking it as fact. I was invited here to look into the Montaine family history about a Gray Lady.”
“History, huh? And you had never met the Montaines before? What about the Floquets? Or the Tremblays?”
“The only people I knew before coming here were His Grace and his sister, Lady Valentina. The other guests here were unknown to me, though I had met Madame Floquet and her daughter briefly.”
“What do you know of Lord Montaine? What do you think of him?”
After Ghost Talking his corpse, my opinion of the man had changed, but since De Windt mocked my work, I kept my report limited. “He was a good host, very welcoming to everyone here. He was interested in old maps, and provided me with some helpful family documents for my research. That is about all I know of him.”
“So you didn’t know that he sometimes worked with His Grace in his official capacity as an agent of the Crown?”
I let surprise show on my face. “Our conversations were limited to his family’s history. Their family journals and papers. Anything he thought would help me with my research. Last night at dinner, I asked him if there was a family cemetery and he gave directions on how I could find it. That was said in front of witnesses, in case you want to verify it.”
“Hm.” He rearranged things on Lord Montaine’s desk, setting pencils in a cup holder and straightening the papers of the dead man. I wondered what Lady Montaine thought about him making himself at home so easily. “Are you sure nothing was said about his work for the Crown?”
“Yes.”
“But you’ve worked with His Grace before, haven’t you? On Crown matters?”
“Yes, but without His Majesty’s written or verbal permission, I will not share any of those details with you.”
He tried to convince me to speak freely by telling me how close he stood to King Guénard. It all felt very smarmy and did not influence me. Actually, the opposite.
“As I told you, without His Majesty’s express permission to divulge such matters, I will not.”
He appealed to Tristan to convince me, which I thought took a lot of nerve! “Tell her, Your Grace.”
Tristan gave that hallmark half-smile expression of his. “Elinor, you have my word that Sven does stand high in our organization. He is privy to many uncomfortable secrets.”
“But what of these two?” I gestured towards the guards, one being Jacques, who were behind me. Neither moved a muscle, their faces as stony as carved bookends. “One I do call my friend, but I know not how they stand with His Majesty’s confidences.”
“She makes a good point,” said Tristan.
De Windt barked an order. “You two, out!” Jacques left without making eye contact. When the door closed, De Windt repeated, “Tell me.”
“I was brought into a case by His Grace to locate a missing piece of royal jewelry and helped to find it. My father was a master jeweler, and he thought my expertise might be of use,” I explained. “In the second case, my friend, Dr. Charlotte LaRue, saved the king from being poisoned and with His Grace, we brought the man who did it to justice. I will not be sharing other details.”
“Names of these people?”
I said nothing, only looking at him owlishly.
“And you still swear you knew nothing of Tristan Fontaine bringing confidential papers here in order to hand them off to our enemies?”
Staring him straight in the eyes, I said truthfully, “I know nothing about the Mysir de Duke de Chambaux bringing confidential papers here.”
“Of course you’d lie for him! Being his lover!” was the accusation he threw at me.
“There is no ‘of course’ about it. I am loyal to His Majesty. I would not aid or abet the theft of royal secrets, regardless of any personal feelings I might have for anyone.”
Not gaining any ground, he switched tactics.
“What were you really doing in the cemetery, Madame Chalamet?”
Tired of his attitude and exhausted, I decided it was best to end this so I could find my bed. “This. This was what I was doing.”
Raising my hands, I summoned the four pillars: Renee Bassett, Louisa Bonnet, Meike Roord, and Frida Korver. As if they had been only waiting for me, they burst forth into four shimmering columns of white-blue energy, surrounding me in a protective shield, tingling with soul-song.
De Windt staggered back, quick to get away. He flipped his chair sideways, making it fall to the floor. His frightened face was bathed in blue light.
Done with everyone, I announced, “I am now going to bed!” and marched out of the library.
Chapter Twenty-One
It took a moment to conceal my four ladies within my soul again, but it seemed to me that each time was getting easier. Luckily, no one was in the hall to see me do it.
I needed time to rest and reflect upon what I was going to do with them. Before I hadn’t been aware of them at all, and now that I was, the unsettled feeling they gave me was disturbing. How much of my depression and inability to recover from what Parnell had done to me was really down to being the receptacle holding four strange souls?
From the foyer, I went towards the sewing room, then detoured to the right, where I found the kitchen. Anne-Marie was eating scones, which didn’t seem to me to be quite fair. Seeing me, she jumped up, and I reached over to take one of her pastries heavily coated with jam. It was so good!
“I’m going upstairs to my room,” I told her.
“I’ll come with you,” she said eagerly.
We left the other servants and their curious eyes and headed back to the grand staircase. I heard voices in the morning room so quickly ran up the stairs, hoping to reach peace and quiet without bumping into another of the household.
Only there was no peace. My room was ransacked. Exhausted and dismayed, I collapsed on the side of the bed, staring at it all. Anger shook me from head to toe and, along with my churning emotions, the four souls inside me tried to surface.
“Not now,” I muttered.
“I’ll clean this up, don’t worry,” said Anne-Marie, picking up clothes that had been dumped out of the drawers.
“Thank you, Anne-Marie. Go ahead, but I’m off to bed. You won’t disturb me. I think a train could come through here and I wouldn’t wake up.”
After stripping out of my cycling outfit and letting it fall to the floor, I crawled under the covers in my underwear, barely able to keep my eyes open. My last conscious thought was I’d confront Lord Montaine’s murderer when I woke. Whatever time that was.
Later, when I unglued my eyelashes, I found my room as clean and tidy as if a fairy had come through and waved a magic wand. All thanks, no doubt, to Anne-Marie. Clothes were back in the wardrobe closet, shoes stacked, tabletops polished, and my books stacked. My portable writing desk was where it belonged, and all of its contents tucked away inside.
I stretched, turning my neck left to right to crack it, before slipping out of bed. Anne-Marie had refilled the water pitcher and put out fresh towels. I washed my face and hands, patting them dry as I looked out the window.
The sun was starting to set, the day almost gone. What had happened when I slept? I pulled the bell rope, and it wasn’t long before Anne-Marie returned, this time full of news.
“You missed the fireworks! Lady Tremblay threw a tantrum over some medicines the guards destroyed when searching her things. She’s threatening Mysir De Windt with a court action.”
I chuckled. “I see De Windt is winning all sorts of friends! Pray tell, though, what medicine is she referring to?”
Anne-Marie was eager to tell me. “That’s what I haven’t had a chance to speak to you about with those men stomping around. Jacques Moreau and his big feet! Do you remember that package Lady Tremblay had from the bookstore you asked about? It certainly wasn’t a book. I think it was drugs.”
Surprised, I asked her why she thought this.
“I went through the rubbish bin next to the furnace and found the paper wrapping for it at the bottom, as if someone tried to conceal it.” She pulled it out of the bureau drawer and handed it to me.
“Why didn’t Jacques find this?”
“I imagine he did, but it’s only brown paper. Why would he care?”
It was the same brown wrapping and string that I had seen on the bookstore package handed to Lady Odette, and the creases in the paper matched the dimensions of what I had seen her being given. On the surface was a handwritten label with the name and address of the bookstore in Pendel, with a return address that simply gave a cross street in Alenbonné.
“Smell it,” urged Anne-Marie.
Holding up the paper to my nose, I recognized the odor that clung to it – the same as that dreadful cup that Parnell Lafayette had given me: peppermint with a fishy smell. It also had another ingredient, something spicy I could not identify.
“Good work, Anne-Marie. You deserve a special treat for this find. There must be a connection between Lady Tremblay and Parnell Lafayette. Steer clear of both of them, for we’ve already lost five girls to Parnell’s schemes.”
“You think they are dangerous?” she asked, more excited than frightened.
“Whatever they are bears more investigation.”
When I returned downstairs dressed for dinner, I glanced at the entry table and saw the letters for the post were gone. I was about to sail past Jacques Moreau standing guard in the foyer, when he spoke.
“Elinor,” he hissed. It made me pause, and he grabbed me by the elbow and steered me under the stairwell where we would not be seen by anyone coming down the stairs. “You need to be careful.”
“Thank you for the warning,” I said stiffly, turning to leave.
Once again, he pulled me back. “I’m not teasing! De Windt is out for the duke’s head, preferably on a pikestaff. Your association with His Grace makes you collateral damage.”
“Yes, I had gathered that impression.” Eyeing him speculatively, I added in a hushed voice, “If you really want to help me, tell me if you found what he was looking for?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“What about anything not tied to De Windt’s investigation? Anything unusual?”
“Lady and Lord Montaine, their son – nothing special in their rooms. Typical stuff you find in aristo homes – stacks of unpaid bills! Coralie Floquet has a bundle of love letters, not from her fiancé. Her mother has a nice set of Perino pearls.”
“What about the Tremblays?”
“Odd couple. The wife is a harpy. She’s been screaming at us all day.”
“I heard about that.” I was thinking of the paper Anne-Marie had shown me, so it took a moment before I was aware that Jacques was shaking a folded piece of paper under my nose. “Oh, what’s that?”
“That is what I would like to know. I found it in one of your books.”
I took it from him and, unfolding it, recognized Twyla’s handwriting. It was a list of the lovely and personal things Tristan had said when he’d found me drugged at the madhouse. I hastily folded it up and slipped it under the neckline of my dress, over my heart, where it touched the strange mark left by my father’s watch.
“Who wrote that to you, Elinor?” Unfortunately, at that moment Tristan Fontaine crossed the foyer and Jacques noticed the direction of my gaze. “You are playing with fire. Do you want to be in prison? Or worse, on the gallows?”
“You exaggerate.” I pulled my arm from his grasp. “Tristan has done nothing wrong, as your search has proved.”
“De Windt won’t stop.”
“Are you saying he’d plant evidence?”
That stopped Jacques in his tracks. He paused before saying slowly, “No. I don’t think he would do that, but he is looking for any wrong, no matter how small, to pin your man to the wall.”
I gave a grateful squeeze to Jacques’ upper arm. “Thank you, my friend. But don’t worry. I shall be fine. Now, do you want to escort me in, or shall I go by myself?”
“Better by yourself. De Windt already knows we were childhood friends and is watching my every move.”
Nodding, I left and entered the morning room. Tristan must have passed through, for the only occupant was now Coralie Floquet. Before anyone else could arrive, I asked her, “Would you like to take a turn in the garden before dinner? Getting some fresh air might be a good thing for us both.”
“Do you think they will let us?”
“They can come with us to watch if they want. However, I doubt I’m fleeing for the hills wearing my best evening gown of peach silk organza.”
She gave a giggle that was probably mostly a release of today’s tension. Going down the hall, arm-in-arm, we took the door near the sewing room, as I did not want to meet any of the others. We saw the other guard and I nodded to him in passing, telling him we were going to take a stroll on the patio. Thankfully, he only warned us not to stray out of his sight and stayed where he was.
After some discussion of the flowers, the weather, and the latest style in dresses, I took from inside the wrist of my dress, where I had concealed it, the little button we had found near Lord Montaine’s body. I held it up so she could see it.
“I know what you did, but I don’t know why? Help me understand.”
Her hand on my arm grabbed me harshly before she forced it to relax. “You can’t know anything.”
“Coralie,” I chided her. “This is a pearl button from a woman’s camisole. Your camisole. Now, I’ve Ghost Talked to Lord Montaine, and I know he was pressuring you over some letters.”
She gave a sudden harsh gulp of air. “Are you going to tell everyone?”
“Tell me the reason first.” Coralie tried to pull away, but I held fast so she could not flee. “You either give me some explanation as to why you murdered Lord Montaine, or I will be forced to reveal what I know. Hurry! We could be interrupted any moment.”
“He knew about what happened to me in Perino.” She was talking fast, her eyes darting from side to side, as she held up one hand to her throat as if to protect it.
“He knew about your other lover?”
“Lover? I would not call him that! Monster describes him better. He was a friend of my mother’s. I don’t want to think she knew what type of creature he really was, but—”
“Your mother arranged the affair?” Everything was becoming frightfully clear. The end story of Lady Tulip, if she had not had me as an advocate. How society bought and sold girls should be a crime; instead most of us were simply property under the law.
“She arranged it so we would be alone, even though she knew I feared him. The things he said – they frightened me. One night, she backed out of escorting me to a masked ball. That is when I first suspected that she wanted my reputation sullied.” By this time, Coralie was weeping. “After he had his amusement, he cast me away like a broken doll. M-mother said no one would be interested in me, knowing I had been his plaything. Months later, I met Corbin. He would never behave in such a manner! He’s safe. Noble. Comfortable.”
