“Then we must find this man and speak to him.”
Grace said, “Well, I don’t have his address but you will soon find him, I am sure.”
“That is my task for today.” Theodore leaped to his feet. He looked down at Adelia.
She felt a little daunted. “I suppose I must look more closely into Octavia Dymchurch.”
“Protect your reputation,” Grace advised. “She is currently persona non grata.”
“I will do my best.”
Theodore stooped and took Adelia’s hand, the closest he would get to showing physical passion in front of his mother. “I have utmost faith in you. Now! Is there anything you need from a pharmacist? I may as well be as useful as I can while I am out.”
“CHARLOTTE, I MUST SPEAK to you immediately.” Adelia spoke with a calm forcefulness that stopped her daughter in her rush across the hallway. Charlotte began to protest but Adelia put her hand in the air, palm out. “No. I have had enough of this. Absolutely enough. Speak to me now, privately, or speak to me with your husband present. I shall go and fetch him.”
To Adelia’s surprise, Charlotte tossed her head. “Go ahead and do so with my blessing. There is nothing that you can tell him that will upset him or cause us harm.” She stared with blatant challenge at her mother. Then she sighed. “Very well, I can spare a few minutes now. I knew I would not be able to avoid this any longer. I am hurt that you do not trust me. But it really, really is not what you think, and you will feel bad for forcing any secrets out of me. I say secrets – I mean confidences. You have wilfully misunderstood everything in your effort to see me at fault.” She shook her head sadly, as if her mother was in the wrong. It made Adelia bristle.
They went into the sitting room which was warm and comfortable though now empty as Theodore had left to visit pharmacies on the hunt for Mr Cox, and Grace had gone home. Adelia sat down and after a moment’s pause, Charlotte followed suit but she perched on the edge of her seat, making it plain that she did not intend on staying for long.
“Mama, might I just remind you that it is Christmas Day tomorrow and we have many things to organise.”
“I doubt that,” Adelia replied. “You are a capable household manager and your servants are likewise reliable, though you claim they are not. There is very little left to do; you’re hosting no more large parties, as far as I understand it?”
Charlotte shook her head. “Well, nothing apart from next week’s little soiree, but I have a dozen other invitations over the next week or so...”
“In light of your recent problems with Mr Nettles and the way that you live your life in general, might I suggest that you consider re-examining your parties and your salons, your gatherings and your dinners? You have seen how Mrs Dymchurch has been treated.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll bear it in mind. And I do realise that your warning is nothing to do with Mrs Dymchurch at all. It’s more about what the Earl of Mareham said. He has really got to you, hasn’t he?”
“We ourselves can see the damage to your reputations that you are perpetrating, actually.” Adelia sighed. “No, stop. No. I did not intend to berate you on this matter. Not now, and not in this way. Charlotte, I apologise.”
Charlotte’s mouth dropped open. “You – are apologising to me?”
“Yes, I am. I want to patch things up. I have spoken my mind and you have listened, and now we must move on. It is a time for reflection and forgiveness, after all. I hope that you can forgive me.”
“Goodness. You are getting religious in your dotage.”
“I am far from my dotage and far from religious. It is simply a matter of wanting to live in a state of calm and peacefulness. And, also, we need you to go and see Octavia Dymchurch.”
Charlotte was stunned for a long moment before she frowned and then burst out laughing, three different emotions all vying for supremacy. “I told you, mama, she is no longer my friend. And you saw her last night. She has fallen – felled at the hands of Lady Purfleet. She is not to be welcomed, for a little while at least. Surely you cannot want me to associate myself with a woman of such reputation? Everyone knows what she has done.”
“Do you believe it? Are you so fickle that you would drop a friend at the behest of a society lady like Lady Purfleet?”
Charlotte bowed her head. She seemed to be wrestling with something. Then she met Adelia’s gaze steadily but her face was a little pink. “Mama, I need to tell you the truth about something and I hope you’ll understand why I kept it to myself before.”
Adelia almost held her breath.
But it was not the revelation about the man in the hooded cloak.
“Mama, I have known Octavia for a few years, since I first came to London. She was well-liked in all the best circles then, though everyone knew about her husband. So when he died, and she was alone in mourning, I became closer to her and visited her often. I told you we were friends though she blew hot and cold; I then found out why. In the course of those visits, we often shared secrets. I myself have no secrets of note, of course,” she added, making herself look guilty. “But she told me about her dalliance with Digby Nettles.”
“Did this dalliance occur before or after her husband died?”
“Her relationship with Mr Nettles started before her husband died, but no one knew about it. She was very, very careful. She confessed it to me after he died.”
“After her husband died, did she continue this improper relationship?”
“Yes, I believe the love affair continued for a little while but it seemed to fade out, or perhaps
