No, she thought to herself, his lordship could not possibly have known of her generous dowry. But she could not account for his interest in her. How she wished she could believe her father was right about the handsome lord being attracted to her.
For, as much as she wished it were not so, she was most decidedly attracted to him.
That did not mean she was foolish enough to envision herself becoming Lady Appleton. She was intelligent enough to know they were from o different worlds, and she did not belong in his.
Even so, she determined that she would look as lovely as she possibly could when he called for her that afternoon.
* * *
Appleton and Annie were just about to leave their house on Camden Crescent when Elvin called. As soon as Appleton got a good look at his friend, he became alarmed. “Is everything all right?”
“I am well, as is my family. I beg a private word with you, though.”
Appleton felt as if he’d been struck. Elvin did not look at all well. What the devil was amiss? “Come to the library.”
After closing that chamber’s door behind them, he whirled to his friend. “What’s wrong?”
“You remember Ellie from Mrs. Starr’s?”
“Of course.” It was barely a week earlier that young lady was present at his ruination.
“She’s been murdered.”
Appleton’s eyes widened. His gut clenched. “How?”
“Her body was found floating in the River Avon. It is believed she was strangled to death.”
Sickened, Appleton collapsed onto a chair. He pictured her youthful prettiness, her flashing blue eyes, her tinkling laugh. It seemed incredulous that anyone so lively could be dead. “How did you learn this?”
“It was in the Bath Chronicle. It said she didn’t show up for work last night. Poor Mrs. Starr identified her body.”
“My God, who would do such a thing?” Appleton shook his head solemnly. “She wasn’t much more than a girl.”
“I daresay she was younger than Annie, er, Miss Appleton.”
Appleton nodded. “The madman must be one of those sex maniacs.”
“I daresay you’re right.”
“I hope the fiend is apprehended.”
“Death’s too good for him.” Elvin shook his head in a most morose fashion. “I believe I could kill him myself. Ellie was such a pretty little thing.”
“All of Mrs. Starr’s girls are pretty things, old fellow.” Sitting here brooding would neither bring her back nor apprehend the man responsible for her death. Appleton stood and sighed. “Care to accompany me and Annie to the Pump Room? We’re going to collect Miss Pankhurst.”
“Anything to keep my mind off this terrible tragedy.”
* * *
As her father sat in an invalid’s chair, Miss Pankhurst kissed him on the cheek, and one of those massive footman began to push the older man along the pavement as Lord Appleton approached their house.
“Taking the waters this afternoon, sir?” Appleton asked Mr. Pankhurst as the two came abreast of one another.
“It’s the reason I’ve come to Bath. My daughter assures me they will restore my fragile health.” He sighed. “I, on the other hand, fear my infirmities are beyond help.”
“I agree with your daughter,” Appleton said. “You’re still a young man.”
Mr. Pankhurst sighed. “Would that you were right.”
As the invalid’s chair moved along, Appleton turned his attention to the woman he meant to court. How fashionable she looked in her flimsy—though beautiful in its delicacy—white under dress topped by a lavender tunic. Even though the neckline was high, his gaze skimmed appreciatively over the sizable swell of her bosom. “You’re looking most fetching, Miss Pankhurst.”
She smiled. “It’s awfully clever of me to first show myself to disadvantage by presenting myself to Bath Society in rags, is it not?” She gave a little laugh.
Her laugh was contagious. Annie, too, joined in. Appleton found himself nodding. “And I thought your father was boasting about your intelligence when he was merely being truthful.”
She looked heavenward. “Pray, pay no attention to my father when I am the topic of his boasts. Parents are no accurate judge of their offspring.”
Annie hooked her arm through Miss Pankhurst’s as the four of them started toward the Pump Room. “Well spoken, Miss Pankhurst—not that I disagree with your dear father. My father was so blinded by his affection for his daughters, he was in want of sense. In his eyes, we were each perfection. And, I must say, at times he embarrassed us excessively.”
“Especially when he insisted Abby could sing like a nightingale,” Appleton said, chuckling.
Laughing, Annie nodded. “When her voice is, unfortunately, excruciatingly offensive.”
He needed a chuckle. The news of Ellie’s murder preyed on him. He could not purge from his mind the horrifying thought of her frail, lifeless body floating in the river. Why would anyone do such a thing?
When they arrived at the Pump Room, Glee Blankenship was already there, but this time she was accompanied by the younger Mrs. Blankenship, who had married Blanks’ half-brother Jonathan. Appleton’s group joined the two ladies.
“I declare, Blanks almost didn’t allow me to come,” Glee said.
Appleton lifted a brow. It wasn’t like Blanks to be so authoritarian with his wife. A more indulgent husband Appleton had never seen. “That doesn’t sound like Blanks.”
Glee sighed. “It’s just that he worries so about me. And about our children. You know what a tender heart he possesses.”
Appleton nodded. “What has him so worried?”
As soon as he spoke, he knew.
Glee’s eyes rounded. “Have you not heard? There’s a madman running about Bath murdering young women!”
His stomach fell. The expression on his face turned grim. “Indeed. I had heard.”
Elvin nodded. “In fact, we knew the unfortunate victim.”
Annie whirled to Elvin, her eyes wide with fear. “How dreadful! Who was she?”
“A young woman employed at Mrs. Starr’s Gaming Establishment.”
Miss Pankhurst’s brows lowered as she faced Glee. “Are you saying there’s a homicidal maniac in Bath?”
“Indeed, Miss Pankhurst,” Glee confirmed. “It’s really the most horrid thing. The young woman was found murdered in the River Avon this very morning.”
Miss Pankhurst looked at Elvin. “This is the woman from Mrs.
