CHAPTER NINE
Events Set in Motion
“It is certain, that having a man there has as yet produced but little good . . . and there fore I should like to try a woman . . . ”
Bury, Charlotte, The Diary of a Lady-in-Waiting
“Well, at last!” cried Alice from the parlor. “We were getting ready to send out a search party!”
“I’ll be with you in a moment!” Rosalind took off her bonnet and coat and hung them beside the door. She laid her gloves on the hall table. She used the small mirror beside the door to check that her expression was calm and that the flush that came over her as a result of Adam’s kiss had faded.
Alice and Amelia were in the front parlor, with a pot of tea and several crumb-covered plates on the table in front of them.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” said Rosalind as she took her usual chair. It was only eleven, according to the clock on the mantel, but the servants would all have gone home, with the exception of Laurel upstairs.
“We forgive you.” Alice poured out a cup of tea and held it out to her. Rosalind accepted the tea gratefully. Even though it was not very late by her usual standards, the strain of the evening had left her entirely exhausted.
Alice gave her a moment to drink, but only a moment. “Now, what on earth is happening?” she said. “And how does it involve the most notorious woman in the kingdom?”
Rosalind told them about Mrs. Fitzherbert and the marriage certificate, which appeared to have been stolen. She told them about the king riding back and forth in front of the house, about Burrowes’s insinuation that the certificate had been stolen by one of the girls or some other close friend. She told them about the suspicions she and Adam had formed—that this apparent burglary might in truth be a ruse by Mrs. Fitzherbert to provide public confirmation of her marriage. Or, equally, it might be a very private, very personal betrayal.
Rosalind was aware of a certain indecorous satisfaction in watching their eyes widen with astonishment.
“Goodness!” exclaimed Amelia, cheerfully scandalized. “I should’ve stayed in service. Now I’m going to miss it all!”
But Alice’s reaction was quite the opposite. All the humor, and some of the color, drained from the writer’s face.
“Rosalind,” said Alice. “Please tell me you turned her away.”
“I did not.”
“Then you must do so now. At once.”
Rosalind’s brow furrowed. “I have already promised to help. So has Adam.”
“What’s the matter, Alice?” asked Amelia.
But Alice ignored her. She leaned forward and laid her hand over Rosalind’s. “Rosalind, this is not something I say to you lightly, but have you entirely lost your mind?”
“I admit, I wondered that more than once,” Rosalind told her.
“Then why on earth did you do it?”
“Because if Mrs. Fitzherbert is telling the truth, I could not leave her to be exposed to blackmail, or worse. She is a woman in need of assistance.”
“You do realize that those who took the document might be allies of our king, George IV, long may he reign? Or, what’s even more likely, they might be partisans for our angry, defamed Queen Caroline?”
“Yes,” said Rosalind, a trifle impatiently. “I do.”
“And you do realize that one of the people in the queen’s camp is your patroness, Lady Jersey?”
“Lady Jersey is not my patroness,” said Rosalind, a bit more tartly than she meant to.
“Lady Jersey may not be an official, investing patroness, but what about Mrs. Levitton? Do you know where she and her board—who have loaned you rather a lot of money and expect to make a profit off it—stand on the divorce question? Whether they are for the king or the queen?”
“Alice,” said Amelia. “She can’t have had time to consider much of anything yet.”
“Which is part of the problem,” Alice snapped back. “She hasn’t thought. Which is not at all like you, Rosalind.”
Weariness threatened to make her impatient. Rosalind finished her tea and poured another cup, giving herself time to remember that Alice was only concerned and that her concerns were not misplaced. Rosalind did have people other than herself to answer to.
“I have thought enough to know that what you’re saying is true,” said Rosalind. “This is no ordinary matter. However, I also don’t believe Mrs. Fitzherbert and her daughters should be made to suffer simply because it might help gain some sort of spiteful victory over someone else, whether that particular someone wears a crown or not.”
“Come along, Alice,” said Amelia coaxingly. “You can’t say fairer than that.”
“I suppose.” Alice sighed. “And truth be told, I don’t think I could have walked away from such a problem. But if it all comes back to haunt us, you can’t say I didn’t warn you!”
“Never,” said Rosalind. “Now. If I am to do this thing properly, and quickly, I need help.” She turned toward Amelia. “I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Me?” Amelia looked startled.
“Yes.” Rosalind set her cup down. “I know you are very busy with your school . . .”
Amelia snorted. “Don’t I wish! We’ve got all of four girls, and they can come only twice a week, and that’s only if they give up their half day on Sunday. I’ve spent so much on books and pens and ink, and the chalkboard and all the rest of it . . . I was hoping to hire another teacher so we can give classes at night, but . . .” She stopped. “I’m sorry.”
“I might be able to help a little with finances,” said Rosalind. “Or, rather, we might. I wanted to ask you if you’d be willing to return to service as a maid for a few days. To Mrs. Fitzherbert.”
“Maid?” stammered Amelia. “To the king’s wife?”
“Maid,” said Rosalind. “As you yourself suggested. And spy.”
When she’d had more anonymity, Rosalind would contrive to set herself up in her client’s household as a guest or a private secretary. Now that she had become a known entity, she must use a proxy. She wondered if she would ever become reconciled to it.
Amelia’s green eyes lit up with sparks of mischief and daring at the prospect of this new task.
Alice looked away.
“Oh, Alice, it will be all right,” said Amelia.
“Alice?” said Rosalind softly.
Alice sniffed. “Not that you need my approval, of course. You’re perfectly able to take care of yourself.”
“You know that I am,” Amelia told her. “But I’d rather have your agreement.”
“We both would,” said Rosalind.
Alice sniffed. “Well, if it’s going to be done, there’s no point in holding back, is there?”
“Tell the truth, dear.” Amelia squeezed Alice’s hand. “You just don’t want to have to make your own tea of a morning.”
Alice lifted her nose. “I made my own tea for any number of years before you came along, young lady. Besides, you know I only drink coffee in the mornings, and of course, I’ll be staying here, because Rosalind will not be able to accomplish a single thing without me.”
“I certainly could not,” agreed Rosalind soberly.
“So, there we are,” said Alice. “We shall have no problems at all.”
“Well,” said Amelia slowly. “As I see it, there is one very real problem.”
“Which is?” asked Rosalind.
Amelia looked shocked. “Well, I don’t have a thing to wear, do I?”