The week following her visit to Dr. Neville flew by in a blur that left Charlotte little time to think about her mother. She also saw less of John than she had in recent weeks. Some nights they chatted together in the sitting area following supper—sometimes with Dirk, sometimes alone—but they were usually both too exhausted to entertain long into the night.
After a particularly long day where Charlotte had argued twice with Mr. Stanley about his excessive use of anesthesia that nearly killed a small boy, she hurried home to change her clothes in preparation for Mrs. Winston’s dinner party. With help from Sarah, one of Hampton House’s maids, she donned an intricately beaded blue gown she’d not had occasion to enjoy more than once in New York. She piled her hair up with pins and allowed a few wispy curls to frame her face and rest on her shoulders.
Mrs. Winston’s party was for an intimate group of seventy-five people, so Charlotte hoped she’d be able to sneak away without causing too much notice as soon as the meal was finished. The following day was her official “day off” of work, and she planned to sleep late into the morning.
She was looking forward to visiting with Nathan Winston’s sisters again, and of course Eva and Amelie would attend, but she wasn’t sure John would be there. He had been delayed by meetings more than one night that week. The disappointment she felt at thought of his absence caught her by surprise, and she shook her head as if to dispel the thought.
“I apologize profusely,” she told Dirk, who had changed into tasteful dinner attire. “I cannot imagine you are looking forward to this.”
He shook his head. “Part of the job.” His mouth quirked, as it sometimes did, into an almost-smile, and she couldn’t believe he’d never married.
She contemplated taking the carriage Sally made available to the Hampton House residents, but Dirk suggested they walk to the train station and ride back into Town. Luck was on their side as they found a cab just outside the train station, and in no time, she and her guardian stood at the Winston’s large London home. Light spilled out onto the front garden, and strains of a string quartet were barely audible above the laughter and conversation.
Charlotte took a deep breath, hoping to harness the energy it would take to endure such a large event. She made her way up the steps and into the home, seeing Nathan’s sisters mingling among the crowd, welcoming guests and directing traffic.
“Charlotte!” Alice Winston stood nearest the door and reached for Charlotte’s hands with a wide smile.
Charlotte gave her a genuine smile as they kissed cheeks. She quietly introduced Dirk, and to her credit, Alice took the man’s presence in stride. He followed as Alice swept Charlotte through the front hall.
“Alice, it’s been an age! You look wonderful.” By giving the compliment to Alice, she was essentially giving it to all of Nathan’s sisters. The four were two sets of identical twins, and all four were nearly indistinguishable from each other. Olivia and Delilah had brown eyes, while Alice and Grace had blue. That, plus personality differences, was the only way to tell them apart.
Alice was effusive and generous and had an energy for life unmatched by anyone Charlotte knew. It was infectious, and Charlotte immediately felt the joy.
“Now, you know many of the guests already, so I am taking you directly to the drawing room where several are already gathered, including Amelie and Eva. There are a few people still in the ballroom, and I believe I saw a large group of gentlemen making a beeline for the billiard room, but dinner will be served soon so I doubt they’ll get much playing done.”
“I don’t know that they’d get much playing done anyway,” Charlotte said drily as Alice handed off her outer coat to a footman. “They gather as though they are all experts, but really they just wish to talk.”
“Exactly,” Alice agreed. “And they say women are the chattering hens.” She winked at Charlotte, showing a dimple, then linked arms with her. “Only a scant week ago, Nathan added four more couples to Mama’s invitation list, and my supposition is that the only reason they were able to attend on such short notice is because the Van Horne sisters committed weeks ago.”
Charlotte laughed. “Isn’t it amazing how quickly schedules become uncomplicated when potential guests realize those ladies will be present?”
“Truly miraculous. Actually, it is rather miraculous these particular couples were able to clear their schedules. Three of them are members of Parliament and their wives, and the fourth, Mr. Carter, just returned from a trip abroad.” She lowered her voice as though sharing a secret. “The Carters are in competition with our family business, of course, but we are cordial. Mama has known them for years, but to my knowledge she has never included them on any guest list.” She shrugged. “Nathan must have his reasons.”
Charlotte felt her heart skip a beat. Those were the four James’s from her mother’s life. John must have shared information with Nathan and Michael. She didn’t mind, of course, but she would have liked a warning. Grateful that Alice had unwittingly warned Charlotte of a potentially awkward situation, she took a breath and quietly exhaled.
Alice escorted Charlotte into the drawing room, then bid her farewell with a quick kiss on the cheek and a promise to find her again to hear all about her adventures across the ocean.
Charlotte spied Eva and Amelie near the hearth, and as she maneuvered her way through the crowded room to her cousins, she heard a gasp and the tinkling sound of breaking glass. A ripple of surprise followed, and a footman hurried to the far side of the room. She heard nervous laughter, and then conversation resumed.
Amelie patted the spot next to her on a divan. “So happy you’re here! We weren’t certain you would have the wherewithal to attend after such a busy work week.”
“Alice has infused me with enough energy to last for several hours, at least.”
They laughed, and Eva nodded. “She does have that gift in abundance. She is the children’s unapologetic favorite, and each of the aunties knows it.” She glanced around. “Is your handsome Scot here tonight?”
Charlotte nodded toward the closest corner where Dirk was standing guard. “I feel horribly guilty that he must follow me everywhere. It’s been an age since the attack. I should speak to John about releasing him from duty.” The thought made her uncomfortable, but it no longer seemed necessary to keep the poor man on the hook. She changed the subject. “How are the children? Is Sammy home?”
Eva’s lips tightened. “He is, and with a broken arm. It was treated and set at school, but they did not even bother to notify us. It happened the day the headmaster announced the older boys’ suspensions, so there was not much delay, but I’d have ridden there myself to retrieve him that very night had I known.”
Charlotte frowned. “Has he shared much of the incident with you or Nathan?”
Eva nodded. “He minimizes the effect it had on him, though. He tries so very hard to be manly.” Her eyes were troubled. “Nathan is wonderfully patient with him, and I’m grateful Sammy trusts him. We’re interviewing tutors next week.” She paused. “Charlotte, would you be willing to stop by at your leisure to check the progress of his mending arm? Perhaps he might share with you if he has any other physical pains or problems.”
“Of course, I would be happy to. Are you available tomorrow afternoon?”
Eva nodded. “That would be lovely. I have him busy helping me develop some photographic plates and prints.”
Charlotte nodded. “And how are your little chickens?” she asked Amelie.
Amelie rolled her eyes. “No hair cutting, but a fair amount of mud bathing in the garden during last week’s rain.”
Charlotte laughed. “Scandalous little Hamptons, are they not?”
“So much so that I could swear they’ve been inhabited by the ghosts of our great-grandparents.”
Charlotte thought of her mother, which reminded her of Alice’s comments about the guest list. She glanced around and saw a few faces she recognized, but more she did not. In an undertone, she asked Eva, “Did Nathan mention the reason for his last-minute request to your mother-in-law?”
Eva nodded. “He told his mother he means to curry favor with them for their pending votes for police funding.”
“Very clever,” Amelie murmured. “I wish Sally could be here this evening. We must ask that she share her recollections of the friends.”
Charlotte nodded. “Sally was the youngest, however; she may not remember much.”
Amelie reached for Charlotte’s hand and held it. “Michael and Nathan told us what you and John have learned thus far. I hope you do not mind.”
Charlotte nudged Amelie’s shoulder. “Of course I do not mind, silly. I’d have told you myself if I’d had the time. I confess, though, I do not know how to behave.”
“What do you mean?” Eva asked.
“I mean around the . . . the . . . I don’t know what to call them. My mother’s friends.”
Amelie patted Charlotte’s hand and said, “We’ll call them ‘The Friends.’ That way we’ll know exactly who we mean without saying any names.”
“As for your behavior,” Eva added, “you just be Dr. Charlotte Duvall, proud daughter of David and Katherine Duvall.”
“Also, I have some avenues of inquiry we might pursue independent of our husbands,” Amelie said, looking at Eva. “They are busy, as is John, and may not have time to ask some questions.”
Charlotte’s lips twitched. “You always did insist Michael deputized you, so we’re well within our rights to investigate on our own. What did you have in mind?”
Amelie opened her mouth to answer just as the supper bell sounded in the hall. “We’ll discuss it later, in private,” she said.
They rose and made their way to the door as soon as the crowd thinned. Two women at the door turned as they exited and looked at the three cousins. One of them must have belatedly realized she was staring, and she offered a strained smile as her companion turned away and said something to the group of people exiting in front of her.
They left the room, and Charlotte turned to her cousins. “Were those women part of the Friends?” she murmured.
“Yes, indeed, they were,” Eva said. “I was introduced to them thirty minutes ago.”
“Does your mother ever see them?”
Eva shook her head. “Mother doesn’t venture far from the village.” She smiled. “She speaks of your mother with a sense of awe, Charlotte, as though her elder sister Katherine was rather larger than life.”
They made their way toward the dining room. Katherine had been larger than life, certainly in Charlotte’s mind through the years. She felt a pang of longing she’d not experienced since childhood. It seemed unfair that she was in the company of her mother’s associates, but Katherine wasn’t there.
Near the dining room entrance, Charlotte spied a tall figure, and her heart tripped in grateful recognition. John had come, and suddenly she didn’t feel so bereft.
“He’s certainly a handsome one,” Amelie remarked, glancing first at John and then at Charlotte. “Looks positively dashing tonight.”
Charlotte thought to shrug it off and say something like “Does he? I hadn’t noticed,” but that would have been ridiculous. Every woman in the vicinity noticed him.
Eva nodded ahead at Nathan and said, “I must join my husband. My mother-in-law is about to tell everyone that seating is not assigned, much to the giddy delight of those among us who are untitled.”
Charlotte chuckled as they neared the entrance and noted John’s gaze on her. He smiled just a bit, as though the two of them shared a secret, and it sent a thrill through her.
“Ladies,” he said and reached for Charlotte’s hand. She placed it in his, and he kissed it very chastely. He threaded her hand through his arm, as though it was a foregone conclusion she would be his dinner companion. She had no complaints; indeed, she’d have been most put out had he paid attention to someone else. He looked over her head at someone down the hall and nodded; before long, Dirk passed them with a nod of acknowledgment as he made his way out.
They followed her cousins and their husbands into the glittering dining room and its enormous spread of tables with their silver, china, and crystal. Mrs. Winston had indeed given her instructions for the guests to choose their seating as they would, and as John led Charlotte behind Amelie and Michael, he leaned close to say, “There are people here you may not know. I was unaware they would be attending, but I am glad to observe any reactions.”
Charlotte felt a stab of disappointment at the thought that perhaps the reason he singled her out was due to his desire to watch the Friends and their behavior. She nodded and tried to keep her voice light. “Fortuitous,” she said.
John glanced at her, studying her face for a moment before pulling out her chair and seating her at the table next to Amelie. Nathan had masterfully maneuvered two of the Friends directly opposite them, and then he and Eva sat next to one of the gentlemen Charlotte assumed was named James.
As an experiment in human behavior, Charlotte had to admit it was brilliant. Eight people sat across from or near Charlotte, and their faces were a mixture of stunned surprise and outright shock that they quickly did their best to hide. The first course was served, and Nathan effortlessly made introductions for everyone in their vicinity as if nothing unusual was in the air.
She remembered the names listed in her mother’s journal and on the police report, and now, as Nathan pointed out each one, she wondered if she was looking at the face of her mother’s killer.
Charlotte’s earlier exhaustion was replaced with a humming sense of anticipation, a surge of blood flowing from her heart to her extremities. Her mouth had gone dry, and she took a sip of water, licking her lips and spreading her napkin on her lap to give her hands something to do.
John quietly reached over and took her hand. “Are you well?”
She looked at him with a smile. “Never better.”