Tasha Alexander - A Crimson Warning

“I understand you were there when Michael’s body”—she gulped a sob—“when he was found.”

“I was,” Colin said. “Nothing more could have been done for him. I’m terribly sorry, Miss Dalton.”

“I know that. Please don’t think I was suggesting otherwise. I want his murderer brought to justice, but my parents won’t let me speak to the police.”

“Do you know something about the crime?” I asked.

“I’m not entirely certain,” she said. “My father insists it’s nothing, but I can’t believe it’s coincidence.”

“Please do explain,” Colin said, his voice gentle and reassuring.

“Nearly a week ago when Michael called to take me for a walk in the park, he told me his house had been vandalized. Someone had thrown red paint all down the front step and the door. He hadn’t particularly thought anything of it beyond it being a nuisance. But now I’ve heard said someone has given the Sanderses’ house the same treatment—and did so right before the rumor broke about Polly. It just seemed to me there must be some connection,” Miss Dalton said.

“You’re a brave girl to come to us,” Colin said. “And you’ve done the right thing. This is extremely valuable information.”

“I want you to find him, Mr. Hargreaves,” she said. “I want you to promise me the villain who killed my fiancé will be brought to justice. He took away all my happiness, and left me not even a widow. I’ve barely a right to grieve.”

My heart broke for her. She’d have a relatively short period of mourning, but before long her parents would have her back on the Marriage Market.

“I promise you, Miss Dalton, I will find the man who did this,” Colin said. “You have my word. I cannot return your happiness, but you will have justice.”

“Thank you, sir. I know there’s no one more dependable in the empire,” she said. “Please forgive me, I must rush off if I’m to try to get home before my mother notices I’ve gone.”

We bundled her back into her carriage and watched it pull away.

“What do you think of this?” I asked.

“I’m baffled,” Colin said.

“Is there a connection between Polly Sanders and Michael Dillman?”

“There must be.”

“How can I help you find it?” I asked.

“Do you have any ideas?”

“One,” I said.

No trace of red paint remained on the Sanderses’ door when I reached their house after leaving Colin, who was off to Scotland Yard. Questioning the family seemed to me the most direct, and, hence, best way to begin looking for a connection between the family and Mr. Dillman. Furthermore, the scurrilous gossip about them that was flying through the park disgusted me. Society was delighted to be able to unite against a single family. Perhaps people felt their own shortcomings would be overlooked so long as they had someone else’s reputation to tarnish. This was an attitude I abhorred, and I wanted to make an obvious statement in support of the Sanderses. Calling on them would be a good start.

I knocked on the door. A lanky servant, awkward in what should have been elegant green-and-gold livery, did a terrible job disguising his surprise at finding a caller. He assured me his mistress and her daughter were at home, and urged me to follow him. I waited in a wide corridor while he secured permission for me to enter.

When I entered the sitting room, Mrs. Sanders and her daughter shared similar drawn expressions on faces gray with worry. Polly’s eyes, swollen and red, lacked all sparkle. Her mother, dignified and old-fashioned, stood to greet me.

“Lady Emily, I am more grateful than I can say to see you. As you must imagine, our plight is such that most of society is unwilling to receive, let alone call on, us.”

“I’m so sorry.” I ran my hands along the cool, smooth surface of the horsehair sofa upon which I sat. “My heart goes out to you, Polly. Have you heard from Lord Thomas?”

“His father wrote, ending the engagement,” Mrs. Sanders said. Polly sniffed behind a handkerchief. “Their family cannot tolerate such a connection.”

“Forgive me, Mrs. Sanders, if I speak out of turn. I know not the truth of Polly’s birth, but it seems to me irrelevant. You have never questioned her position as your daughter. Why should anyone else?”

“You’re very kind,” she said. “But we both know discretion is essential in such matters. Society will accept nearly anything so long as it’s not spoken aloud. Once such a secret’s out, however…”

“Have you any idea who might be responsible for the rumor?” I asked.

“It’s no rumor, you may as well know. These things happen, and distraught though I may have been at the time, I can’t say I was surprised. We sent the maid off, of course, but my husband wanted the baby to enjoy the same benefits and comforts as his other children. How could I object?”

Polly fidgeted in her seat, wrenching her hands.

“It’s admirable that you did not,” I said.

“I enjoyed having a little girl to spoil,” she said. “Sons are what we’re told to want, but after seven of them, I was happy for a daughter, and I’ve loved Polly as much as I would have had she been my own. Now, though, our whole existence is shattered.”

“It’s dreadfully unfair,” I said. “I know it’s difficult, but can you think of anyone who might have wanted to harm your family by exposing your secret?”

“Not at all. My husband is to receive a knighthood. We’re an honorable and much-respected family.”

“Yet someone did this to you,” I said. “We must figure out who it was.”

“For what purpose?” Mrs. Sanders said. “I can’t see how it will do anything but extend the life of the scandal. We’re going to take Polly abroad. Summer on the Continent and winter in Egypt. We’ll not return to England until this talk has quieted.”

The talk might quiet, but Polly’s reputation would never recover. No doubt her parents were hoping to find, during their travels, a respectable enough gentleman in need of cash, someone willing to overlook the accident of Polly’s birth in favor of her father’s wealth, and agree to marry the girl. If they did not succeed, she had a year, possibly two, before she’d be doomed to the lonely life of a spinster.

“Did you know Mr. Michael Dillman?” I asked.

“I’ve heard the name, but can’t say I’m acquainted with the man,” Mrs. Sanders said.

“He was murdered this week. And before his death, someone painted his door and stoop with red paint, just as someone has done to yours.”

“Murdered?” She gasped, alarm stretching her thin features. Her daughter shuddered. “I had no idea. I’ve been too consumed by our own troubles to read the papers. Do you think we’re in danger?”

“I don’t have evidence one way or the other,” I said. “Although it appears this villain has already done his damage to you. Were you acquainted with Mr. Dillman, Polly?” I asked.

“I know his fiancée better. We were all occasionally at the same parties, and Cordelia might have introduced us. I can’t say I remember.”

“Was he friends with Lord Thomas?” I asked.

“Not so far as I know,” she said. “They both could have belonged to the Turf Club. Lord Thomas spends loads of time there.”

I made note of the information, determining to find out whether Mr. Dillman was also a member, although it seemed unlikely. He hadn’t been known for aristocratic connections and I couldn’t imagine he would have much enjoyed the company he’d find there. “You and Mr. Dillman both have been singled out by someone with brutal intentions. Can you recall any other connection you or Lord Thomas might have with him?” I asked.