Love & Murder: An Eliza Winter Mystery

A Lunch & Dinner Date

LONDON. AUGUST, 1905

"Bugger," Lady Eliza whispers, after hitting her knee on the table. She whipped around to face the opening door so quickly, she almost knocked her teacup clean off the small wooden table. She watches as another man walks into the tea and cake shop- the fourth she's seen since she sat down. She glances at the small gold watch she had tucked inside a hidden pocket and starts to worry about her friend. Penelope is aggravatingly punctual. Her motto is if you're on time, you're late.

Normally, Lady Penelope Vanderwahl would have a small plate of finger sandwiches ready with a nice hot pot of Earl Gray tea waiting for when Eliza arrived at their weekly Monday luncheon. She'd be perched on the ornate wooden chair, ready to spill any gossip she had heard from the previous week.

But not today. Eliza was surprised to see their normal table vacant when she stepped inside with no tea or sandwiches ready on this muggy August afternoon. She had wondered what had been keeping her friend and was now wondering if Penelope simply forgot about their meeting. Eliza quickly goes through the days of the week to make sure she had gotten the date right. She had almost spun around to ask the gentleman next to her if today was in fact Monday when the door pushes open again. Eliza quickly deflates when she sees it's not Penelope crossing the threshold and begins to wonder how long she should wait.

The waitress waltzes over again to ask if Eliza is prepared to order anything other than her tea, but she quickly shakes her head and waves her away. Eliza knows the waitstaff gets excited and eager to please when a lady of her status comes in to dine, so she can tell they are disappointed in her lackluster lunch.

She takes another deep breath, feeling the crushing corset digging into her ribs, and silently reprimands Lucy for tying it up too tight. After she wiggles around for fresh air, she glances at the watch again and then slumps back into her seat. Penelope must have forgotten. She'd never be over an hour late to anything.

Resigned, Eliza pays her tab and grabs her pocketbook from the table. She picks up her long skirt as she crosses the threshold of the tea shop and immediately feels the hot sun cover her like a blanket as she shuts the door behind her. As soon as she takes a step away from the shop, a nanny trying to console two crying children bobs around her, and two men almost knock into her while dashing off to the pub next door. Eliza hates the bustle of London. The streets are crowded, the traffic makes the manure simmer and sizzle on a hot day and manners are often forgotten. She can't wait to get back to the country.

She raises her hand high to summon a hansom cab and it is only moments before one is halting beside her. She quickly forces her way into the sweltering cab and tells the driver her address. For a moment, she had contemplated giving Penelope's address to go check on her but decides Penelope must have simply forgotten about their engagement and she should head home.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"You're home early," Eliza's mother, Lady Mary Winter, Countess of Scarborough says as soon as she sees Eliza in the foyer. Eliza turns to her waiting lady's maid, Lucy and hands her her pocketbook and gloves.

"Penelope was a no-show," Eliza says, with a hint of annoyance. "I think she forgot." Eliza glances at her thin mother, noticing she's rather dressed up for an afternoon inside.

"That doesn't sound like Lady Penelope. Perhaps something came up?" Lucy offers but Eliza simply shrugs. She too found it odd but has no real explanation. Eliza looks back to her mother as she curiously asks, "Why are you dressed for an evening out?" Mary glances at her formal silk and lace gown before replying, "We were suddenly invited to dine at the Tennyson's this evening and had no real reason to decline."

"The Tennysons?" Eliza asks in surprise as they slowly walk in-step toward the drawing room. "They don't seem the type to host an unexpected dinner party. Lady Tennyson plans social gatherings weeks in advance." Eliza plops into a velvety drawing-room chair as her mother sits across from her on a matching chaise.

"Apparently, their nephew has been brought in to assist the detectives down at Scotland Yard for some murder case going on in London. They decided to host a dinner while he was in town. My guess is they want to parade him about to the houses that still have unmarried daughters with fortunes," Mary confesses with a slight eye roll.

"I don't see many women here flocking to a detective. That is of course, if he isn't the one to inherit the Tennyson fortune," Eliza answers while smoothing down her long lavender cotton skirt. Mary raises a long bony finger into the air and with a tilt of her head says, "Actually, Tennyson has implied just that. Their son Andrew has a gambling problem and his debts are mounting. They've tried to hush it up, but it's really no secret. Rumor has it that his lordship is considering disinheriting Andrew to save their family's fortune."

"Or they are going to try to marry him off to an heiress to save it," Eliza offers and Mary looks at her in agreement. "So, you may have gotten an invite to see if poor little Eliza wanted to take him off their hands." Eliza watches as Mary purses her thin lips before saying, "Don't talk like that Eliza. And you know we'd never marry you off to someone that would gamble away the Winter's fortune."

"You'd rather a spinster living in your home forever?" Eliza says with a smirk and this time her mother doesn't try to hide her eye roll. Lady Winter pushes herself off the plush chaise while saying, "Your love life is a discussion for another day darling. I have no interest in meeting potential Tennyson suitors. I just thought it would be nice to get your father out of his office." As if on cue, Eliza's robust father, Lord Edward Winter, 5th Earl of Scarborough rounds the corner and stops when he spots Eliza in the ornate chair.

"You're not supposed to be home," he states in confusion. With a gloomy sigh, Eliza answers, "I was stood up. I will be home for the remainder of the evening."

"Why don't you come to the Tennyson's with us? Rumors are both their son and nephew will be there," Edward suggests and he misses the glance Mary gives to Eliza.

"I do not intend to marry Eliza off to anyone associated with the Tennysons," Mary declares bluntly with Edward quickly replying, "Just because Andrew is a bad egg doesn't mean the nephew-"

"You know, I think I will go." Eliza interrupts before her parents can bicker about her single status. "I'm already dressed and depending on what families were invited, Penelope might be there. She'll be wanting a glance at the mysterious nephew." She adds while pushing herself out of the chair. The butler, Mr. Martin quickly tells Lucy to prepare Eliza for an evening out and moments later, Eliza's grabbing her cloak and is ushered into their motorcar.