Love & Murder: An Eliza Winter Mystery

Confrontation

Eliza's thoughts immediately go to what Bridgette said at Harrods and she tries to hand her aunt her sherry. Jane catches the determination in Eliza's green eyes and stops her.

"You will not go charging over there whatever the reason," Jane says with a firm grip on Eliza's arm. "Let the man come to you."

Eliza turns to face Jane and retorts, "He won't come over here, not with Adelaide and Bridgette standing over there. And I need to set him straight on a few things he was saying about me." Jane snaps her eyes from Eliza to something behind her and from the coy smile now playing on Jane's lips, Eliza knows someone is standing behind her.

Jane usually has admirers come over to her at parties, she's enviously tall with porcelain skin, bright blue eyes, and strawberry hair. She is also so thin she'd probably blow away on a windy day. She has a soft voice that sucks you in to whatever she's saying and knows how to apply a light touch with her hands to keep you interested. Eliza's uncle died three years ago, but Jane is enjoying her widow status. Eliza assumes the smile is for someone Jane knows, so she's surprised when she turns around and sees it's someone she knows.

"Mrs. Eliza...Winters, right?" Colin asks with a quick smile, but Eliza is quick to correct him.

"Lady Eliza Winter." Colin feels Eliza's snap and quickly apologizes, "Oh, my apologies. I was introduced to so many people that night-"

"You seem to know Miss Walscott and Miss Greensbury well though?" Eliza bitingly asks over the notes of a waltz, cutting Colin off as Jane tries to reign Eliza in with a soft squeeze.

"I've met them on a few occasions yes," Colin cautiously answers.

"Then you wouldn't mind going and telling them the truth about that night in the library then?" Eliza asks and this quickly catches Jane's attention.

"What night in what library?" Jane worriedly asks. Eliza turns to Jane as Colin shifts his weight, "Bradshaw here-"

"Lord Bradshaw," Colin mockingly interjects.

"Lord Bradshaw here decided to make up an interesting story about me to his beloved," Eliza glances back to Bradshaw, but he looks genuinely perplexed. "Says I threw myself at him, but as I remember it, I merely stumbled into the library introduced myself and left him in peace. There was no throwing of anything."

"I never said-," Bradshaw starts, but Jane clicks her tongue and warns, "My niece would never-"

"She didn't! I would never say anything that would cause offense to Lady Eliza here," he says with his hands up in surrender.

"You had to have said something if they knew I was with you in the library," Eliza says, clutching onto the fan in her hand so hard she worries she might snap it in half.

"I had only told them I had met you and didn't understand why they call you craz-" Bradshaw in a fluster starts but stops, embarrassed at his mistake. Eliza feels her face run red and it almost matches the shade of Bradshaw's flushed cheeks. The heat of the argument forced both of them to go silent. Jane tenderly reaches for Eliza's arm, but before she pulls her away, Eliza seethes, "The girl you are courting is vile. I hope you know that." Jane tugs Eliza away from Bradshaw before he can see her get visibly upset.

Once they are out of the refreshments room, Jane pulls Eliza into a hallway where couples are huddled close together, looking for some privacy.

"What was that all about?" Jane snaps as Eliza pulls her arm out of her aunt's tight grip. "Ladies are not to be seen having outbursts. That would mean we have feelings my darling girl. You'll quickly scare off all of the men."

"I'm tired of the rumors and the lies aunt Jane. Things that happened ten years ago still follow me around and I am sick to death of it," Eliza seethes trying to calm her shaking hands.

"Well, I hate to say this Eliza dear, but if Lord Bradshaw didn't think you were crazy before, he might now. You can't just go confront a man like that," Jane says more softly.

"Why can't I? Because people will think I am outrageous? It's too late for that," Eliza says with a laugh. She snaps her fan open and flutters it quickly, hoping it will calm her emotions as well as her body temperature down. "I hate London. I'm ready to go home, away from society. I will not be back for another season." Jane sighs, not wanting to argue with Eliza. She gingerly squeezes Eliza's hand, but right as she opens her mouth to console her niece a soft voice interrupts her.

"Lady Eliza?" Eliza and Jane turn and find Lady Vanderwahl looking physically put together, but emotionally looking a mess. "Any word from Penelope?" Lady Vanderwahl asks, sounding like she's on the brink of tears. Eliza shakes her head and knows she needs to tell the truth. But she also knows once she tells Penelope's secret, there's no going back. Once it's out, Penelope's reputation will be tarnished, bringing shame upon the Vanderwahl's good name. This could be Lady Vanderwahl's last public appearance for some time. She won't be able to show her face in any party in society, not any event or simple outing. This news could ruin the Vanderwahls forever, including her younger brother's chances at finding a match next season. If Eliza's shame follows her around years later, an elopement will run the Vanderwahls completely out of London.

As Eliza realizes that, she knows she can't tell, not yet. She doesn't want to be the one responsible for giving Lady Vanderwahl the worst news of her life. So instead, Eliza asks, "Has anyone else gone missing that you know of? Could she be off with someone?" Penelope had hinted that her lover wasn't of their class, which meant he could be someone that people didn't report as missing.

"I haven't heard. I keep thinking she's going to telephone or write a letter saying she decided to go on holiday or to a party on a whim. That she's meeting friends in the countryside," Lady Vanderwahl quickly replies. Eliza can tell that her mother is worried Penelope is with a man. Penelope would be one to have a love affair that crossed countries. She'd easily be whisked away by a man who promised her the world. She spoke freely about how her love would be grand and that she wouldn't marry someone mundane. Eliza knew Lady Vanderwahl had to be having similar thoughts, so she decides to nudge her, "Maybe she met someone?" The icy look Lady Vanderwahl gives Eliza makes her shiver. Penelope's mother must be worried that that could in fact be what happened, but she does not want to explore that route...at least not yet.

"If Penelope had met a man and run off, we'd know. Her things would be missing or someone like Bridgette Walscott would have informed the post," Lady Vanderwahl replies icily. With that, Eliza knows not to share Penelope's secret. She will not be the one to tell Lady Vanderwahl that Penelope eloped with someone of a lower class and was living penniless in the country- if that's indeed where she was.

"Of course, you're right. I promise you will be the first to know if I hear anything from her," Eliza says, knowing if Penelope writes her of an elopement, that Eliza will simply forward the letter on to Lady Vanderwahl so she'd be safe from her wrath. She gives the distraught woman a reassuring squeeze on her gloved hand and Jane leads them both back into the festivities.

As Jane guides her into the drawing-room, Eliza realizes she has to find out where Penelope is. Lady Vanderwahl, despite how enraged she'd be, deserves to know if Penelope is safe. The only problem is that Eliza didn't know where to start looking for her.