The Sign of Death (Victorian Book Club Mystery 2)

“My apologies, but we need to stop the bleeding.”

“What the bloody hell—excuse my language—am I going to do about this? I can’t show up at my house with a bullet wound. Mother would pass out and then demand to know how I got shot.”

Amy shook her head. “We can’t go to my house either, since it’s close to dawn, and no one even knows I’m gone. If Papa wakes up, well …”

They remained silent for a few minutes, and then Amy said, “I know. We shall go to Eloise’s house. I can throw stones at her bedchamber window to wake her. She can let us in and get you fixed up. We did that for years when we were younger.”

“Why am I not surprised? I think your father made a miscalculation in allowing Lady Margaret to raise you.”

“I beg your pardon? Aunt Margaret is a wonderful aunt and companion.”

“Yes. She certainly is, but I don’t think she was as diligent as she should have been at keeping you in hand.” William leaned his head against the squab and closed his eyes. The pain was not unbearable, but damn, the thing hurt.

“You had better tell your driver where to take us.” Amy watched him carefully, no doubt afraid he might pass out on her.

He had no plans of swooning like an overwrought debutante. He reached the opening in the roof of the carriage and slid the door open. “John, do not take us to Lady Amy’s house or my house. We will go to Miss Spencer’s home. Do you know where that is?”

“Yes, my lord,” came the answer.

Amy narrowed her eyes at him. “I will not ask you why your driver knows where Eloise lives.” She raised her chin. “It is not my business.”

Despite the pain, William grinned at her obvious suspicion. “Do not fear, my dear; you may recall that we have both traveled to her home on the way back from our book club meetings once or twice.”

Amy smoothed out her skirt. “I knew that.”

“I think I could use the blanket underneath the seat across from us. Can you get it for me?” He had begun to feel chilly and knew it was probably from the shock as well as being bare chested. Soon he would be shivering.

Amy helped him back into his shirt and then wrapped him in the warm blanket and sat close to him, most likely to share her warmth. What a mess! He would have to keep his mother from knowing he’d been shot, and there was still the issue of getting Amy back into her house before her entire household awoke.

Despite all the hysteria surrounding them, the blasted dog had been sound asleep since Amy dumped her on the seat once they threw themselves into the carriage.

He must have dozed off, as it was near four o’clock when they arrived at Miss Spencer’s house. “Stay here, and I will wake up Eloise.” Amy left the carriage and went around to the back of the house. William closed his eyes and willed the pain in his arm away.

About five minutes later, Amy returned. “Eloise is coming down to the front door. We will bring you up to her bedchamber, where we can take a closer look at your injury and get you patched up.”

Amy helped him into his greatcoat, leaving off the jacket, cravat, and waistcoat. The pain in his arm was becoming a steady throb. As he started to climb from the carriage, he said, “I think John should take you home once Miss Spencer has let me in. It is already past four o’clock.”

Amy shook her head. “No. It won’t take long to clean you up and put some ointment and a bandage on your arm. I will stay.”

William couldn’t help but think that Amy did not want him in Miss Spencer’s bedchamber alone. Had it not been for the pain in his arm, he would have laughed. “Very well. But

if it gets too late, I will insist you return home. The last thing we need is your father seeing you waltzing back into your house at dawn.”

“Nonsense. Eloise’s house is only a short distance from mine.”

Naturally, once they made to leave the carriage, the dog woke up, stretched, and began to bark.

“Amy, do something with that dog. She is going to wake up the entire neighborhood, and I have no sensible explanation as to what the devil is going on here that won’t result in police summons, outraged fathers, and promises of duels at dawn.”

Amy took the annoying animal in her arms. As he left the carriage, William stopped to speak to the driver. “John, this should not take long.”

The man tugged on the brim of his hat. “Very good, my lord.” It always amazed William how John showed absolutely no concern, criticism, or disapproval regarding the various things William requested him to do. He imagined how entertaining the driver must be to the other members of the staff when they visited over glasses of ale and he shared stories of their employer’s shenanigans.

By the time they reached the front door, Eloise was already there, holding an oil lamp up in the air and waiting for them. She had thrown on some sort of a dress and had the look of someone who had just been roused from a deep sleep. “Whatever happened? Why are you both here in the middle of the night? Together?”

“Just get us upstairs to your bedchamber, and I will explain everything.”

The three of them hurried up the stairs and down the corridor to Miss Spencer’s bedchamber. If they were caught, it would be a disaster. Here William was, in the middle of the night, in an unmarried woman’s bedchamber with another unmarried woman. If caught, he would be forced to remove himself to Australia or the American states for the rest of his life. Maybe there was something to be said for an Indian reservation.