The man’s face lit up. ‘Miss! That’s very generous!’
Depends on how you look at it, Mister. My life is worth two shillings.
‘Just hurry, will you?’ I pleaded. ‘My young cousin is hiding right now, but sooner or later Lady Abercrombie is going to notice he’s gone, and then-’
‘I understand. What size is your cousin?’
‘About the same size as me. Hurry! And thank you for doing this!’
The waiter flashed a smile. ‘No need to thank me, Miss. I’ll be back in a moment.’
I spent hours - or at least it felt like hours - in agony, pretending to chat and laugh with the people around me. Every now and again someone would appear and say:
‘Miss Linton? Congratulations on your engagement!’
And I would have to resist the urge to vomit into a vase. Every moment, I expected Dalgliesh to appear and try to grab me. But when someone suddenly appeared behind me, it was not Dalgliesh.
‘Miss?’
‘There you are!’ I whirled and grabbed the clothes from the waiter, not even glancing at what they were. ‘Thank you! Thank you so much! I, um, will bring them to my cousin right away!’
And I slipped into the powder room. To heck with the waiter if he’d find that strange. I was never going to set a foot in this house again anyway!
One wrestling match with a hoopskirt later, I stepped out of the powder room, my own man once again, even if only in pretence. Keeping my head down, and especially doing my best to avoid any eye contact with my family, I made my way towards the exit. I was a little bit sorry about leaving Ella behind to fend for herself, but she was still in such a state of bliss from last night that I doubted she would even notice.
‘Lillian? Lillian, my love!’
Damn and blast! He would definitely notice, though. I glanced up just long enough to catch a glimpse of Morty, his eyes shining, looking around to find his beloved.
Well, his beloved was out of here, pronto!
Pushing past my dear betrothed, I made my way towards the doors of the ballroom. A servant bowed as I passed.
‘Would you like me to call you a cab, Sir?’
Wonderful, Lilly! He didn’t call you ‘Miss’!
‘No, thank you.’
I’d be glad enough if I could get out of the house alive.
They were waiting for me in a niche near the exit. Lord Dalgliesh and one of his henchmen, this one not in uniform. They were hidden from sight, behind a curtain that normally hid unsightly boots and umbrellas from the eyes of visitors. I would never have noticed them if I had not been looking for them. The curtain twitched as I approached, and immediately,
I stopped to listen.
For a moment or two, there was nothing. Then:
‘Where is she, My Lord?’
‘This is her engagement party. She is not going to come out quickly. Especially not if she suspects we’re lying in wait for her. She will leave in the middle of a crowd of her friends. We’ll have to be quick and decisive. Do you have the syringe?’
‘Yes, my Lord.’
‘Good.’
A pause.
‘I know it’s not my place to ask, my Lord, but…why do you want her? She seems to be a nobody. Just another silly little girl wanting to get married. And this is a very public place. The risk of exposure-’