“Sarah,” Madame Bereford snapped, as the young lady dropped her head. “Tell me, did Lord Hazelton ever speak to you about particular matters?”
The young lady lifted her head, glancing over towards Sebastian and Lord Hearst, a look of bewilderment on her face. Her eyes rounded as he gave her a small, encouraging smile, which was quickly followed by a look of fear.
“No, my lady,” she said quickly, a lilting accent in her voice. “Never.”
“You can speak truthfully,” Sebastian said, before Madam Bereford could say anything more. “Lord Hazelton is dead.”
He rose, watching the young lady with sharp eyes, noting how her face crumpled, how her shoulders rounded and how she lowered her chin to her chest. A little surprised at her reaction, he glanced towards Lord Hearst, who merely shrugged, clearly not at all certain as to what to do next.
“He did not speak to you of any particular matters or concerns, did he?” Sebastian asked, wondering how he would know if the lady told him the truth or not, given that she was hiding her face from him. “Or, if any other gentleman came to you, seeking to discover the very same questions we ask of you now?”
For a long moment there was silence. Then, eventually, Sarah lifted her head and looked at him directly. There was a steadiness in her gaze he had not expected, a calmness of spirit that surprised him.
“I have never had any gentlemen ask me about Lord Hazelton,” she said, her voice crisp and clear. “Nor did he ever speak to me about anything in particular.” Her eyes darted towards Madame Bereford for just a moment before returning to him, making Sebastian frown. Madam Bereford was smiling icily at them both, a look of satisfaction growing in her eyes. Evidently, whatever might have been said by Lord Hazelton, they were not about to discover it now.
“I see,” he said, rising to his feet as Lord Hearst did the same. “Then I thank you for your time, Sarah. And you also, Madame Bereford.” He bowed low and then pulled a card from his pocket. Advancing towards them both, he held the card out to Sarah rather than to Madame Bereford, noting again how she glanced towards Madame Bereford before she took it.
These young ladies were all quite at her mercy, he thought to himself, finding himself a little sorrowful about such a thing.
“Just in case you recall anything more,” he told the lady, smiling at her. “Anything at all that might be of use.” He sighed and let his shoulders slump. “After all, we do not want his death to remain unsolved. Rather, we want to discover the truth so that he might be at peace.”
Sarah looked up at him from below lowered lashes and he felt a sudden flurry of awareness at just how lovely a creature she was.
“Thank you,” she said simply, her voice quiet but her gaze steady. “If I can remember anything at all, I will, of course, write to you.”
“I am very grateful to you both for your consideration and your time,” Sebastian said, bowing low as though they were both young ladies of the ton who required such a thing. “We shall take our leave now and not take any more of your time, else I shall be late for my visit to Lady Callander.”
Madame Bereford’s smile did not reach her eyes. “I thank you,” she said, gesturing towards the door. “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”
“Good afternoon,” Lord Hearst murmured as together, they made their way from Madame Bereford’s house and stepped out into the sunshine, leaving Madame Bereford and Sarah behind.
“Well?”
Sebastian let out a long sigh as he shook his head, seeing the disappointment flare in Lady Callander’s eyes.
“We discovered very little,” he told her, somewhat disappointed himself. “Madame Bereford did not want to allow us to speak to her girl and thus, we had to make our way very carefully indeed.”
“And this young lady, this ‘Sarah’,” Lady Callander asked, her eyes fixed to his, “she said nothing?”
He shook his head. “She said nothing,” he confirmed, a little sadly. “I am quite certain that she was desperately afraid of Madame Bereford and thus would not have said anything to us within her presence, but —”
“Then mayhap you ought to go to the lady in question without Madame Bereford’s awareness,” Lady Callander interrupted, quickly. “I mean, not you or Lord Hearst, given that she is fully aware as to who you are, but another gentleman from the League.”
Sebastian frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Send another gentleman to Madame Bereford’s house,” she said, without even a hint of embarrassment in her features. “And ask him to request or to choose ‘Sarah’.”
“I see what you mean,” Sebastian said, slowly, his brow lifting. “And instead of doing as Sarah will expect, he can spend the time questioning her about Lord Hazelton.”
“Precisely.” Lady Callander looked rather satisfied, sitting back in her seat with a small smile teasing her lips. “Although it should not occur for the next sennight or so, simply to ensure that Madame Bereford does not become suspicious of your motives.”
He nodded quickly. “You are very wise, Lady Callander,” he said, seeing the hint of red brush against her cheeks. “And how have you been?” It had been a few days since they had come acro
ss Lord Hazelton in the park, which he knew had been a great shock to her. That being said, she looked as though she had recovered herself a little, for there was no longer that pale, wane look about her any longer.
“I am quite well,” she told him, with a small smile. “Although I am frustrated that I have been able to do very little other than go about my business and pray that whoever took Lord Hazelton’s life does not know of what he wrote to me.”
Sebastian nodded gravely. “The funeral is to take place very soon,” he said, quietly. “There is no rumor that has attached itself to either yourself or I, for which I am grateful for.” Lord Watt had sent some servants to the park once they had informed him of what had happened, and the servants had been able to take a firm grip of the situation. It had been they who had brought Lord Hazelton’s body to his townhouse, allowing his servants to take matters on from there. No-one seemed to have any awareness that it had been Sebastian himself and Lady Callander who had seen Lord Hazelton at the first.