Tea and Scandal Read Free Page B

invited nowhere. She must be talking to the walls, for she sees no one but the servants. ”
    Scawen cleared his throat and said, “ Did I mention she has a visitor? I saw Pargeter ’ s traveling carriage coming from the direction of Bath this afternoon. A young lady got out at Wildercliffe. Had some trunks with her. ”
    Lady Sykes turned pale. “ You never told me so! ”
    “ You never asked."
    “ You know I am keenly interested in everything that goes forth at Wildercliffe. What was she like, this so-called lady? ”
    “ She was youngish, ” Scawen said.
    There followed a ten-minute futile discussion about who the visitor could be. In the end, Lord Fenwick suggested they should call on the soi-disant Lady Pargeter the next morning to discover it for themselves.
    “ I shall send Belton. We do not call on the housekeeper, ” Lady Sykes said haughtily.
    “The more fool you,” Fenwick said. “Assuming the housekeeper did marry Pargeter, it is clear as glass that she coerced him in some manner. He was past seventy. I wonder if he was compos mentis at the time of the wedding. ”
    “ The very fact that he married his housekeeper is enough to tell you his brain was addled, ” she said angrily.
    “ Has Belton looked into this possibility? ”
    “ The devil of it is that Pargeter seldom left home after Lizzie ’ s death, so no one saw him. The servants are sticking by the housekeeper — one of their own, you see. They are all in it together, and living like kings on Pargeter ’ s money. ”
    “ If Pargeter had reverted to childhood in his last year, there might be some indication of it about the place, ” Fenwick said. “ Toys in his room, or scribbling on the walls ... ”
    “ She has got rid of any such evidence. Belton says they put on a good show when he calls. She suggested he go ahead and lay charges, and she would hire her own lawyer. Meanwhile, she would answer no more questions. The last time he called, she refused to see him. The impertinence of the creature! ”
    “ It certainly wants looking into, ” Fenwick said. “ I shall call on Lady Pargeter tomorrow. Will you come with me, Phoebe? ”
    “That I will not! I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction, but you go by all means, dear Fenwick. You are sharp as a bodkin. You will see if anything is amiss. I am curious, as well, to hear a report on her new cohort. If you can discover her name, Belton will look into her background. ”
    Fenwick was concerned at what he had heard. He was aware of Lady Sykes ’ s habit of exaggerating matters and imagining wrongs, but it did seem suspicious that the exceedingly wealthy and toplofty Lord Pargeter had married his housekeeper. If there had been any havey-cavey business about it, it should be cleared up. It would enliven his visit to look into the matter.
    One did not retire at Swann Hall without inquiring of the host for his swans. Some men took pride in their families, or their cattle, some in their horses. For Scawen, swans were his reason for existence.
    “ How do the swans go on, Scawen? ” he asked.
    Scawen shook his head. “Terrible. We are down to two pairs—and of course, their cygnets. And of the two pairs, Darby and Joan are old as the hills. That leaves only Wilkie and Minerva. We lost our black swans, Diablo and Dorothy. Black swans were to be my contribution to Swann Hall. Papa built the conservatory; Grandpapa built the belvedere. I can’t think of anything else to build.” Swann Hall was a huge, rambling house built in a variety of styles, all managing to cohere into one interesting, if not beautiful, whole.
    “ What happened to the other swans? ” Fenwick asked.
    “I suspect the poachers took a couple of pairs. Henri and Rita died of old age. Bertie was used to sleep on the road—for the warmth in the paving stones, you know. A carriage got him one night. And some of ‘em flew away. When Darby and Joan go, I am down to a pair. What is Swann Hall without swans? ”
    They discussed