moment before he’d been intending to frighten some sense into her, Eversham said quickly, “There’s no need for that. I have a man I trust keeping a close watch on her while I’m here. There hasn’t been any sign that the killer has designs upon her.”
“That is something, I suppose.” She shook her head. “And I’m grateful to you for looking after Lizzie’s safety.”
“It wouldn’t have been necessary if you’d only told me about her in the first place,” he couldn’t help saying. “There is something to be said for allowing the police to take care of things like this. Not only did you endanger Lizzie, but you endangered yourself as well. A lady should be mindful to know her place in matters such as these.”
If he thought Lady Katherine would sit idly by at that bit of criticism, however, he soon learned his mistake. “First of all”—her eyes flashed with pique—“I’ve apologized. And I’m still considering how to make amends for the consequences of my actions. Whether you forgive me or not is your own business. But I will not listen to you speak about what a lady should and should not do. There was a time when I would have heard your words and bit my tongue and let them pass. Because that’s what ladies are supposed to do. Well, for me, the time of holding my tongue has passed.”
Eversham was surprised by her vehemence. He was about to make some remark intended to calm her when he realized she wasn’t finished. She’d only been drawing breath so that she could continue her speech.
“Who do you think must deal with the aftermath of these murders you investigate, Mr. Eversham? Is it the men of the house who must wash and prepare the body for burial? No, it’s the women. Who comforts the poor children of the dead when they wake up crying in the night? It’s not the men of the house. It’s the nursemaid, or the governess, or the mother. And then, other times, they can’t be there to perform these duties, because they themselves are the victims. In fact, I’d wager you’ve deduced on your own that when women are the victims, the culprit is most likely to be the husband or lover. I’d wager that in your position as a detective, you don’t even get called out to investigate most murders of the lower classes, because their killings don’t merit the kind of resources reserved for the all too rare murders of the middle and upper classes. After all, the women of the lower classes are interchangeable and one is just as good as another.”
Eversham blinked. Clearly she’d spent a great deal of time thinking about this. And perhaps she had a point.
“Lady Katherine, it wasn’t my intention to suggest that—”
But, her spleen vented, she seemed to deflate a little. “There’s no need to paper it over with niceties, Mr. Eversham. We each know where the other stands now. You believe my interview of Lizzie Grainger was careless and improper. I think you are a gifted detective but have little understanding of what life is like for the female population. You aren’t the first man to suffer from this failing and you won’t be the last. I simply ask that you consider my words the next time you think to dismiss some act by a lady as improper. Consider how much of what we’ve designated as proper and improper is less about manners and more about keeping ladies in their place. Where they won’t get in the way of the men.”
She sat back in her chair and waved a hand in his direction, as if instructing him to get on with it.
Lady Katherine Bascomb was certainly not dull, Eversham thought. He could admit to himself, even if he would be flogged before admitting it aloud in her presence, that she wasn’t wrong in her assessment of how society treated women. And he couldn’t help thinking of how difficult life must have been for someone like her—outspoken, clever, ready to stand for her principles when threatened. She was unlike any woman he’d ever known. In his experience, women—especially ladies—were coy and at times manipulative. He didn’t blame them. It was, in some instances, their only means of wielding any control over their lives. But there was nothing of those traits about Lady Katherine.
She said what she meant. And she spoke with conviction, her eyes lighting up with a fire that made him think of how she