Murder in the East End - Jennifer Ashley Page 0,75
Sir Arthur. He is highly thought of.”
“He is indeed,” Mr. Thanos said. “Quite generous.”
“Congratulations, old chap,” Mr. Fielding said, suddenly effusive.
“Excellent news,” Mr. Bywater said. “You must give us a tour when the school opens. Now, Mr. Fielding, I can tell you, as a City man, that mathematics is terribly important—we can’t count money without it.”
“Ah,” Mr. Fielding said. “You have a point.”
Polite laughter went around the table, and I relaxed a bit. Cynthia would not let Mr. Fielding dominate, as much as Mrs. Bywater seemed to be taken with him.
Mr. Davis blocked my field of vision by leaning to pour more wine into Mr. Fielding’s glass. He moved to the other side of the table to pour for Mr. Thanos. When Mr. Davis straightened, his gaze went straight to mine.
He said nothing, did not betray me by any movement of his body. But he looked at me, his disapproval vast.
I withdrew and returned to the kitchen, easier in my mind. Mr. Fielding, a chameleon indeed, had chosen to mind his manners tonight, for whatever reason.
The next morning, after breakfast had been served, Cynthia strolled into the kitchen. It was Tess’s day out, she already gone, so I had a stretch of hard work ahead of me. As I rolled out crusts for meat pies I’d make of yesterday’s roast, Cynthia sat down at my table and smiled at me.
“I think last night went well,” she announced.
“Oh?” I pretended to know nothing about it. “The gentlemen behaved themselves?”
“Not really. At least, Thanos did, but he can’t help himself. Mr. Fielding, on the other hand, decided to twist my aunt around his finger.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked in some concern.
“Mr. Fielding has Auntie convinced he has the patronage of a wealthy man. Which he does, I suppose. He told the story of being taken in and raised by this august personage, Lord Alois Symington, the son of a marquess.” Cynthia looked pained. “Auntie is ever one to admire a title.”
Mr. Bywater’s sister, Cynthia’s mother, had married an earl. I wondered sometimes if that wasn’t what had made Mr. Bywater attractive to Mrs. Bywater. She seemed rather uninterested in him in day-to-day life, and they had no children, implying no intimate connection.
“I do believe Auntie has the notion that Mr. Fielding will propose to me,” Cynthia said.
I ceased rolling, stretched nearly the entire width of the table. “You will not let him.”
Cynthia’s eyes danced with merriment. “Hardly. Imagine me, a vicar’s wife in the East End. I don’t mind helping the downtrodden, but I would mind having to be the upright, straitlaced lady pandering to stuffy matrons so they might give a few bob to the said downtrodden. If ever I put on a pair of trousers, the entire parish would be disgraced.”
I straightened up and continued rolling the pastry. “I believe your aunt concludes that when you are married, you will be content to leave off the trousers.”
“Yes, when I have a husband and children to look after, I’ll forget about my silliness. That is the notion. Why on earth would I want the freedoms of a man if I could stay home and devote all my time to one instead?”
“A good marriage, to a good gentleman, would not be so bad,” I said.
Her eyes held cynicism. “Good gentlemen are few and far between, from what I can perceive.” Cynthia sat back, but instead of turning morose, she retained a lively glint in her eyes.
“What have you been up to?” I asked, suspicions rising.
“Not much.” Cynthia clamped down on her spreading smile but couldn’t quite contain it.
“Very well, keep your secrets,” I said, as though I did not care one way or the other.
“Not so much secrets as . . . plans. But nothing I can say at the moment. Thanos tells me you visited him, and Fielding and McAdam nearly came to blows.”
“Nothing so dramatic.” I cut the dough into fourths, folded them, and laid them into pans, telling her what had transpired as I worked.
“Interesting,” Cynthia said when I’d finished. “My sister and I were rivals of a sort. Nothing nearly as volatile as those two, but she was always the darling, while I was the awkward older Shires girl—what was to be done with me? Em made a good marriage while I was the hanger-on. I loved my sister to pieces, but it was frustrating at the same time.”
I remembered the tension between the two, and Cynthia’s restless unhappiness.