who was very broad as well. He looked almost as wide around as he was tall. However, he was blessed with a bright smile that he flashed at them.
“Good afternoon, ladies. And how could I be helping you?”
Jennifer certainly hadn’t expected someone quite so Irish.
She pulled out one of her cards and handed it to him. “I should like to see Mr. McDonnell, if it is possible.”
“And sure, it would be possible if he was here.”
“He isn’t here?”
Of course, he wouldn’t be. He’d be working. Except that she didn’t know where, exactly, he would be working. When she said as much to the strange majordomo, he grinned at her again.
“Well, now, that could be anywhere, couldn’t it? He’s got two music halls with one being built, plus a hoity-toity club with another on the way. Although I think the hoity-toity club is the best place to be looking for him. If he’s back from Scotland, that is.”
He immediately launched into a long discussion of solicitors and travel and the appointments Gordon had evidently missed in the past two weeks, not to mention the volume of callers he’d had.
“Do you know when he’ll be back?” Ellen asked, cutting through the voluminous explanation.
“Well, now, he’s gone back to Scotland and him just returning from there. You could ask Maggie. She’d probably know.”
“Maggie?” Jennifer said. “Where could we find Maggie?”
“Where she is most of the time. At the hoity-toity place.”
“The Mayfair Club,” Ellen said. “It’s where I found Harrison.”
They thanked the majordomo, descended the stairs, and entered the carriage again.
“Why has Gordon gone back to Scotland?” she asked, biting back her impatience.
“Perhaps Maggie will tell us,” Ellen said. “The Mayfair Club is where Harrison likes to gamble. He even has lodgings there.”
“No,” Jennifer said. “It’s where he likes to lose money, according to Gordon.”
Thankfully, Harrison’s actions no longer needed to concern her.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The Mayfair Club didn’t look anything like Jennifer had expected. It wasn’t appreciably different from the street on which Gordon lived. All of the carriages either parked there or letting out their passengers were fancier than most. She even saw a ducal crest on one.
The porter at the door wasn’t Irish this time, but quintessentially English with a very proper way of speaking. There was a glint in his eye, however, as he greeted Ellen. Evidently, she’d made an impression on her first visit.
“We should like to meet with Miss Boyland,” Ellen said.
The porter motioned them to an upholstered bench.
“I will see if she is available.”
Jennifer looked around her, impressed at the entranceway and wishing she could see the rest of the club. However, from both Harrison’s and Ellen’s conversations, such establishments were not open to women, unless they were employed on the premises.
They couldn’t hear anything. No raucous laughter or shouting. No clinking of glasses. No indication of the activities that were going on behind closed doors. The only thing that hinted that the club might be a masculine province was the faint smell of tobacco.
A few minutes later, they could hear the click of the porter’s shoes on the marble floor. When he appeared before them, his cheeks were slightly reddened. Either the exertion up the stairs had caused him to become flushed or announcing their presence to Maggie had resulted in some difficulty.
“If you will come with me, please,” the porter said, bowing once more.
They followed him up a staircase that rivaled the one at Adaire Hall. This one might even be fancier, with its carved wood balusters and brass handrail. Even the risers were decorated with thin strips of embossed brass.
The runner on the second floor was crimson, woven with blowsy roses on either side. There were four doors in the corridor, all of them closed but one. Jennifer couldn’t help but wonder what activities went on in those rooms.
The porter led them to the open door, then stood aside, bowing once more. “Miss Boyland,” he said as a way of introduction.
“Thank you, Ellison,” Maggie said, standing and coming out from behind the desk. “What a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Thornton. Have you come about Harrison? If you have, I’m afraid I have bad news for you. He’s no longer a member of the Mayfair Club. Nor does he have lodgings here.”
Jennifer and Ellen looked at each other. Evidently, Gordon had kicked him out. Jennifer wondered if he’d been able to find other lodgings. If not, would he return to Adaire Hall?