Cain His Brother - Anne Perry [162]
By five minutes past nine he was outside Ravensbrook House, and saw his lordship leave in his own carriage. Goode mounted the steps and pulled the brass bell knob.
“Good morning, sir,” the footman said with only the merest surprise.
“Good morning,” Goode replied with a charming smile. “I am sorry to disturb the family so early, but there are matters which cannot wait. Will you ask Lady Ravensbrook if I may speak with her? I shall await her convenience, naturally.” He passed over his card.
“Lady Ravensbrook, sir?” The footman was uncertain he had heard correctly. It seemed absurd. What could the lawyer have to say to Lady Ravensbrook?
“If you please.” Goode stepped inside and took off his coat and gave the man his hat. He had no intention of being turned away, and he was used to pressing his cause. He had not become one of London’s leading barristers by being easily refused or overridden. “Thank you. So good of you. Should I wait in the morning room? Yes?” He had been here only once before, but he recalled it was the second door to the left. He assumed consent, and strode across the hall, leaving the footman holding his clothes, and with little choice but to accede.
He was obliged to wait nearly three quarters of an hour in the calm, ornate room with its heavy curtains and shelves of books, but when at last the door opened, it was Enid Ravensbrook who stood there. Instantly he felt guilty. She looked desperately afraid. Her lavender-colored gown hung on her, in spite of the fact her maid had taken it in as much as was possible without recutting it altogether. Her hair had lost its luster and even the cleverest dressing could not conceal how much of it had come out in her illness. Her skin had no color at all, but nothing could dim the intelligence in her eyes or the underlying strength in the lines of her cheekbones and jutting nose and jaw. She looked at him with unwavering courage.
“Good morning, Mr. Goode. My footman tells me you wish to speak with me.” She closed the door and walked quite slowly, as if she were afraid of losing her balance.
He made half a gesture towards helping her, and knew instantly that he should not. He ached to reach out and give her his strength, but it would be an intrusion. He did not need to meet her eyes to know it.
She reached the nearest chair and sat down, smiling at last.
“Thank you, Mr. Goode. I am obliged to you. I hate being an invalid. Now, what is it you wish to say to me? I presume it is to do with poor Caleb. I knew him very little, and yet I cannot help grieving that he should die so. Although, God knows, perhaps the alternative was worse.”
“But you knew Angus,” he said quickly. “With Lord Ravensbrook’s regard for him, and his own gratitude and affection, he must have come here often.”
It had been a statement, as if he did not doubt it, yet the look on her face was one of uncertainty and denial.
“No.” She shook her head fractionally. “He came, of course, but not so very often, and he seldom stayed long. I am not sure if it was because Genevieve felt a certain … uncomfortableness here? I think my husband overawed her to a degree. He can be …” Again she hesitated, and he had a sudden sharp perception that it was not the words she was struggling with, nor even if she should express the thought to him, but the thought itself. It was something she had long avoided facing, because of its pain. He was stunned by how much it distressed him.
He hesitated. Perhaps it was not worth pursuing at such cost. It could all be left to the coroner to cover with polite decencies.
But the doubt lasted only a moment. He could not live with such cowardice, and it was not worthy of her.
He smiled, “Please, ma’am, tell me the truth as you feel it, as you saw it. It is not a time for lies, however gently meant, or seemingly kind.”
“Isn’t it?” She frowned. “Both Angus and Caleb are dead, poor creatures, and their hatred with them, whatever it was for. It is gone now … finished.”
“I wish it were.” He meant it profoundly. “But there will have to be an inquest