Mistress - Amanda Quick [76]
“Where were you instructed to leave the money?” Marcus asked.
“The instructions were the same as last time. I left the money in a hackney coach in Pall Mall. Marcus, this cannot go on. I cannot continue to pawn my jewelry. Sooner or later Sands will notice.”
“I suppose that it would be useless for me to try once more to convince you to tell Sands the truth.”
“You know that I cannot do such a thing.” Hannah raised her veil, revealing her desperate expression. “He will turn from me in disgust, I know he will.”
“He is a reasonable man. Give him a chance, Hannah.”
“I love him too much to take the risk. I do not expect you to comprehend my fear, Marcus. You have never been afraid of anything or anyone in your life. And it’s obvious that you have never loved a woman the way I love my husband. If you had ever experienced such great depth of feeling, you would understand.”
Marcus wondered if Iphiginia had loved her Richard Hampton with as much intensity and fervor as Hannah loved Sands. He pushed the notion aside. “I shall give you the five thousand pounds, Hannah. Fetch the bracelet from the jeweler’s before he resells it.”
She sagged back against the seat in relief. “Thank you, Marcus. You are a good friend. I shall pay you back, I swear it.”
“There is no need. We both know that I shall not miss the money.”
She smiled wistfully. “No, but that is hardly the point, is it? There are many people as wealthy as yourself who would not advance a friend so much as a penny.”
Marcus paid no attention. “This bloody blackmailer is getting bolder. He must be stopped.”
“Have you made any progress toward discovering his identity?”
“Some, not much.” Marcus regarded her through narrowed eyes. “I have a question to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“I seem to recall that at the time of Spalding’s death you had a young woman in your employ. I met her only once or twice, but I believe she had red hair.”
“Caroline Baylor.” Hannah grimaced in disgust.
“What do you know of her?”
“Very little. Spalding would not allow me to go anywhere alone, not even to see my family in Hampshire. He claimed he was protecting me, but the truth was, he suspected that I would run away from him. He feared the scandal.”
“Bastard.”
“When I complained of being confined to the house, he hired Caroline Baylor as a companion for me. I never did care for her. She was very sly. She came from a very respectable agency and had all sorts of references, but to this day, I believe she was actually Spalding’s mistress.”
It would have been typical of Spalding to install his mistress in his wife’s household, Marcus reflected. “Do you know what became of her?”
“She disappeared the morning after I—” Hannah’s hands tightened on her reticule. “The morning after I killed Spalding. But she was not in the house that night, Marcus. She had gone out. You know that. You walked in right after I had pulled the trigger. I was alone with Spalding”
“You said that she came from a respectable agency. Do you recall which one?”
“The Wycherley Agency. It’s considered the finest in London.”
“Perhaps the owner of the agency will know what became of her.”
Hannah’s eyes widened. “Surely you do not believe that Caroline Baylor is the blackmailer?”
“Where do you think she went that night?”
“I have no notion.” Hannah’s mouth twisted. “Caroline Baylor was not the usual sort of companion. She came and went as she pleased. Why are you suddenly concerned with finding her?”
It was not easy to juggle so many secrets. Marcus chose his words carefully. “I have formed a theory that the blackmailer may be a paid companion. Someone who would have once been in a position to know the secrets of both your household and that of the other victim.”
“And who is now blackmailing her former employers? Good Lord, I never thought of that.” Hannah frowned. “I can certainly envision Caroline resorting to blackmail. But why would