“Welcome. I’m Helena. Please come with me.” They are escorted to a small ladies’ receiving room just off the entrance. “How may I help you?”
“We were told to ask for Puck.” ”
“Ah, I see. Wait right here.”
Helena exited the room and, a short time later, returned. “Please come with me.”
Phoebe and Emma exchanged nervous looks before following Helena down a corridor to a large man walking toward them.
“I’m Puck. You requested to see me?” the new arrival asked, his brows raised in curiosity.
“I’m hoping to meet with Mrs. Dove-Lyon,” Phoebe said, her mouth dry as sand. “I would like to request her help with a certain matter.”
“Follow me.”
“Wait,” she said, panicking. “Can my cousin come with me? And don’t you need my name?”
“She may come, and I don’t need your name, but Mrs. Dove-Lyon will.” He cleared his throat. “Come. She is waiting.”
Waiting? How could she be waiting when she didn’t know Phoebe was coming? They moved down a hallway to a room at the end. Puck opened the door, then stepped aside. “Go on.”
“Thank you,” Phoebe mumbled. Her insides, all jittery.
Both she and Emma stepped into a modest office with a desk and a seating area with a settee and two chairs. Mrs. Dove-Lyon stood, facing the back curtained wall as though she werestudying something. Phoebe couldn’t see her face. “Sit,” she barked.
Phoebe and Emma exchanged worried looks, then sat beside each other on the settee and waited.
When Mrs. Dove-Lyon turned around. Phoebe swallowed a gasp. The lady was dressed in widow’s weeds, and her face was completely veiled. Without seeing her face, she could be any age. “Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?”
“I’m Miss Phoebe Windham, and this is my cousin, Lady Emma Windham. I’m the one requesting your help.”
“I see.” She walked to a sideboard. “Tea?”
Emma squeezed her hand and replied for both of them, “No, thank you.”
Phoebe was glad she said no because she didn’t think she could hold a teacup without the liquid sloshing over the rim, given her trembling hands. The lady in black widow’s garb was terrifying.
“Suit yourself.” She fixed herself a tea, then sat down in one of two chairs facing the settee, looking directly at Phoebe. At least she believed her eyes were on her. “So, tell me why you have come.”
“Before we begin,” Phoebe placed the satin pouch on the low oval table between them, hoping she didn’t notice her unsteady hands. “I hope this is enough to hire you for your matchmaking services.”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon opened the pouch and emptied the necklace and earbobs into her hand. She examined them, then rose and went to the door. She handed her mother’s sapphires to Puck and spoke softly. Phoebe couldn’t hear what she said. She returned to her chair. “Puck will have them appraised by our in-house jeweler. Now, besides seeking a husband, tell me, what has brought you to me?”
Phoebe explained about her father and mother, how she came to live with her aunt and uncle, and how she believed her aunt was poisoning her. Emma chimed in about Lady Helena, hoping what she’d heard was true.
“So, Lady Emma, you risked your fine reputation by coming here with Miss Phoebe?”
Since they sat very close, Phoebe could feel Emma shaking. “Yes, she is my cousin. She needs to be protected from my mother. I had to do something. Phoebe wanted to sell her mother’s jewelry and run away. Then I remembered the story about Lady Helena, since we came out together, and thought perhaps you could help my cousin.”
“You are a brave and kind lady. Both of you.” She paused, then sipped from her delicate china teacup. “What are you looking for in a husband?”
“Honestly, someone who doesn’t need a dowry, because I don’t have one. A kind man. Perhaps one who isn’t controlling and will allow Lady Emma to visit.”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon looked thoughtful. “That is all? Not someone rich? Handsome and debonair?”
“Kind. He must be kind,” Phoebe added.
“I have someone in mind. Among his many attributes, he is a kind gentleman and a member of theton. Since you need to sneak out at night, I will hold the meeting where you will be introduced to the gentleman tomorrow night at this same time.”
