Read Online The Riddle of the Deplorable Dandy by Patricia Veryan - Free Book Online Page A

bedchamber.
    Her nightdress and wrapper were laid ready on the bed and Freda was nodding in the fireside chair. Elspeth crept over to the dainty escritoire and, having verified that stationery, ink and a quill pen were available, woke her maid and was readied for the night. She did not get into bed, however, but sent Freda off, saying that she was “much too excited” by the events of the evening to be able to sleep and would instead sit by the fire and read for a little while.
    The moment the door closed behind the yawning abigail, Elspeth hurried to the escritoire and took up the pen. Having spent most of the evening mentally composing this letter, there was no need for several efforts, the biggest obstacle being to disguise her own neat handwriting. She accomplished this by resorting to a rather flourishing printing and within half an hour had finished and sealed her letter. The direction presented a larger challenge, but by the time she had applied and blurred a “frank” and then creased the vital letter, she was quite pleased with her first attempt at forgery. An afterthought, calling for the application of the sole of her shoe, produced a grubby look that inspired a squeak of triumph, and having hidden her effort under the other stationery in the escritoire she was able to climb into bed with the satisfaction, however guilty, of a job well done.
    Freda found that her young mistress looked rather wan the next morning, and on learning that last night’s headache persisted, and that Miss Elspeth felt “a little stuffy,” she concluded that she had caught a nasty cold. Several sneezes and deep sighs confirmed this, and Elspeth went down to breakfast confident that the awareness of her “nasty cold” would be shared by every member of the staff before the meal ended.
    Madame Colbert had not yet come downstairs, but the postman had made his first delivery of the day and a small pile of correspondence lay beside her plate. Elspeth told the butler that she would wait a little while for Madame, and if he would just pour her coffee she might wander over to the buffet in a few minutes and serve herself. Geroux eyed her uneasily, but she sneezed, then gave him a brave smile, and he took his elegant self off, clearly thinking that poor Miss Elspeth was indeed a trifle down-pin this morning.
    The concerned gentleman would have been astonished had he witnessed the remarkable speed with which “poor Miss Elspeth” sprang up and raced around the table. The all-important forgery was slipped in amongst the other letters awaiting Madame’s attention and Elspeth retraced her steps at even greater speed as she heard her godmother approaching.
    She had barely sat down before the footman came in to stand behind Madame’s chair. Shocked to realize how narrowly she had succeeded in this first step of her plan, Elspeth stood once more, with a mental “Phew!”
    Madame accepted her good-morning kiss but, as she took her seat, remarked that her godchild seemed “a little flushed” and asked if she was still feeling poorly.
    It would not do to feel too “poorly,” so Elspeth declared that she was sure she would feel better after breakfast, and that at worst she might have contracted a slight cold. “The change of air, perhaps, ma’am,” she said, planting another seed.
    Madame looked relieved and entered at once into a rather one-sided discussion of The Pirate and the Princess while she enjoyed an egg on toast and two slices of cold ham. Elspeth settled for some haddock and bread and butter, and she strove to contain her impatience, but her godmother had listed her plans for the day and was drinking her third cup of tea before she excused herself. “Just for a moment, love, while I glance through all these silly letters.” She sorted through the pile and exclaimed, “Oh, here is one for you, Ellie. ’Tis franked by Lord somebody or other, I cannot