Love & Murder: An Eliza Winter Mystery

The Ritz

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Eliza recognizes the grand limestone building that was the Ritz as soon as they turned onto Piccadilly. She had only ever had tea there with her Aunt Jane, so she was excited to be dining there before the opera.

Colin was supposed to meet Eliza near the maître D' at the front of the opulent restaurant. She pushes her way inside the posh hotel and takes a moment to admire all the glamorous patrons loitering around the lobby. She's quickly shown where the restaurant is and it seems many of the diners were also headed to the opera, as all the women were dressed in Paris's latest fashions and the men were suave in their tailcoats and top hats.

She looks over the sea of dashing men and feathers sticking out of women's hair, while trying to find the dark hair she's used to seeing crawl in through her window.

"Lady Eliza?" Colin's voice says, cutting through the ambient noise around her and she quickly spins around. She finds Colin dressed smartly in his black tailcoat with his matching white silk bow-tie and vest. His top hat is in his hands and his dark hair is parted and slicked back. His handsome face nearly takes her breath away and she clenches the silk wrap around her more tightly.

"Lord Bradshaw," she replies breathlessly and her eyes flicker to his lips, remembering how soft they were against hers the evening before. He gives her a coy smile and she assumes his mind is lingering on their shared moment as well.

"You're stunning," Colin says while looking her over and she becomes eager to remove what's covering up the showstopper. She blushes and he extends his arm to her before leading them over to their table. Eliza can't help but stare at the bright high ceilings, lit by strings of crystal chandeliers draped around the room. Their table has a neat white tablecloth underneath the sparkling crystal glassware and fine white China. A fresh floral display sits between the dinnerware sets making the dining room smell like sweet roses.

Colin pulls her round wooden chair out for her and she knows this is her moment to remove the silk. Her hands are warm under her long silk gloves and she feels Colin's fingers brush her skin as he helps remove her wrap. She pulls off her gloves one finger at a time and drops them onto the silk, now draped neatly over her chair. She takes a calming breath and after Colin reaches his side of the table, his eyes devour her. Stunned he says, "My God Eliza." His wide eyes worry her and she suddenly fears she's too sultry for the event, but then he adds, "I love seeing you in your little night frocks but this..." Eliza finally smiles and Colin settles into his seat. The waiter comes and swipes their wine glasses from the table and swiftly fills them with a dense merlot. She looks around and catches the eyes of some disapproving old bats, staring at her bare shoulders. They frown to her but Eliza turns her head, ignoring their frowns.

"I didn't know if you'd be up for such a social event after the funeral but...there's no one else I wanted to ask," Colin confesses as Eliza drops her glass back onto the table. She fiddles with the linen napkin in her lap and replies, "Well I will say that I don't want this entire evening to be about Penelope, but I do still want to discuss the diary." Colin's glass is perched on his lip when he nods and says, "I agree." She watches as he takes a swig and then she adds, "My new theory of it being a man of our class still stands. He clearly had money if he was showering her with gifts, yet he wanted to keep their love a secret. He was a man with something to lose."

Colin nods, "Have you thought about how her last days fit into your theory?"

"I have, but I still can't connect the drop off or the motorcar. Clearly the man she was seeing was rolling around in a motorcar. Her drop off location could still mean he lives in the vicinity of St. James."

"Has Lady Cavanaugh written you? I went to the other house you spoke of, but there was no male tenant inside," Colin says and Eliza shakes her head, "No, I had hoped she would before I saw you this evening but still no word."

"I'm not sure what all I should tell you about the investigation, but it seems your friend was very secretive about this man. No one ever saw her enter into a man's home, saw her speak to or speak of a lover and her own maid claims she was unaware that she was no longer a virgin or pregnant."

Eliza shrugs, "She couldn't have been that far along. It seems the whirlwind romance only lasted at most two months. I had wondered if Penelope had even known."

"Was Penelope the type to fancy married men?" Colin asks as he drops his glass onto the table.

"She'd flirt her way through parties, hardly noting who was spoken for. But I don't think she'd linger on anyone who was unattainable," Eliza admits. She watches Colin frown for a moment but before she can ask about it, the waiter comes to take their order. She gives the power to the waiter, telling him to bring out their most popular dish and Colin agrees. They hand off their menus and Colin jumps right back into business.

"Penelope spoke of a field where her and the mystery man...met up," Colin says gently and Eliza can't help but smirk and add, "For the rumpy pumpy." Colin lets out a burst of a laugh and Eliza sips her drink. He looks back to her with a smile and then says, "Yes my dear Eliza. She mentioned poppy fields and picnicking by a tree-line that hid them from view. Do you have any ideas as to where that could be?" Eliza grabs a hold of her glass while thinking. She tries to think of poppy fields that were close enough that Penelope could sneak away for only a matter of hours.

"I remember that Penelope went to Kent, not long ago actually. She said she was meeting her aunt for quick getaways. If the man was there at the same times, I know there are vast poppy fields and tree lines all over," Eliza explains.

"Kent's a few hours by train, it is possible to have a rendezvous without anyone noticing. Do you know if her aunt has a house there or if she was meeting her there from somewhere else?"

"She does in fact have a house there, but to be honest I don't remember where. I do know her aunt is Lady Cecilia Davenport. It won't be hard to track her down, she's a socialite who resides here in London during the summer. She was at the funeral, so she may still be here," she answers.

"Ah yes, I met Lady Davenport when I initially interviewed the family. She was very adamant that Penelope was not sneaking around with men. Nearly threw me out for suggesting it," he says.

"Well honestly Colin, if some stranger told my mother that I had been sneaking a man into my room and necking after hours she would have thrown him out too," Eliza says with a sly grin. "It doesn't make it untrue, just hard to digest."

"Well, her entire family seemed to have an alternate version of Penelope from what was in her diary," Colin says with a shake of his head. "The web of lies she wove is making it nearly impossible to do my job."

"So, you have no suspects then?" Eliza asks deflating. That wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Oh, I have my theories. It's just making all the pieces fit," he says and then his attention goes to the waiter refilling their glasses. She notices how handsome Colin looks, freshly shaved again and dressed to impress. He thanks the waiter and his sparkling blue eyes find Eliza's admiring ones. Andrew's warning comes barreling through Eliza's mind and she knows she has to address it. She can't get any further with Colin if his sole motive is to pump her for information. She takes one last swig of liquid luck and prepares herself for another confrontation.