By the time Belinda got back with coffee, Daisy had started a search for the dirt on Elliott Wareham's parentage. Surely if there had been mutterings, someone would have said something sometime. Of course Elliott was in his forties, so a lot older than Lord Toby. The Internet wasn't around back then. She did stumble across a family history website for a Littlemeister Family that had links to the Warehams. The site showed the various branches of the Wareham lineage. She should be able to work out who would benefit if Toby stayed missing and Elliott was proved illegitimate, but it showed nothing untoward about Elliott's parentage.
There weren't any dates for births, deaths, or marriages. Apparently speculation that the next Duke of Mardon was a bastard wasn't interesting enough to be included on the site, or the Littlemeisters were too afraid to mention it for fear of reprisals. Years ago Daisy had helped her mam do some digging into grandma Dobbins' side of the family, much to Aunty Katherine's consternation. The old lady kept muttering about a dark past. The only dark past they'd discovered was generation after generation of men that went down the pit. Digging for coal wasn't the dark past they'd been hoping for.
Belinda placed the coffee on Daisy's desk and glanced over her shoulder. "What are you doing?"
Daisy hesitated. Should she tell her? Why not, it was hardly a big secret.
"Grab the chair from Solomon's desk, and I'll tell you."
Belinda put her coffee next to Daisy's, and then pulled the chair over and sat.
"Did you go to school around here?"
Belinda nodded. "St. Swithin's."
"Got any brothers who went to Langdon College?"
Belinda shook her head. "Sorry, no brothers. But I did see some of the Langdon boys from time to time. They all seemed very dashing to a bunch of teenage girls forced to live in a virtual nunnery."
Daisy recalled the papers on Maggot Marlborough's desk. "School dances, by any chance?"
"Absolutely."
"I don't suppose you happened to meet Tobias Wareham, did you?"
Belinda smiled. "Oh yes. Rather more than a meeting actually."
Daisy grinned. "Jackpot. Did he ever tell you anything weird about his family?"
"Why? What exactly are you up to? Are you trying to find Tobias?"
"I'm heir hunting, like they do on that TV show. Have you seen it?"
"Bits of it. Heir hunting sounds far more exciting than making up funeral wreaths and wedding bouquets. What can I do to help?"
Daisy lifted her cup of coffee and took a sip. "Tell me everything you know about Toby and his family."
"Okay, I'll trade you."
"For?"
"Everything you know about Solomon."
Daisy nodded her agreement. She felt sure Belinda was about to get duped. What Daisy knew about Solomon could be written on the back of a postage stamp.
"I met Tobias when he was at Langdon College. The older boys used to join in with St. Swithin's Girls' College for dances. I guess they wanted us to learn to be comfortable in social situations with the opposite sex. Tobias was extremely comfortable. In fact I seem to recall he was comfortable with almost all of the sixth form girls. Or he was until he got to me."
"A womanizer?"
"A cad for sure." Belinda sighed. "He was quite the dashing young man, and he came with a title. Most of the girls were desperately in love with him."
"But not you?"
Belinda shook her head. "Not at first. Not really. My feelings were more lust than love. I wanted a good time, and Tobias knew the in and outs."
Daisy chuckled. "I bet he did."
"I had no plans to marry into the landed gentry, even though Mummy would love to hobnob with the real upper crust. I think that's probably why Tobias and I lasted as long as we did. He knew I wasn't into him for his title, and he was happy to have a girl who would sleep with him despite who he was, not because of it. Tobias had a great sense of humor and appeared a little wayward, but I prefer my men rough around the edges. More like Mr. Dangerous."
The news that Solomon had declared his disinterest in women in general, and the blonde florist in particular, would be a disappointment to Belinda. However, Daisy would keep that information to herself, for now. No point in interrupting Belinda's walk down memory lane, or put her off track by telling her the bit of rough she had her eye on wasn't looking for some upmarket totty.
"Toby?" Daisy nudged.
Belinda sighed. "He turned out to be a little more than I expected."
"Really? What? In the trouser department?"
Belinda's coffee sloshed dangerously close to the edge of her cup as her body shook with laughter. Daisy rescued the cup and placed it back on the desk before she was called upon to perform an emergency clean-up of Belinda's pristine white pants.
The poor girl wiped her eyes and sucked in some air. "Criminy, you are so funny, Daisy."
"I am?" As far as Daisy was concerned she was just doing her job, asking questions.
"You are. Anyway, back to Tobias. I had no complaints about him in the trouser department, as you so eloquently put it, however, the brash, confident womanizer turned out to be something else altogether."
"What?" Daisy was on the edge of her seat.
"He was a very deep-feeling soul. His heritage hung around his neck like a millstone. The thought that someday he might inherit the family heap, as he called it, along with the responsibilities of being the Duke of Mardon depressed him deeply. He wanted to surf the beaches of Australia, trek through the Andes, drive the length of Route 66. He wanted to be free of the weight of his family's past."
"Why would he become the duke? What about Elliott?"
Belinda shrugged. "He never said anything more."
"So if he found out he was the rightful heir to the family throne do you think he would have run off to escape the whole thing?"
"I've got no idea. I only saw him once after he went up to Oxford. I met him for the day. He was busking in Leicester Square. It was during the summer holidays. He was dressed like a hobo and living in a squat, but he said he had never been happier. I took him back to my hotel room, and we ordered room service."
"And?"
"He was talking about dropping out. He'd got into a lot of causes like animal rights and gay rights. I think he saw himself as a modern-day hippie. I told him he was mad, but he said as long as he had his Strat he would always be happy."
"Strat?"
"Guitar. It was a white vintage guitar rumored to have been owned by Jimi Hendrix and autographed by Keith Richards. Probably worth a fortune, but life was never about money for Tobias."
"I guess when you've got plenty of money you can afford to be blasé about it."
Belinda smiled. "You think people born with silver spoons in their mouths don't worry about money?"
Daisy shrugged, not wanting to appear judgmental.
"They do, Daisy. Well, some of them do. Even if they have a lot they worry it will all disappear and they'll have to learn to live without it, or alternatively, they're like Tobias and wonder if people only want them for what they have. I think he was searching for love. He didn't seem to get any from his parents."
"How so?"
"The Duke had Tobias's life all mapped out and had no time to listen to what his son actually wanted to do. His mother was a lush. Seems the duke never got over the death of Elliott's mother and had little love for his new young wife. She'd done her duty when she had Tobias. Once the old man had his heir and a spare he could see no further use for her."
"What do you think happened to Toby?"
Belinda smiled. "I hope he found his dream." She took a long drink of coffee and placed the cup back on the desk. "If you want to know if he's alive or dead, I'd look for his guitar. Find the guitar and you'll find Tobias. He would never part with it. There's a shop called Fretland somewhere in town that's supposed to be a guitar specialist. He used to rave about it. Not sure it's still around, though, but if it is they would be a good place to start."
"Do you know anything about Elliott's mother?"
"No. I do know Tobias and Elliott didn't get along, but then, what siblings do? My sister is positively beastly to me."
"You know the duke's estate is looking for Toby, don't you?"
"Yes. I saw it in the paper."
Daisy sipped her now-cool coffee. At last she had something to work with.
"Now your turn."
Daisy glanced at Belinda. "What?"
"Tell me all you know about Solomon. I can hardly work out how to win his affection if I know nothing about him."
"His affection. Is that what you're calling it?"
Belinda's face turned pink and she laughed. "You are awful, Daisy. Okay, maybe his affection isn't what I mean."
Daisy sighed. "His affection isn't what you're going to get either."
She had no clue what to tell Belinda. How did you politely tell someone the lust of their life wasn't interested? He could have been lying to dissuade Daisy from playing matchmaker, but it seemed cruel to have the poor girl dreaming about something he claimed she could never have.
The sound of the front door crashing open was a godsend. Daisy spun her chair around, but the person stomping into the office wasn't Solomon. The scowl on the dark-haired woman's face distorted her features. She looked as mad as hell.
"Where's Ronan?"
Daisy frowned. "Who?"
"Solomon. Fucking Solomon. Where is he?"
The woman stomped through the office and down the corridor. Daisy took after her. "You can't go down there. He's out."
The front door slammed shut, and Daisy turned her head, hoping to see Solomon arriving in time to save the day, but it seemed Belinda had bailed on her. Coward. With two of them they might have been able to throw the crazy woman out. She was skinny and tottering along in six-inch platform heels. Daisy could take her on alone, but everyone knew mental people had superhuman powers.
The woman grabbed the door handle to the locked room.
"You can't go in there. It's locked."
"Not for fucking long it's not. I know you're in there, Ronan. Get out here and be a man."
She stepped back and ran shoulder first into the door. It didn't budge.
"Stop it or I'm going to call the cops."
The woman's laughter was maniacal. "Call them. I'm sure Ronan would love them to see what he keeps hidden in here. Has he told you about his freaky obsession with another man? I bet he stalks the guy."
She backed up and kicked the door with her huge platform heels. The sound of splintering wood sent her into a frenzy, and two kicks later the door flew open. Panting, the woman stepped inside. "He's not here?"
"I told you he wasn't."
"Fuck." The woman stomped back down the corridor toward the office.
"Where are you going?"
"To find the cheap bastard."
"What am I supposed to tell him when he comes back and finds the door kicked in?"
She shrugged. "Tell him Lisa called, and it's his turn to have Molly for the weekend. Oh, and I want this week's money, or I'll be putting his nuts in a vise."
"Money? Molly?"
The woman disappeared out the front door, slamming it behind her. Who was she, and why did Solomon owe her money? Christ, the baby seat wasn't for show. Molly must be his kid. No wonder Lisa was pissed off. She probably had plans for a happy family, and Solomon was apparently off women.
Daisy stared through the now-open doorway. The room had a single bed shoved against one wall, and a bank of wardrobes and cupboards along the other. Did Solomon live at the office? Either way he certainly appeared to be a neat freak. You could bounce a coin off the bed, and were those hospital corners? She stepped inside and chewed her bottom lip. Now the door was open she could take a little look around. What harm could there be in knowing more about Solomon-or Ronan, as Lisa called him?
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So, what do you think Daisy is going to find hidden in Solomon's room?
I'll post another chapter tomorrow :)