The Sans Pareil Mystery (The Detective Lavender Mysteries Book 2) by Karen Charlton Page A

onstage after he died. I had a premonition that this would end badly.’ She raised both her hands in a gesture of resignation. ‘But who am I, Detective, to stop a young girl from following her heart?’
    Lavender knew she was thinking about her elopement with Victor Rothschild. ‘I’m sure you were an excellent stepmother,’ he said, softly. ‘She was lucky to have such a tolerant guardian.’
    Lady Caroline gave a short strangled laugh. ‘I was far too tolerant,’ she said. ‘Both girls were out of control when I married their father. April was the worst. Harriet has had poor health since she was a child and was the more malleable of the pair.’
    ‘Do they have any other family?’
    ‘No. I am all they have – apart from each other, of course. Anyway, when Baron Clare died, April cultivated a friendship with Mrs Jordan—’
    ‘Dorothy Jordan, the actress?’
    ‘Yes. Mrs Jordan must have seen some talent in April because she became her patron and introduced her to the manager of Drury Lane Theatre. At that point I withdrew any opposition I had to her ambition, but I did insist that she use a stage name to protect her sister from malicious tongues. Harriet has made a respectable marriage to Captain Nesbit Willoughby and lives quietly in Wandsworth. I was quite surprised that April agreed to my request. She wasn’t always that agreeable.’
    ‘Did you hope to see her at the theatre last night?’
    Lady Caroline shook her head. Several red curls were now plastered to the side of her face with wet tears. ‘I knew she wasn’t in Mary: Maid of the Inn .’
    ‘We had heard good reviews of the show,’ Duddles explained. ‘Caro wanted to see it.’
    ‘Lady Caroline, when did you last see Miss Clare?’ Lavender asked.
    She blew her nose on her lawn handkerchief and stared thoughtfully ahead. ‘It must have been a few weeks ago,’ she said. ‘Both she and Harriet were invited to my soirée last Friday night – but neither of them turned up.’
    Lavender felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. The surgeon had said that April Clare had possibly died on Friday night.
    ‘Where is Mrs Willoughby now?’ he asked. ‘Did either of your stepdaughters send an apology or an explanation for their absence? Have you seen Mrs Willoughby since Friday?’
    Caroline Clare’s forehead creased and her lower lip trembled. ‘Such a lot of questions, Detective!’ she exclaimed in distress.
    ‘I’m sorry, Lady Caroline.’ He softened his voice. ‘I appreciate that this must be very difficult for you. I can always come back later, when you feel more composed.’
    ‘No, no,’ she said. ‘I want to help you in any way I can. We must find out who is responsible for this – this – this atrocity.’
    He waited a moment for her to clear her throat and her thoughts. ‘Are you aware if Miss Clare had any enemies, Lady Caroline? Or a beau?’
    ‘No, neither,’ she said. ‘Although I would have been the last to know: the girls were always close and secretive. Neither of them let me know that they weren’t coming to my gathering.’
    ‘Have they been in contact with you since then?’
    She sighed and leant back against the daybed. ‘No, they haven’t. An apology or an explanation would never have crossed their minds. You have to understand, Lavender, that when I was married off to Baron Clare, the girls had been motherless for quite a few years. At first, they hated me. But I gave them a lot of freedom and put up with their mean little pranks and eventually we settled into a mutual understanding. I didn’t interfere with their lives; and they kept out of mine.’
    ‘I see,’ Lavender said.
    ‘This arrangement has worked quite well for some years now,’ Lady Caroline told him. ‘I don’t see much of them but I always add the girls to my guest list when I throw a soirée. There were a lot of people here. To be quite frank, I didn’t notice they were missing until the next morning when Solomon commented on