To The Traitor in My Bed - Chapter 52

Deirdre could have easily asked Dorian or Sir Mark Hartley to look into what happened in Holborn, but she chose not to. The greatest advantage of Rochepolie was that it allowed her to disconnect from the world whenever she wanted, and she didn’t want to give up that privilege.

She had read two of Lady P.’s books in a day, books she hadn’t been able to read when her husband was at home as she had been a bit too embarrassed. She also had all the curtains in the house changed to different colors. Afterward, she realized that the colors of the carpets and the sofa fabric didn’t match, so she had those replaced as well.

Lady Perpetua arrived when Deirdre was examining a sample of a table runner. Once again, she hadn’t received a notice of her visit. Still, she welcomed Lady Perpetua with warmth.

“You didn’t call me to Edelweiss Heights, Lady Perpetua?”

“Freddy insisted I try out the new sleigh from the company. So, I had Parker take it for a test ride. Where is he now?”

“He went to Swinton for accounting. He’ll probably be there for a few weeks.”

“You’re staying here in Rochepolie?”

Perpetua’s blunt tone made Deirdre hesitate, even though she knew it wasn’t an interrogation. The couple had often spent long periods apart. Moreover, she didn’t want to go to Swinton until she’d heard from Rosina that the innocence of Lord and Lady Holborn had been proven. The atmosphere there must have been tense by now.

“…Yes, I prefer staying here in Rochepolie.”

“In winter, it’s just snow and deer… you are something else.”

Deirdre smiled.

“Would you like some of the orange cake? There are no raisins in it…”

“I bet not. Let me have a taste.”

Raisins were a staple ingredient in northern desserts because of their texture, taste, and high calorie content. But since Frederick had a raisin allergy, Deirdre made sure to manage the ingredients at Rochepolie carefully.

When Kingsley brought in two large slices of cake, Deirdre almost dropped her fork.

Outside, she saw the purple curtains flutter.

It was the military police’s carriage.

“Kingsley, go outside and find out what’s going on.”

However, the rude military police didn’t wait for the butler to open the door. They entered through the front door, which had been left open for Lady Perpetua, parked their carriage right in front of the porch, and barged into the house, boots dripping with melted snow.

“It’s not even snowing now.”

Perpetua said nonchalantly.

Deirdre couldn’t remain as calm as Perpetua. What if the military police had come knowing that it was not Count Holborn, but Count Rochepolie who had hidden the missing Viscount Darnell?

Kingsley had brought them in alone. Two military police. One was the young military who had brought the Sulav youth last time. He had a more serious expression now. However, it seemed he still had enough decorum to ask the Countess for permission.

“Lady Rochepolie, we apologize for disturbing you while you’re resting. We’re searching for a missing person…”

‘A missing person, not a criminal…?’

She unconsciously leaned forward.

“Is someone missing? Around here?”

This time, the one who appeared to be a superior answered in a tone even stiffer than the young military police.

“Yes. But, I believe you recently held a funeral at your residence?”

Deirdre was momentarily speechless.

So, they weren’t here for Ian Darnell after all. They had come looking for the woman who had frozen to death.

Unlike the disappeared Darnell, the woman had been buried in a cedarwood coffin in Rochepolie’s cemetery. The funeral director, workers, Anya, the physician from Wigmore, her nephew, and even the mayor all knew about it, so there was no way to deny it.

“Why was she buried?”

Perpetua, who had been listening silently, interjected. Deirdre was startled and grabbed Perpertua’s hand.

“Lady Perpetua, I…”

Perpetua pretended not to hear her.

“I asked why she was buried.”

“We need to confirm whether the person we’re looking for is the deceased.”

“Then you should have told us who you’re looking for first.”

The military police exchanged glances.

“A young woman. For reasons we cannot disclose, we can’t share more details.”

Perpetua clicked her tongue.

“One out of every five people in Antwerp is a young woman. How do you expect to find someone like that? I’ve never heard of a missing person report.”

Perpetua, being a relative of Count Rochepolie, was known to be eccentric, but that didn’t mean the townspeople didn’t respect her. It seemed that the military police had already heard about the time they had gone to Edelweiss Heights during a snowstorm and were fiercely scolded by the elderly woman.

Though the two military police were frustrated, they couldn’t ignore Perpetua completely.

“The person went missing from another area, but someone claimed to have seen her near the Merilbon River. Lady Rochepolie, if you can provide us with the deceased’s identity or a description, we’ll investigate the rest.”

“She’s a Sulav.”

Deirdre answered.