CHAPTER 4 - RAYMOND
My heart thumps hard as I listen to Selena. It’s no secret Alexandria is Lady Penelope’s trusted spy. Selena and I need to be more careful.
“Lady Selena, is everything okay?” Alexandria asks.
“Yeah. Just give me a few moments. I’m just getting changed into something more comfortable.”
She lets Alexandria in, speaks to her mother, and returns to my call.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She sighs. “That was a close call. My suitcases tumbled out of my cupboard. I almost got caught.”
“You should rest, darling.”
She yawns. “Good night, my love.” She ends the call before I reply.
Something doesn’t feel right. Even though I saw Selena in her bedroom I can’t shake this feeling of unease building up inside me. I wish I lived closer to Cornwall House. My sixth sense warns me not to attempt to go there tonight. This feeling of unease began the moment she showed me her mother, Lady Penelope enjoying herself at the party at Northington Palace. While the woman in the livestream bore a striking resemblance to her mother, I have a strong suspicion it wasn’t. I search for social media posts quickly and find a few with Lady Penelope dancing. Her posture seems forced. The Lady Penelope I know has the grace of a swan. This woman’s dancing lacks Lady Penelope’s grace and rhythm. If I were inclined to bet, I’d place all my money on the woman in the video being a body double in a latex mask. Does she suspect Selena is seeing someone?
My inner voice urges me to go to Cornwall House to make sure Selena is okay. Why would her own mother lie to her about being at a party when she wasn’t? I change into a black sweater and a pair of tight black jeans and pull a black beanie low over my face. I’ll drive my car until I’m within walking distance of Cornwall House. The drive takes forever. Selena’s face flashes in my mind increasing my panic. God, I hope she’s okay. I wish I could speed to Cornwall House but I don’t want to attract any attention. I park off near a piece of overgrown, vacant land, put my phone on silent and head towards my girlfriend’s palatial home.
Lady Penelope has night guards keeping an eye on her property. Since there haven’t been any incidents in the last few years, the guards have grown rather comfortable during their night shift and often end up sleeping when they should be on duty. None of them noticed the section of fence I cut out a year ago so I could sneak in and out just in case…I sneak in through the gap and creep along the thick section of screening plants surrounding the property. The garden is in desperate need of pruning which works to my advantage. Has Lady Penelope fallen on hard times? Or is she cutting costs and choosing to keep her night guards over having a neat garden?
“I explicitly asked you not to drink any alcohol tonight!” A woman screams so loud, I find it difficult to recognize her voice. I creep closer to where I think the voice is coming from.
“Are you sure Selena was here all night?” It’s Lady Penelope all right.
“Yes,” William replies.
“You’re lying. I put a tracker on her car and I received a notification on my phone when she drove somewhere two hours ago.”
I put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from gasping. I had been right to suspect the woman in the videos and live streams of the Northington party.
“Maybe I used her car…”
“I found you passed out on the sofa, drooling. You never answered my calls nor did you reply to my messages. It’s pretty obvious you were dead to the world after finishing off my prized bottle of vintage wine.”
Their voices grow louder and louder as I creep along the bushy garden towards the drawing room.
“You had one job, William, one job. If you want our plan to succeed you’re going to have to give up alcohol so you don’t mess up again,” Lady Penelope says in a low voice.
What are they up to? It obviously involves Selena since her mother planted a tracking device on her car. He’d been right to suspect Lady Penelope too. She’d always been a lying, scheming, conniving woman. She’d married the Duke of Cornwall by seducing him and claiming to have fallen pregnant. To prevent a scandal, the Duke married her. A few weeks later, she pretended to have a miscarriage. Her deceit was well known throughout Royal circles. Selena was the total opposite of her mother. She valued honesty, integrity, and kindness. I’m so lost in thought I don’t pay any attention to the heap of dried twigs and leaves lying in my path.
Crunch! The sound blasts in the night air like thunder.
Lady Penelope stops talking. I drop to the ground and crawl into the closest bushes. What the hell, Raymond! I scold myself. What if she lets the dogs out? Nothing slips past her German Shepherds. Dammit. I run my fingers through my hair and wait. She doesn’t let the dogs out but she closes the window. I spot one of the night guards patrolling the grounds. I remain still and silent inside the bushes, afraid to move. What if the scheming Duchess is hiding somewhere waiting for me to reveal myself? I’ll have to make myself comfortable in my eco-friendly hiding spot for at least an hour before I escape.
Maybe I should meditate. I concentrate on my breathing and listen to the night creatures sing their songs, as the cool night air freezes me when something lights up the driveway. I shrink away from the headlights. Who could be visiting Lady Penelope at midnight? Suddenly, I am happy I decided to wait this out. The main door creaks open as someone lets the guest in. I have to take a closer look at the vehicle.
I crawl on my hands and knees through the overgrown foliage, pausing every now and then to make sure none of the guards are around. There’s no sign of the Duchess, William, or their guest. I’m a few steps away from the car. Lucky for me, it’s parked in the dark so I can easily hide next to it. I can’t read the number plate at all in the dark. I have to take a picture with my flash turned on. There’s no sign of the guards. I click a few pictures and hope one of them is clear enough for me to read and trace the license plates. Once I figure out who the guest is, I may have an idea of what Lady Penelope is up to.