Page 13 of A Season for Scandal

Neither of them interrupted until I reached the end of my story, and they showed no sign of shock regarding its contents. Instead, they shared a glance I found hard to read and Mrs Finch sat back in her seat, her eyes half closed – an expression that was distinctly feline.

“Geoffrey Earnshaw,” she said meditatively. “The name is familiar. Though I don’t believe we have run into him directly … yet?” This question was directed at Izzy.

“Not as far as I’m aware, but Sylla would know better than me.” Izzy pursed her lips. “A man of his character however… It should be almost too easy to find something he would rather not be found.”

“That much is certainly true.” Mrs Finch turned back to me. “Miss Bloom, I believe we will be able to help with this matter, though it will take us a day or two to gather the information that we need.”

I must have looked as baffled as I felt.

“Perhaps,” Izzy said slowly, “you should tell Marigold more about the Aviary now?”

Mrs Finch assessed me for another long moment. “I think you’re right,” she said at last.

“The shop?” I said. “It’s lovely.”

“The shop is only a small part of our business,” Mrs Finch said. “The true work of the Aviary is conducted upstairs.”

“Here?” I asked. “It is some sort of … society for ladies?” I hazarded. “It reminds me of a gentlemen’s club – I have visited one or two to attend to the flowers.”

“It is something like a society, I suppose.” The cat-like look was back on her face. “The Aviary is an organization run by women, for women. The work we do takes on many different forms, but in its broadest sense we act as a layer of protection that is not always provided by the law. Take your situation, for instance.” She gestured to me. “You find yourself at the whim of a dishonourable man. Your home and your livelihood are dependent upon his goodwill. While the proposition he made is abhorrent, it is not something that the law can prevent. Earnshaw has every right to expel you and your family from your business and your home if you don’t comply with his demands. We at the Aviary take issue with that.” There was a dangerous spark in her eye. “No, we do not care for that at all.”

I felt something shimmer inside me in response to her words. The anger and the frustration I felt at my situation rushed to the surface.

“I can’t say I care for it either,” I said tightly. “Yet I don’t see what can be done about it. Had I married Simon, then perhaps…”

“Had you married Simon, then the business you have built would have belonged to him.” Izzy’s words were heated. “You would have married for duty to a man who is clearly a colossal—” Mrs Finch delicately cleared her throat. “Right, not the point,” Izzy muttered. “The pointisthat we can help you. And when we do, you won’t have to give up the shop either.”

Something thumped in my chest. “What do you mean?”

“I told you that our work is about protecting women,” Mrs Finch said. “We are most easily described as an investigative agency. Women come to us when they have a problem that requires solving. We have found that the most effective way of doing so is often to acquire …leverageover the men who are threatening them.”

“Some people might call it blackmail,” Izzy said sunnily. “If they were being vulgar.”

She and Mrs Finch shared a smile, and I felt as though I had missed an inside joke.

“You’re going to blackmail Mr Earnshaw?” I said slowly, my eyes moving between them. “If we’re being vulgar?”

The smile on Mrs Finch’s face blossomed. “Yes.”

“How?”

“The Aviary is comprised of a network of agents who we call the Finches. These are women who come from all walks of life and who possess different skills. They work in secret.” Mrs Finch inclined her head towards Izzy. “The duchess is one such agent.”

“Finches are split into smaller groups – typically groups of four, so that we can be assigned to cover different cases,” Izzy explained. “These groups are called charms. I recently took charge of my own charm.” She said the words with obvious pride. “One of our charms will investigate Mr Earnshaw through whichever means seem the most appropriate, and we will then apply pressure to him so that he meets our demands.”

“Do you mean to tell me thatyou” – I pointed to Izzy – “theDuchess of Roxtonare part of a shadowy organization of women that blackmails men?”

“Well, I wasn’t a duchess when I started, but in a nutshell, yes. That’s it.”

“But that’s…” I trailed off for a moment, assaulted by too many feelings at once. “Incredible!” I finished finally, with a laugh.

Izzy beamed at me, and something flickered between us, a shared moment of glee. I couldn’t believe such a group of women existed, but I found already, even without proof of what they could do, that I was glad to hear it.

“There are only a handful of people who know about Isobel’s involvement,” Mrs Finch said. She wasn’t smiling any more and there was steel in her voice now. “It is a secret we are relying upon you to keep.”

“Why did you tell me?” I asked. “You didn’t have to. I’d never have realized who Izzy was.”

The two women exchanged yet another look, and again I got the distinct feeling I was missing something.