The Midnight Rose

by Lucinda Riley

  Think, Rebecca, think . . .

  She let out a sob of despair. She didn’t understand what was wanted from her.

  And who was Alice?

  She heard the heavy tread of footsteps approaching and turned her head back to where it had been.

  ‘Here we are, I’ve made you a nice cup of tea. I’ll untie you and then you can drink it yourself,’ Alice said as she put down two cups of tea on the dressing table, slopping most of the contents out as she did so. She came towards Rebecca, moving behind her to free her wrists and then walked round the chair and bent down to untie her ankles. ‘I do hope I didn’t hurt you; it was only so that you didn’t fall off the chair whilst you were sleeping. I used a silk scarf so your wrists wouldn’t chafe. There we go, that’s better now, isn’t it?’

  And as Alice turned her eyes up towards her for a response, Rebecca realised exactly who she was.

  Talk of the devil, Ari thought, as Mrs Trevathan appeared along the bedroom corridor and looked at him anxiously.

  ‘Have you seen Rebecca?’ she asked him.

  ‘I thought she was having dinner with Lord Anthony.’

  ‘She was, but then she disappeared. I’ve checked her room and it seems she’s left, because all her belongings have gone, as has her suitcase.’

  ‘Really?’ Ari frowned. ‘Perhaps she finally decided she wanted to move to a hotel. I wouldn’t blame her, given the fright she had last night.’

  ‘Yes, that occurred to me too,’ said Mrs Trevathan, ‘but I thought she might have asked you to take her.’

  ‘Well, surely the person to ask is Lord Anthony himself? After all, he was the one having dinner with her.’

  ‘Yes, but normally after dinner he takes himself off to his bedroom and I don’t like to disturb him.’

  Ari could see Mrs Trevathan looked nervous. ‘Well, perhaps on this occasion, you can make an exception? If you show me where his bedroom is, I’ll go and ask him.’

  ‘I’m sure that won’t be necessary,’ she answered. ‘Perhaps first I should telephone Steve, the production manager, to see if he’s heard anything from her. He should be back at the hotel by now.’

  ‘Good idea.’ Ari nodded.

  He watched her walk downstairs to the telephone in Anthony’s study. He went into Rebecca’s room and saw that it was indeed deserted; all of her things were gone. He left the room and followed Mrs Trevathan downstairs to see if there was any news from Steve, but her frown told him immediately there wasn’t.

  ‘He hasn’t heard a dicky bird, I’m afraid,’ she said.

  ‘If you could hand me a telephone directory, I’ll call the local hotels and see if she has arranged a room for herself,’ said Ari.

  Fifteen minutes later, Ari had drawn a blank on any establishment within twenty miles. Steve had called to say he’d had the same idea and result.

  Ari paced up and down the small study. If Rebecca had decided to leave, he was sure she would have left him a message in his room, or, at the very least, told Mrs Trevathan. She was simply too polite to walk out. And besides, who had driven her? Steve had said Graham hadn’t heard from her either. Unless she’d called a taxi herself.

  ‘Any news?’ Mrs Trevathan asked as she came back into the study.

  ‘No. It seems Rebecca has disappeared into thin air. I’m now seriously concerned, and I’m afraid that it’s time to ask Lord Anthony. He was, after all, the last person to see her.’

  ‘He told me he didn’t want to be disturbed during dinner,’ said Mrs Trevathan suddenly, as if she was remembering.

  ‘Really? Isn’t that unusual?’

  ‘I –’ Mrs Trevathan sighed. ‘One never knows what’s going on in His Lordship’s head.’

  ‘Where’s his bedroom?’ said Ari, marching from the study and heading for the stairs. ‘Because if you don’t tell me, I’ll batter down every last door in this godforsaken mausoleum until I find him.’

  ‘All right, all right,’ said Mrs Trevathan, close to tears. ‘I’ll take you to him.’

  Walking along the corridor on the other side of the main staircase from the one he and Rebecca occupied, Mrs Trevathan passed a number of doors and paused outside one towards the end of it.

  ‘This is his suite,’ she indicated. ‘Now, please wait along the corridor whilst I knock. I don’t want him to see you here if he opens the door. He really doesn’t like being disturbed by strangers at night and it’s more than my job’s worth to do so.’

  Ari took a few steps backwards. Satisfied, Mrs Trevathan gave a rap on the door.

  ‘Your Lordship? Sorry to disturb you, but I need to speak with you urgently,’ she said loudly.

  There was no reply.

  ‘He may be asleep,’ said Mrs Trevathan, glancing apprehensively at Ari. ‘I’ll try again.’ She did so, but still got no response.

  ‘You’ll have to go in and wake him up,’ ordered Ari.

  He watched the fear on Mrs Trevathan’s face as she paused. ‘He really doesn’t like anyone entering his room without his permission.’

  ‘For God’s sake, tell him it’s an emergency! And if you won’t, I will.’ Ari took a step towards the door and instantly Mrs Trevathan opened it herself.

  ‘Wait there,’ she said as she disappeared inside and closed the door behind her.

  A few seconds later, she emerged. ‘He’s not in his room.’

  Ari stared at her, not convinced.

  ‘Listen, young man, I’m as worried about Rebecca’s disappearance as you are, and I am telling you now His Lordship isn’t in there. Although it’s not unusual for him to take himself off on night walks.’

  ‘And where would he usually take himself?’

  ‘Oh, just around the estate.’

  ‘Mrs Trevathan!’ Ari’s patience finally ran out. ‘It’s well past midnight now and Rebecca is still missing. Now Anthony is apparently missing too. I’m worried enough to call the police right now.’

  Mrs Trevathan looked at him in horror. ‘Please! Don’t do that. I’m sure she’s fine. Perhaps she went with His Lordship . . .’ Her voice trailed off.

  ‘I realise your loyalties are divided, but we’re both aware you know more than you’re saying. I saw your mother earlier, the woman you convinced me wandered the house at night. She told me herself that she can’t get about without a wheelchair. It wasn’t her that Rebecca saw the other night, was it? You were lying, Mrs Trevathan. So, you have precisely thirty seconds to tell me where I can find Lord Anthony before I call the police!’

  Ari walked swiftly along the landing and down the main staircase, and marched back into the study. Mrs Trevathan hurried to catch up with him and entered the room panting with exertion. She watched as Ari lifted the receiver, his fingers paused above the dial. There was a stand-off for a few seconds before Mrs Trevathan capitulated.

  ‘Stop, please . . .’ Her voice trailed off as she collapsed in tears into a chair. ‘I knew that upsetting his routine would be bad for him. As long as he has peace and quiet and privacy, we can cope between us. It’s all this disruption that’s done it, I should have seen it coming.’

  ‘Look, just tell me where they might be and I’m sure we can sort all this out without involving the police.’

  Mrs Trevathan gave a final breath of surrender.

  ‘We’ll need to take your car.’

  46

  As she went through the ritual of drinking tea with Alice, a thousand thoughts ran through Rebecca’s mind. She made the polite responses Alice seemed to require to keep her happy, and Rebecca’s slowly awakening mind began to mull over the past few weeks and slot the answers into place.

  ‘Isn’t this fun? We’re having a tea party together!’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Mummy simply worshipped you, you know, Violet,’ Alice said. ‘She kept your suite of rooms pristine, she made sure the servants dusted them every day, had fresh linen put on your bed, flowers in all the vases. Of course, you were dead, but she always said I’d meet you one day. I think sh
e meant in heaven, but here you are on earth! Isn’t that just lovely?’

  ‘Yes,’ Rebecca answered obediently.

  ‘Of course, whilst you weren’t here, whilst you were up there, Mummy liked to pretend that I was Violet.’ Alice stroked her hair. ‘Mummy always said I was the spitting image of you when I was a child. She grew my hair long and I wore it in pretty silk ribbons. She used to buy me the most beautiful dresses, sent from Harrods, just like this one I’m wearing now.’

  ‘It’s very beautiful,’ Rebecca said, having learned fast that Alice liked flattery.

  ‘Thank you. It’s so nice to sit here and have a pleasant conversation with another young lady. Mummy was never keen on boys – or men, for that matter. Nasty, aggressive, smelly things, she always said. Much better to be a girl. I remember her telling me they were only useful for one thing, and I think we both know what that is, my dear.’ Alice tittered and a genuine blush came to her cheeks.

  ‘I’m sure your mother was right,’ said Rebecca. The more Alice said, the more Rebecca was starting to understand.

  ‘You know, I was so lonely as a child. Mummy didn’t let me have any other little girls over to play, so I had no friends. I wish you could have been here then.’ Alice mused sadly. ‘We do get on well, don’t we? We’re so similar, aren’t we?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Rebecca, ‘and I’m so sorry you were lonely.’

  ‘Well, as a matter of fact, I made up an imaginary friend called Amy. We used to talk for hours, although I knew she wasn’t real. But now I have you. I want you to stay with me forever. You won’t leave me, will you?’ Tears suddenly filled Alice’s eyes.

  ‘No, of course I won’t.’

  ‘My mother left me, you see, and then I was completely alone. And do you know, I really don’t think she liked me very much. She was always shouting at me. I –’

  Rebecca watched as Alice began to cry, the tears sending rivulets of black mascara down her cheeks.

  ‘Can I get you a handkerchief?’ Rebecca offered, grasping a reason to rise from the chair.

  ‘Thank you, you are so very sweet,’ Alice replied gratefully. ‘They’re just over there, in the drawer by the bed.’

  Rebecca realised it was now or never. She stood up and headed as fast as she could for the bedroom door, threw it opened and stumbled down the narrow staircase. She reached the front door and turned the handle desperately, but it was stuck fast.

  ‘Where are you going? Come back!’

  As Rebecca turned back down the hallway towards the rear of the cottage, praying there was another way out, she heard Alice thumping down the stairs behind her.

  ‘Help!’ Rebecca shrieked in terror as she found herself in the kitchen. Banging the door shut in Alice’s face, she groped around in the pitch-black trying to find a back door. She could hear Alice was in the room with her now, stumbling over furniture.

  ‘Where are you, Violet? Please, I don’t like this game. I’m afraid of the dark . . .’

  Unable to find a way out, Rebecca backed into a corner and slid down the wall as she heard Alice coming towards her.

  ‘There you are!’ The huge hands pulled Rebecca to a standing position. ‘I don’t like this game. Why don’t you come back upstairs with me and we can play dressing up?’

  ‘Please . . . let me go,’ Rebecca moaned as Alice dragged her clumsily across the kitchen. Then she heard a door open from somewhere in the room.

  ‘Now, come along, dear, stop being naughty and let your friend go,’ said a familiar, gentle voice. ‘I know you’re only playing, but really, Mummy won’t be happy at all with you if she hears about this, will she?’

  There was a pause before the hands holding her let go. Rebecca slumped to the floor like a discarded rag doll.

  ‘Mr Malik, can you switch the light on, please? These two naughty children have been playing “murder in the dark”.’

  Suddenly, the room was illuminated and, dazed, Rebecca saw Mrs Trevathan and Ari standing in the kitchen.

  ‘I’m sorry, Brenda,’ said Alice, ‘I’ve been a naughty girl, haven’t I?’

  ‘You have a bit, yes, but if you’re good and come quietly with me, I promise not to tell Mummy. Come on now, dear.’ Mrs Trevathan held out her hand. ‘It’s time for your new friend to go home.’

  ‘But I don’t want her to go. Please, Brenda, can’t she stay? I . . .’

  Rebecca and Ari watched as Alice’s bottom lip wobbled and she began to weep.

  ‘If you’re a good girl, perhaps your new friend can come back and play tomorrow.’

  ‘Please, can she? I’m so lonely all by myself, so lonely . . .’

  ‘I know, dear, but it’s very late. Now,’ she said pointedly to Ari, ‘I’m going to take this child upstairs and get her ready for bed. Why don’t you take your little girl home with you and maybe they can play together another time. All right?’

  Ari, who was staring in shock at the creature holding Mrs Trevathan’s hand, nodded mutely.

  ‘Goodnight, then, and thank you for coming,’ said Mrs Trevathan firmly.

  As Ari pulled Rebecca to her feet and half carried her out of the back door to his car, they could hear Mrs Trevathan’s voice continuing to talk calmly. He placed Rebecca gently in the passenger seat.

  ‘Are you hurt?’ he asked as he climbed behind the wheel and started the engine. ‘Should I take you straight to hospital?’

  ‘Just get me away from here,’ she moaned. ‘And from that terrible – thing.’

  ‘Did he hurt you, Rebecca? Really, even though I promised Mrs Trevathan I wouldn’t call the police if she told me where he’d taken you, what I’ve just seen goes beyond that.’

  ‘I’m not hurt, honestly. Just get me away from here!’ Rebecca repeated with a sob.

  ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’m taking you somewhere safe.’

  As he drove across the moors, Ari picked up his cellphone and called Steve.

  ‘Rebecca’s with me. I won’t go into detail, but I need to take her to a hotel and I’d like you to telephone the doctor she saw the other day and have him come and check her over.’

  ‘Is she hurt?’

  ‘I don’t think so, no, but she definitely needs to be looked at.’

  ‘Right, well, bring her here to my hotel in Ashburton and I’ll contact reception immediately. I’m sure they can find her a room. If not, she can have mine.’

  ‘And get the doctor there as soon as you can.’

  Steve gave Ari the address and he set his satnav to the postcode.

  When they arrived at the hotel, Ari was grateful that Steve had managed to procure a suite for Rebecca. He had left a message with reception telling Ari to contact him if there was anything more he could do.

  Rebecca let Ari steer her towards the lift and then along a corridor to her rooms.

  ‘I don’t have anything with me,’ Rebecca said, sighing wearily as Ari helped her up onto the bed.

  ‘Where’s your suitcase?’ he asked.

  ‘In a bush somewhere in Astbury’s grounds.’ She gave him a weak smile.

  ‘Never mind. I’ll go and collect it tomorrow. There’s nothing you need urgently, is there?’

  Before she could reply, they heard a knock on the door, and Ari went to answer it.

  ‘Good evening,’ said Dr Trefusis, ‘or should I say, good morning? I’m sorry it’s taken a while for me to get here, I was with another patient. How is she?’

  ‘From what I can see,’ said Ari, ‘she’s physically unharmed but very shaken. Can I explain what happened?’

  ‘No need for that,’ the doctor said quietly. ‘The patient I’ve just been attending to is Lord Astbury. Mrs Trevathan sent for me.’

  ‘I see. Where is he now?’

  ‘Still at the cottage on the moors. I’ve given him a heavy sedative, which means he’ll sleep soundly until I organise things for him in the morning. Mrs Trevathan is watching over him. The chances are he’ll wake up tomorrow and remember nothing of w
hat happened tonight. Anyway, let me see how Miss Bradley is.’

  ‘Of course. I’ll give you some privacy.’ Ari tactfully withdrew from the room as Dr Trefusis walked over to Rebecca.

  ‘I hear you’ve had a bit of a time tonight,’ he said gently as he sat down on the edge of the bed and took her limp hand in his to feel her pulse. ‘Did he harm you?’

  ‘No.’ Rebecca was so exhausted, she could barely string a sentence together. ‘But he put a cloth over my face that smelt strong and I lost consciousness, then I woke up in some house. I still don’t know where it was.’

  ‘I’m pretty sure he used chloroform, which is what surgeons used years ago to knock a patient out. It’s harmless, with no long-term side-effects. Mrs Trevathan thinks he probably found it in the medical cupboard in the pantry. I dread to think how old it is. She’s handed me the bottle and I’ll have its contents analysed tomorrow just to make sure.’

  ‘I thought –’ Rebecca licked her dry lips – ‘that I’d never get away from him.’

  ‘I’m sure you did, Miss Bradley. It’s been a terrible shock for you. All I can do is reassure you and say that I’ve known about Lord Astbury’s condition ever since I took over the medical practice from my father. And it’s extremely doubtful that, however upset and confused he was tonight, he would have hurt you.’

  ‘He thought I was his grandmother Violet,’ murmured Rebecca.

  ‘Yes, Mrs Trevathan did tell me that.’

  ‘Oh my God! He doesn’t know where I am, does he? He won’t come after me, will he?’ She gripped his forearm as terror appeared in her eyes.

  ‘You’re perfectly safe, Rebecca, trust me. He has no idea where you are, and he’s so heavily under sedation at present that he doesn’t know where he is either. Now, I’m not going to make you relive what happened tonight, but let’s have a look at you.’