The Captive

by Виктория Холт

  There was nothing I dared say. I wanted to shout out:

  He’s innocent. I know he’s innocent. It was hard to stop myself.

  I was tired when we reached Trecorn Manor. I had so looked forward to seeing Perrivale Court, but I had discovered nothing and it had been brought home to me what a strong feeling there was against Simon. Of course I had heard only one person’s opinion. But always against him would be the fact that he had run away.

  I was having one of my cosy sessions with Nanny Crockett. The twins were having their afternoon nap which, said Nanny Crockett, was good for them. It was Ellen’s free afternoon and she had gone to visit her parents in a nearby village.

  I was learning a little about Nanny Crockett’s background. She had come from London to take up her first post in Cornwall.

  “It was a bit of a wrench at first,” she said.

  “Couldn’t get used to it. Missed all the life. Then you get your little ones and they starts to mean something to you. I got quite caught up with the place, too . the moors and the sea and all that. You want to have a look at the place while you’re here. It’s worth looking at.”

  I was telling her I enjoyed my ride.

  “We went a long way. Near to a place called Upbridge. Do you know it?”

  “Know it!” cried Nanny Crockett.

  “I’d say I know Upbridge. I lived in the place at one time. I was close to it before that.”

  “Did you know Perrivale Court?”

  She was silent for a moment. There was a strange expression on her face which I did not understand. Then she said: “I should think I do.

  I lived there for nigh on eight years. “

  “You mean … in the house!”

  “I do mean in Perrivale Court, Miss.”

  “You really lived there!”

  “Well, I was nanny to the boys, wasn’t I?”

  “You mean Cosmo … Tristan .. Simon … ?”

  “I do. I was there in the nursery when little Simon was brought in. I remember that day. Never to be forgotten. There he was, handed over to me. Sir Edward said, ” This is Simon. He’s to be treated like the others. ” And there he was … a little scrap of a thing. I could see he was frightened … bewildered like, so I took him by the hand and said, ” Don’t you fret, lovey. You’re with Nanny Crocked and everything’s all right. ” Sir Edward was pleased with me and that was something rare, I can tell you. He said, ” Thank you.

  Nanny. Look after the boy. He’ll feel a little strange at first. ” We took to each other … Simon and me … from that moment.”

  I could scarcely suppress my excitement.

  “What a strange thing to do to bring a child into the house like that. Was there any explanation?”

  “Oh, Sir Edward wouldn’t give explanations. He was the one who said what was what and that was the end of it. If he said the boy was to be in the nursery, that was where he would be.”

  “Tell me about the boy. What was he like?”

  “A nice little fellow … sharp as they come. Pining he was for someone he called Angel. I could only think it was his mother. I got little scraps from him … but you know how it is with children. They don’t always see things the way we do. He talked about Angel and there was an Aunt Ada who struck terror into his little heart. It seemed they’d buried Angel and he had been brought to Perrivale then. He couldn’t abide to hear the church bells toll as they did for a funeral. I found him once hiding under the bed … hands over his ears, to shut out the noise. He’d thought this Ada was going to take him away … and then Sir Edward had brought him to Perrivale.”

  I listened. I was back there on the island and it was Simon’s voice I heard telling me how he had hidden under the table when Aunt Ada came.

  “Well, there he was and there was a regular lot of gossip about that, I can tell you. Who was the boy? Why should he be brought in? Sir Edward’s, they all said, and I reckon they were right. But it was strange, because he wasn’t the sort of man to go chasing women. All very proper he was … stern and upright.”

  “Sometimes such people have a secret life.”

  “You can say that again. But somehow you just couldn’t picture Sir Edward up to that sort of lark. It’s difficult to make you see him.

  Wanted everything run like clockwork. Meals on the dot. quite a to-do if anyone was late. You know the sort. There was a footman who’d been in the Army. He said it reminded him of a military camp. So you see. Sir Edward was not the sort who’d go chasing girls. Not like some I’ve heard of, where no young woman in the house was safe. They were safe enough in Perrivale Court . even the prettiest. “

  “Was he kind to the boy?”

  “Not kind … not unkind. He just brought him in and said he was to be treated like the other two. Then he seemed to forget him. The servants didn’t like it. You know what servants are … afraid someone’s going to get above them selves. They didn’t think young Simon had a right to be; there in the nursery with the other boys . and I reckons they showed it. ” ”

  “Did he mind?” i “Who’s to know what goes on in their little minds? But he was a sharp one. I reckon he knew all about it.” $ “But you loved him.” H She smiled reminiscently and tenderly.

  “Of all the children;) I ever had, he was my special boy. As for him I reckon I took the place of this Angel. I was the one he’d run to S^ there was any trouble and there was bound to be that | Mind you, he was older than the other two … just a year or two, that was all. But when they were little, it was an advantage. But they soon got to know the difference. They were the sons of the house and he was the outsider. You know what children are? Cosmo … he was the eldest… eave himself airs, he did. He thought he was Sir already, and Tristan could be a little tartar. I’ve often found that with younger sons. You know what I mean? Ah … but Simon … he was my special one. Of all my children, he was the one. I don’t know what it was … perhaps being brought in like that … missing his mother . and then to think that he got himself into that mess …”

  “You knew them so well,” I said earnestly.

  “What do you think happened?”

  “What I think is… no, what I know is … he didn’t do that. He wasn’t the sort. He couldn’t have.”

  “He ran away,” I said.

  “Oh, that’s what they all say. Well, so he did, but he’d have his reasons. He could look after himself. He was always like that. He’d find a way out of anything. That’s what I remind myself … because I worry a bit. I wake up in the night and think: Where is he? Then I tell myself, wherever he is, he’ll know how to look after himself. I feel better then. He’ll manage. When the two boys played tricks on him, he’d always get the better of them. He was clever, you see, and being in the position he was in … well, it made him able to look out for himself. He’d do what was best for himself at the time … and I reckon he’d be the one to know what was best.”

  “I was in the inn … The Sailor King. Mr. Lucas and I had something to eat there. The woman there seemed to think he was guilty.”

  “That would be Sarah Marks. What does she know? The old gossip. Thinks just because she’s the wife of the landlord she knows everything. It’s all for a bit of gossip with her. She’d tear

  anyone’s reputation to bits if it gave her something to talk about. I know her… and I know Simon. I’m ready to stake my life in his innocence.”

  “Oh, Nanny, where do you think he is?”

  “Well, there’s no knowing, is there? He got away all right. He’ll be biding his time.”

  “You mean he’ll come back when he’s found some light to throw on the affair?”

  “I think that could be.”

  “Would he write to you … do you think?”

  “He might. He’d know it would be safe enough with me. On the other hand, he wouldn’t want me to be involved. Isn’t there something in the law about that?”

  “I believe it’s called being an accessory.”

  “That would be it. Thoug
h wouldn’t mind. I’d give a hundred pounds if I had it just to have a word from him.”p>

  I warmed towards her. She was an ally. I had lured her to talk. And after that I was often in the nursery when the children were asleep, so that I could chat with Nanny Crockett.

  My friendship with the twins was growing. Jennifer had marked me as hers and had assumed a proprietorial attitude towards me, which gave me a great deal of pleasure. I was treated to confidential details about her dolls. I learned of their foibles, of the good ones and the bad ones. There was Reggie the bear who would not take his medicine, and one-eyed Mabel she had lost an eye in some mysterious accident -who was afraid of the dark and had to be taken into Jennifer’s bed at night. I invented adventures for them to which both children listened entranced.

  The time was passing too quickly and I was not looking forward to going away; but of course we should have to leave before long.

  Felicity was getting restive, but she did feel that our being there was good for me. and for Lucas, and being the unselfish creature she was, she curbed her own wishes and rejoiced for us.

  Even she could not guess how much good it did me to be near Simon’s home and especially to discover Nanny Crockett’s involvement. Felicity was just happy to see me with Lucas and my enjoyment of the nursery.

  Then one day events took a dramatic turn.

  The day began ordinarily enough.

  At breakfast the talk was about the heavy rainfall during the night and it turned to old Mrs. Gregory, the mother of one of the farmers.

  “I owe her a visit,” said Theresa.

  “It’s nearly a month since I was there. She will be thinking I have deserted her.”

  I gathered that Mrs. Gregory was bedridden and her great treat was to have a visitor who would chat with her. Theresa, with her knowledge of neighbourhood affairs, was especially welcome. She told me that she visited the old lady as regularly as she could, taking some little gift of cakes or sweets or a bottle of wine anything she felt might please her. But the great thing was to stay for an hour or so and chat.

  “Then,” put in Carleton, ‘there’s that little matter of the Masons’ roof. If you get an opportunity, you might drop in and tell them that Tom Alien will be along this week. “

  “I’ll go over in the trap this morning,” said Theresa.

  It was a pleasant morning, blandly mild . not too hot, ideal for riding. Lucas seemed mpre light-hearted than usual, and we took the road towards Upbridge.

  He looked at me and smiled.

  “Your favourite ride,” he said.

  “I believe old Snowdrop goes there automatically with out waiting for instructions. I think you have a morbid mind and are fascinated by that murder.”

  “It’s a pleasant road,” I said.

  That day I really did feel that I was making progress. We were a few miles from Upbridge and had decided we would turn back or we should be late for lunch. We could go on and have something at The Sailor King, but as we had not mentioned that we should not be back, we thought we had better return.

  We were passing along a narrow winding road when we turned a bend and saw right ahead of us a shepherd with a flock of sheep blocking the road. We pulled up and watched and as we did so a rider came up behind us. It was a young woman of remarkable good looks. Her black riding hat was set jauntily on her red hair and her long green eyes, heavily black-lashed, regarded us with the amused look people usually wear when confronted by such an obstruction.

  “The hazards of country life,” she said.

  “Which we must accept,” replied Lucas.

  “Have you come far?”

  “From Trecorn Manor.”

  “Oh … you must be Mr. Lorimer who was shipwrecked.”

  The very same. And this is Miss Cranleigh who was shipwrecked at the same time. “

  “How interesting! I’m Mirabel Perrivale.”

  “How nice to meet you. Lady Perrivale.”

  I was so overcome that I could only marvel. She was decidedly beautiful. I could imagine how impressed they must all have been when she came among them.

  “Thank the sheep,” she said.

  “Oh hello … they’re nearly off the road.”

  We moved forward. At the end of the lane the road branched in two directions. She took the one to the left; we turned right.

  “Good day,” we said and she had gone.

  “What a beautiful woman,” I said.

  “So she is Mirabel… the femme fatale.”

  “And looks the part, you must admit.”

  “I do. Indeed, I could do nothing else. How strange to meet her like that.”

  “Not really. She lives close by.”

  “And when you mentioned Trecorn she knew who you were.”

  “Well, I’m as notorious in my way as she is in hers. The survival of a shipwreck is worthy of a little notice … it’s not like being concerned in a murder case, it’s true, but still it is something.”

  When we reached Trecorn Manor one of the grooms came running out.

  “There’s been an accident,” he said.

  “Accident?” cried Lucas.

  “Who?”

  “It’s Mrs. Lorimer. The trap … they’ve just brought her back.”

  It was a house of mourning.

  Early that day Theresa had been full of life, now she was dead. We were all too stunned to take in this tragic truth.

  Apparently she had paid her visit to Mrs. Gregory and delivered her gifts; she had chatted with her for an hour and then left. On her way to Mason’s farm she had taken the hilly path. It was a road she had taken many times and had not been considered dangerous. But there had been heavy rain and there was a sudden fall of earth from the hillside. It must have fallen right in front of the horse, which took fright and bolted, taking the trap down the slope into the valley below. And thus Theresa had been killed and Trecorn Manor had become a tragic household.

  Felicity said to me: “I’m glad we’re here. Not that we can do anything to comfort Carleton. They were so happy together … so suited … and what on Earth will he do now?”

  “Poor, poor Carleton. He is too shocked to realize fully what has happened. Do you think we should stay awhile?”

  “Well, I suppose we must wait a bit. We couldn’t discuss anything with them at the moment. Perhaps after the funeral … bet’s wait and see how things go.”

  When the opportunity came I asked Lucas if he thought we should go.

  “Oh, not yet, please,” he said.

  “My poor brother is in a state of numbed misery. I don’t think he can accept what’s happened just yet.

  We have to think of him first of all. He relied on her more than even he realized. They were quite devoted to each other. I’m afraid we all took Theresa too much for granted . her good nature . her unselfishness . her way of playing down all the good she did to us all. We now see what a wonderful person she was. Carleton has been lucky . but that means it is going to be so much worse for him to face up to what he has lost. He’ll miss her every minute of the day.

  We shall all miss her terribly . please don’t go yet, Rosetta. “

  “James will have to go back to his work.”

  “Yes … and he’ll be coming here soon to collect you.”

  I nodded.

  “But that doesn’t mean you have to go.”

  “But of course I shall have to go with them. I shall have to leave when they do.”

  “I can’t see why. You haven’t work to get back to.”

  “I… I don’t think I should be wanted here … at a time like this.”

  “That’s nonsense. I know your presence will help.”

  I told Felicity what he had said.

  “He’s right,” was her verdict.

  “You’ve made a difference to him. I think you’ve been able to talk to him about that terrible time.”

  “But I couldn’t stay here without you.”

  She wrinkled her brows.

  �
�I dare say your Aunt Maud would think you ought to go home. But, after all, I don’t see why you shouldn’t stay on a little. James will have to go back, of course, and I shall go with him.”

  It was left at that and very soon after James arrived. His shock was great and by this time we were all learning something of the enormity of the tragedy which had overtaken this house.

  Nanny Crockett said: “The place will never be the same again. Mrs. Lorimer was the one who saw it all went like clockwork. This is going to make a very big difference. But it’s the children I’m most worried about. They’re going to miss their mother. Oh, they’ve got me and they’ve got you now, but by golly, they are going to miss her. She was always in and out of the nursery. They used to wait for her visits. I don’t know what this is going to do to them.”

  It was such a sad time. I was so desperately sorry for Carleton. He walked about like a man in a bewildered dream. Lucas said it was impossible to discuss anything. He could only talk about Theresa.

  Lucas himself was deeply affected.

  “This is the worst thing that could have happened to Carleton,” he said.

  “I’ve been a selfish brute moaning about my own troubles … telling myself he was the lucky one everything fell to him and so on … and now there he is … there’s no comforting him.”

  I was dreading the funeral. People came to the church from all over the neighbourhood. This was genuine mourning. Theresa had been loved and respected by so many.

  Nanny Crockett kept the children in the nursery. I wondered what they were thinking as I listened to the dismal tolling of the bell. I thought of Simon who, years before, had heard a similar bell. To him it had meant the sound of doom, the loss of Angel and the plummeting into the unknown.

  When everybody had left and the house was quiet, I went up to the nursery. Nanny Crockett was dressed in deep black. She shook her head sadly.

  “They keep asking questions,” she said.

  “What do you tell such little ones? They don’t understand.