by L. A. Nisula
“Right, let’s talk money, then. What would you expect your gallery to give you for it?”
Miss Hayworth wandered towards the staircase, glancing at me as she passed. I took the hint and followed her upstairs to give the pair of them some privacy to discuss money.
Upstairs, Miss Hayworth led me to the larger bedroom and closed the door before she said anything. “I think he was actually trying to be helpful.”
“It seems so.”
She shook her head. “Well, as he says, money is money, and it is a nice piece. It’s not as if having it on display somewhere will hurt her reputation. But anyway, while they’re talking, I thought I’d see what we have that might do for the memorial tomorrow. I know Helen has a spare black dress for gallery shows when she wants to be dramatic which might fit, but I have a black coat that might do just as well. Give me a minute to find it.”
I suspected the minute Miss Hayworth needed to find the coat was really to provide a distraction from the discussion downstairs, but as I didn’t think Miss Dyer’s financial arrangements had anything to do with the murder, I didn’t protest.
The coat, when she found it, was quite serviceable, being black wool with jet buttons. A bit warm for the current weather, but quite respectable for a memorial service. Miss Hayworth insisted I try it on in case Miss Dyer’s black dress would be needed after all, but aside from being a bit long, it fit well enough. And the length was something of an advantage, making it long enough to cover enough of my skirt that it didn’t matter what I wore under it.
With my clothing sorted out, we began discussing when I would meet them, but as that had been mostly decided on the way from Stow-on-the-Wold, there wasn’t much to discuss. I had the feeling Miss Hayworth was running out of excuses for us to stay upstairs when we heard Miss Dyer call up to us, “I’m going to put the kettle on.”
Lord Hector called up just after, “And it’s safe for you to return. We’ve finished discussing all the pesky monetary issues.”
Miss Hayworth rolled her eyes. “He’s incorrigible, but occasionally he seems as if he might almost manage to be tolerable, if he didn’t insist on being impossible.”
I laughed at that. “I think most of that is on purpose.”
“I’m sure it is. He’s used to annoying his father. I just wish he didn’t feel he had to annoy the rest of us.” Miss Hayworth folded up the coat and led the way out of the bedroom.
When we got downstairs, Miss Dyer and Lord Hector were both still in the sitting room.
“Did you find something for Miss Pengear, Nora?”
“My spare black coat. It fits fine, and I won’t be wearing it.”
“That sounds perfect.”
Lord Hector leaned in conspiratorially. “I hope you weren’t looking forward to the tea. I have a feeling it won’t be offered.”
As I had assumed Miss Dyer had simply been trying to tell us that they had finished talking, I wasn’t at all surprised.
Miss Dyer looked ready to say something to him, but she was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. “Now who’s inviting themselves over,” she muttered only half in jest.
“If it’s old Freddie, I’ll steer him home,” Lord Hector promised.
Miss Dyer shuddered as if she hadn’t even considered that possibility.
The reality was only marginally better. Inspector Wainwright was standing on the front step. He looked surprised to see Lord Hector inside, and resigned when he noticed me.
Lord Hector leaned over and whispered, “Now I’m rather glad there isn’t any tea.”
As he’d just gotten out of being arrested, I could understand why anything that might force him to stay in Inspector Wainwright’s presence might not have been welcome.
If he’d heard, Inspector Wainwright didn’t show any sign of it. He also didn’t bother with greetings. “Didn’t Sergeant Harris ask you to sign your statements?”
“He did not,” Miss Dyer said, not at all put out by the lack of greeting. “And Nora asked him twice if that wasn’t the proper procedure.”
Inspector Wainwright sighed. “Well, they need to be signed after you’ve read them over to be sure of their correctness.”
“So we have to go all the way back to Stow-on-the-Wold?” Miss Hayworth asked. “We’ve only just gotten home.”
“As I was returning to Eybry, I brought them along.” He held out a small stack of papers. “If you would kindly read them and sign if they are accurate.”
Miss Dyer took the papers from him and, glancing at the first pages, handed one set to Miss Hayworth then leaned against the banister to read the other set. Lord Hector kept glancing towards the door as if he were looking for a quick escape route should Inspector Wainwright decide to arrest him again. I stayed where I was and wondered what the real reason for Inspector Wainwright’s visit was. He wouldn’t have come simply to fix Sergeant Harris’s mistake, and I knew he wasn’t interested in re-arresting Lord Hector. I would have thought there was something in Mulberry Cottage he wanted to have a look at, but he didn’t seem to be looking at anything, unless the banister was somehow involved in the murder.
I still hadn’t figured it out when I heard the decisive scratch of Miss Hayworth’s pen and her footsteps as she crossed the room. “Mine is accurate.”
Inspector Wainwright took the pages from her, glanced at the last page to see her signature, and nodded.
“So is mine.” Miss Dyer took the pen Miss Hayworth offered her and scribbled her name quickly on the last page. “Was there anything else, Inspector?”
He took the papers from her, glanced at the signature, then put them both in a folder. “Not at the moment.”
Lord Hector seemed to think Inspector Wainwright was in a good mood. At least, he asked, “You weren’t going back towards Stow-on-the-Wold, were you?”
“No,” Inspector Wainwright said so flatly that I was sure he knew there was some ulterior motive to the question even if he didn’t know the specifics.
“Then I suppose Freddie and I will go over there later.”
So Mr. Briggs would most likely be paying for the steam landau. I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for him.
Inspector Wainwright turned to me. “And I suppose you’ll be needing a ride back to your cottage.”
I had been planning to walk, as riding back with Lord Hector and no one else did not seem the wisest move, but Inspector Wainwright was marginally better. At least I knew he would spend the short trip staring straight ahead and glaring at anything in his path. “If you’re going that way.”
“I was going to offer to take her there in the landau,” Lord Hector said, “but as you’ve so kindly offered, I’ll bid the lot of you adieu. I’ll let you know when I hear from my aunt.”
“Don’t forget to take your landau with you,” Miss Dyer called after him. “I could see him leaving it here and Mr. Morales expecting us to pay for it.” She went to the front window to watch him leave.
Miss Hayworth followed her, and I followed the pair of them so I wouldn’t have to stand in the middle of the sitting room staring at Inspector Wainwright.
Lord Hector seemed to have forgotten how he’d originally gotten the landau to work, or the first time had been pure luck, which was entirely possible. He tried several combinations of levers and dials until the vehicle lurched forward with a burst of steam then settled into a slow forward motion. Lord Hector waved in triumph as he got underway, a mistake as it caused the landau to swerve sharply to one side and almost collide with the Brooks’ front gate. Lord Hector managed to right his course and made it all the way to Trillwell Lodge without crashing or overturning.
“At least he made it,” Miss Hayworth said as she stepped back from the window. “I had my doubts.”
“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it,” Miss Dyer agreed.
Inspector Wainwright did not seem interested in Lord Hector’s fate. “Were you leaving, Miss Pengear?”
I considered saying I would walk home on my
own, but I still hadn’t figured out what Inspector Wainwright wanted, so I said, “Yes, I was ready if you were.”
“Take the coat with you,” Miss Hayworth said as they walked with me to the door. “Then you can see what you’ve brought that goes with it.”
I thanked her again and accepted the garment, then followed Inspector Wainwright out of the cottage.
~ * ~ * ~
Inspector Wainwright had rented a smaller vehicle than Lord Hector’s, more of a steam-powered gig, and had left it near the edge of the ford, off of the main part of the lane. Inspector Wainwright went directly around to the driver’s seat without stopping to see if I needed assistance, which I certainly didn’t but it would have been polite, so I climbed in without waiting to be asked.
I settled in as quickly as I could so we would have no excuse not to leave at once, but Inspector Wainwright did not seem to be in a hurry to leave. In fact, he pulled out a folder from the compartment under the seat and began to put the statements Miss Hayworth and Miss Dyer had signed inside neatly and correctly.
I considered waiting quietly to see if he would tell me why exactly he had come to Mulberry Cottage, but as he had his case notes out, it seemed a good time to at least try to get some information from him. “Did you ever find out why Mr. Reynolds was in the churchyard?”
Inspector Wainwright ignored me.
“I did bring you two good witnesses to get Lord Hector out of prison before you had a marquess charging down on you. A murder charge could very well have been a bit much even for a disowning father, especially if it came to a trial.”
“I was told in confidence to protect a lady’s reputation.” He very deliberately turned a few pages in his file.
I leaned forward, and as I am capable of reading upside down, a fact I assumed Inspector Wainwright was well aware of, I was able to see Mrs. Hoyt’s name written on Mr. Reynolds’s witness sheet. “And I thought wicked old London was supposed to be the center of all scandal. Is anyone here not involved with someone unsuitable?”
“Everywhere has scandal. It’s mainly a question of who can hide it best.”
Inspector Wainwright had very precise handwriting, unlike Inspector Burrows, so it was quite easy for me to continue reading. Mr. Reynolds had driven Mrs. Hoyt to Stow-on-the-Wold from Eybry around nine-thirty. They were together in Eybry at an undisclosed location (that was underlined several times by Inspector Wainwright, making me think he was trying to find out where it was) until quarter past eleven, when Mrs. Hoyt stayed to do some shopping and Mr. Reynolds returned to continue his rounds in Eybry. Considering the time it would take for him to get from Stow-on-the-Wold to Eybry, he must have just arrived when we saw him arguing with Mr. Burton. “And she confirmed she was with him?”
“Yes, she confirmed they were together until just past eleven, once I explained that it wouldn’t go any further if it wasn’t related to the murder. It is also why he lied about having been in Chipping Campden. He was hoping we wouldn’t find out about them.”
“So he would have had to go right from her to Mr. Burton’s, and therefore he’s still not a suspect. Pity.”
“Hmm.”
I considered telling him about the odd tour of the town I’d received from Mr. Reynolds and Lord Hector, more to fill space than anything, but Inspector Wainwright had already snapped his folder closed and stowed it beneath his seat, so the conversation seemed to be over. I tucked Miss Hayworth’s coat alongside me so it wouldn’t get dusty from the road and stayed silent.
Inspector Wainwright pushed a few levers, and we were off with far less steam and confusion than Lord Hector had required. Inspector Wainwright had probably read some sort of manual before taking the gig out. I considered commenting on that as well, but I decided against it. If I stayed silent long enough, I might find out why he had gone out of his way to go to Mulberry Cottage.
“Do you always travel with funeral clothes?”
I had become so used to the silence, it took me a moment to realize what he was asking. “Well, I do seem to end up in situations where mourning clothes would be useful, but I haven’t begun packing them yet. Miss Hayworth is loaning me this for tomorrow. We’re going to Mr. Hoyt’s memorial service.” I wondered if that might have been what he was interested in, if I would be attending. If that was it, I might as well make it worth his trip. “They offered, and I thought it would be a good chance to see all of the players in the drama, so to speak.”
“You think the pertinent ones will be there?”
I was surprised to get a response from him, and even more so because that suggested this was indeed why he had come to Mulberry Cottage. I suppose it hadn’t been too hard to realize that I would go there after leaving the station with Miss Dyer and Miss Hayworth. “I would assume his former female companions would come. And I haven’t met Mrs. Hoyt yet. It seems the best place to get an introduction to her. And before you ask, no, I won’t let her know you told me about Mr. Reynolds’s alibi. Or tell Miss Hayworth and Miss Dyer.” I could feel the shift in Inspector Wainwright’s attention from what I was saying back to the lane in front of us. So that was what he had been hoping to know, although I couldn’t figure out why. I leaned back in my seat and decided to give him another opening to speak if he wanted to. “I wonder if I should have asked them if Mrs. Albright could go with us as well. She is Mrs. Foster’s friend, which means some of the people there might talk to her when they won’t talk to the rest of us.”
Unsurprisingly, Inspector Wainwright did not offer any assistance with that dilemma.
Chapter 19
INSPECTOR WAINWRIGHT AND I finished the trip to Oakwood Cottage in silence. As the gig stopped at the start of the front path, I wondered if I ought to ask Inspector Wainwright in for some tea, but he solved that dilemma for me. I’d barely gotten out of the gig and retrieved Miss Hayworth’s coat when he reset the levers and started off without so much as a good-bye. Apparently, he wanted to be saved the trouble of having to turn down tea. I opened the gate and made my way up to the cottage.
Mrs. Albright was in the kitchen when I got there, with the kettle going. “Hello, Cassie. The latest rumor is that Lord Hector was arrested.”
“He was, and he’s been released.”
“Not for whatever he did to the Mulberry Cottage shed, I hope.”
The incident of the shed seemed like a long time ago. “No. Sergeant Harris thought he was the murderer and that Inspector Wainwright was too afraid of his father’s title to arrest him. Inspector Wainwright had to go and sort it out, and Miss Hayworth, Miss Dyer, and I went to help Inspector Wainwright.”
“When Mrs. Otway told me about it, I assumed you’d be involved if there was anything to it. Was Lord Hector gentlemanly enough to get you all home?”
“As far as Mulberry Cottage. Then Inspector Wainwright arrived to have the ladies sign some paperwork, so he says, and offered to bring me here in the steam gig he rented.”
“Did you ask him in for tea?” Mrs. Albright didn’t sound particularly pleased by that thought.
“He left before I could decide if I had to.”
She seemed quite relieved to hear that. At least, she went back to setting out the tea she’d made. “I suppose he had things to do. You said he claimed to be at Mulberry Cottage to get the statements signed. Why do you think he really went?”
“That’s what I can’t figure out. He didn’t look at anything in the cottage, he didn’t ask anything too probing, and he did have the statements with him to be signed. But as soon as they signed them, he asked if I needed a ride here, and as he seemed marginally better than traveling alone with Lord Hector, I said yes. So whatever it was was either something to do with me, or something he could see so quickly I wasn’t able to tell he was looking at it.”
Mrs. Albright brought the kettle to the table and filled the pot. “Did you tell him anything useful on the way here?”
“All I was able to get in was that Miss Hayworth and Miss Dyer invited me to go to the memor
ial service for Mr. Hoyt with them tomorrow, but that hardly seems important enough for him to have come all the way to Mulberry Cottage to find out. Although, now that I think of it, he did almost ask me about it.”
Mrs. Albright seemed less interested in Inspector Wainwright’s motivation than in what I was saying. “So you did manage to find a way there. I’m glad. Mrs. Otway asked me to go with her, and I said I thought I ought to go and pay my respects on Mrs. Foster’s behalf, which she took to mean I wanted to get the gossip to pass on to her, which is more or less true, just not only her I’m passing it on to. But the way she asked, I wasn’t sure if asking if you could come along would be quite the thing, you see. But if you’ve managed it on your own, then it all works out.” Mrs. Albright took a piece of shortbread then slid the plate towards me. “Do you think you’ll have something to wear?”
“Miss Hayworth loaned me a black coat that should do.”
“Good. And I brought a grey dress, so I’ll borrow some black ribbon or something from Mrs. Otway and that should do for me. Really, this works out quite well. We can cover different sorts of guests. I would think the ladies at Mulberry Cottage would speak to different people than Mrs. Otway would.”
“I suppose they would. None of whom would speak to Inspector Wainwright without being required to either.”
“So I suppose it does help him to have us there. But it is still quite surprising that he would admit it.” She added a bit of cream to her tea. “So what sort of questions would it be most useful for us to get answers to?”
I took a sip of my tea while I considered the answer. “We don’t know very much about these ladies Mr. Hoyt was supposed to have been meeting, and I would assume most of them would come to the memorial. There could be some sort of motive there, either on their part or their husbands’. And I suppose that would depend on when and how the relationship was broken off.”
“If it was broken off at all. And that is definitely the sort of thing no one would discuss with Inspector Wainwright and would deny knowing if he asked. And just the sort of thing Mrs. Otway would know all about.”
