Ne'er Do Well

by Dornford Yates

“‘And that is all she was withholding?’

  “‘I’m afraid so, Superintendent. She’s painfully conscientious: but reason is not her strong point.’

  “‘Never mind,’ I said. ‘I’m glad to have cleared it up. For I knew she was holding back something. And now I’ve another – another favour to ask. It’s very, very important that I should see Sister Helena quite alone.’

  Sister Genèvieve bit her lip.

  “‘You mean there was trouble last time?’

  “‘Yes. The Mother Superior was very much displeased.’

  “‘Need she know, St Geneviève? You see, the thing is this. The first time I saw Sister Helena, I saw her alone. And after a little, she talked quite naturally. The second time I saw her was in the presence of the Mother Superior. And both of us were constrained. Nice as she is to me, the Mother Superior’s personality takes precedence of that of anyone else. When she is present, I can’t get on terms with the witness. And the witness, of course, is more embarrassed than I.’

  “‘Yes, I see that. But, if it got round to her… I mean, it did last time.’

  “‘Can’t I see her by night?’

  “‘She’s on duty then. From eight to eight you know.’

  “‘A quarter of an hour…on the terrace…’

  “Sister Geneviève appeared to reflect.

  “‘It might be arranged. It would have to be late, Superintendent.’

  “‘At any time during the night.’

  “‘This very night?’

  “‘If you please.’

  “She glanced at her watch.

  “‘Will you come to see me again about half past five?’

  “‘Without fail.’

  “I left her then and went for a stroll in the meadows. I had ten minutes to spare before I saw Paterson.”

  Falcon sat back and looked round.

  “‘Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings,’ he said. Poor, foolish Sister Josephine had furnished the very best evidence I had.

  “First, the Mother Superior had told me a downright lie.

  “Secondly, what was she doing on the terrace on Monday night? And why did she enter Number Three?

  “Thirdly – and this is rather intricate – when did Sister Josephine first give me cause to think that she was concealing something which I should know?”

  “It was quite early on,” said Mansel. “Before you dealt with the visits.”

  “You’re right, Colonel Mansel. It was. Let me give you the questions and answers – I looked them up.

  ‘Tuesday night, between half past ten and two. Can you remember hearing any unusual sound – a sound, for instance, which you had not heard the night before?’

  ‘Oh, no, indeed.’

  ‘‘Quite sure?’

  ‘‘Yes, I’m quite sure.’”

  Falcon leaned forward.

  “So she was. She had heard no sound, which she had not heard the night before. But she did hear that. The same sound as she had heard on Monday.

  “And now for the other two questions.

  ‘‘I’m almost sure that a sound was made or that a light was shown on the terrace on Tuesday night.’

  ‘She shook her head.

  ‘‘Does that mean you can’t help me?’

  ‘‘Yes.’

  “Those were the answers I suspected.

  “And now for the truth, of which Sister Josephine had told exactly one half.

  “On Monday night, greatly to her surprise, the Mother Superior entered from the terrace about half past eleven o’clock. Bolton saw the curtains parted. If you remember, he saw ‘a flicker of light’. On Tuesday night, the girl was on the alert. Sure enough, she heard the step she had heard on Monday night. And she knew whose it was, although she didn’t come in. And that was at a quarter to two…when Dallas saw the flash of a torch.”

  “That’s very fine, Falcon. A beautiful piece of deduction. And because of what happened that very Tuesday night, she was afraid to tell even Sister Geneviève.”

  “That’s my belief.

  “Well, I went to see Paterson. I asked to see the record – just for the look of the thing. When I had studied that, I asked to see the reports.” Falcon took out two sheets. “These are the two that matter – copies, of course.

  Saturday

  Terrace, Number Four

  Lord St Amant.

  Physical condition Excellent

  Mental condition Excellent

  Penicillin

  A first-rate patient. Curiously reluctant to take any drug, either to induce sleep or to relieve pain.

  Sunday

  Terrace, Number Four

  Lord St Amant.

  Physical condition Excellent

  Mental condition Excellent

  Should be fit to leave on Friday. Has given me his word to take japonica, if in pain.

  Wakes in pain every morning at four a.m. (Curiously enough, so does Mr Dallas, the patient in Number Five.) Insists that some atmospheric change takes place precisely at that hour. I had not noticed this and think it unlikely.”

  Falcon laid down the sheets.

  “Those reports were made out in the evening and rendered to the Mother Superior at eight a.m. the next day. She, therefore, knew that St Amant would take two japonica tablets at four a.m.

  “Paterson gave me tea and showed me the house.

  “Then I walked back to the Home, to see Sister Geneviève.

  “As I entered the corridor, she came out of a room.

  “‘At midnight,’ she said. ‘Come by the meadows, please. She will be waiting at the foot of the terrace steps.’

  “‘God bless you,’ I said.

  “As you know, I kept the appointment.

  “I’d brought a rug from the car: so we sat on the steps.

  “Then I spoke very low.

  “‘Supposing your bell should go.’

  “‘Sister Geneviève is on the terrace, in case the light comes on. If it does, she’ll flash my torch.’

  “‘Good. Sister Helena, before I ask any questions, I’ll tell you what I know. And please put your trust in me. If I could have helped it, I’d never have broken this ground.’ I could see that she was trembling. ‘I know that in 1939 you and Lord St Amant were secretly engaged.’ I heard her catch her breath. ‘And I know that you took the veil because you thought he was dead.’ She was breathing most hard and fast. But I thought it best to go on. ‘Policemen aren’t supposed to have feelings: but when I found these things out, they tore my heart.’ She put out a hand, as a child in search of comfort: I took it in mine. ‘Tell me, did he know you were here?’

  “‘No.’

  “‘Did you know he was coming?’

  “‘No. When I entered his room the first evening, it was the most awful shock. But he…was so wonderful. He – gave no sign of recognition; but talked quite naturally…as if – as if he’d never met me before. And after a day or two, I thought that he didn’t know me. I simply couldn’t believe that he could be so easy and natural, if really he did. And I was so very thankful. It hurt…of course: but it was so much better that way.’

  “‘Did anyone know your story?’

  “‘Nobody here – unless it was written down in my secret report.’

  “‘Who would see that?’

  “‘Only the Mother Superior. I was so terribly afraid that she might notice my manner and look it up. I mean, I did my best; but – it was so hard to pretend that I wasn’t upset.’

  “‘D’you think she did?’

  “‘I – don’t know, Superintendent. She sent for me on the Sunday after he came. When I got the summons, I – well, I was terrified. But she didn’t mention Jo. She said I was looking pale and asked if I was ailing. And I said no. You need a tonic, she said. Tell Dr Paterson so.’

  “‘And that was all?’

  “‘Yes.’

  “‘Whether she knew or not, you couldn’t be sure.’

  “‘Yes. I – I didn’t know what to think.’
/>   “‘Did Lord St Amant maintain the composure he showed?’

  “Her hold on my hand tightened.

  “Then –

  “‘Was that the torch?’ she whispered.

  “‘No. I’m watching the terrace. I’ll tell you if it’s flashed.’

  “There was a little silence. Then –

  “‘I think he broke down,’ I said.

  “‘Yes,’ she said. ‘You’re right. It was on the Monday, when I went to give him his tablets and say goodnight. When I’d put the tablets down, he put out his hand and took mine. And when I saw the look in his eyes, I knew that he’d known all along.’

  “‘Did you stay with him for a little?’

  “‘Yes. I think my senses left me – only for a moment, you know. And then I was down on my knees, with my head on his bed.’

  “‘Did he speak, Sister Helena?’

  “She nodded.

  “‘We were both beside ourselves… After a little, he asked if I would tell him the date on which I’d – I’d…’

  “‘Taken your final vows.’

  “‘Yes. I told him the date. Then he said very gently, They pulled a fast one, Romy. My return was in every paper three days before.’

  “There was another silence, which I could not have broken to save my life. For one thing only, I couldn’t trust my voice. Mercifully, she went on.

  “‘I know that I fainted then. When I came to, I was sitting in the chair, and he was kneeling beside me, bathing my temples and face… Then he begged me to…break my vows. He said that I had the right, because I’d been tricked. He said that he’d come and fetch me… We were to go to Italy, under another name…and live in some tiny village, all by ourselves… And I said that I’d think it over…and tell him on Thursday night… I was mad, of course. But…’

  “‘There’s a limit to endurance,’ I said. ‘Not to physical endurance, because Death intervenes. But mental agony knows no such relief. And so one has to go on – to the breaking-point.’

  “I saw her nod.

  “Then she continued slowly.

  “‘Suddenly I thought of my bell. But, mercifully, nobody’d rung. Still, I went away then and left him… When I came in the next morning, he was himself again.’

  “‘And that was on Monday night.’

  “‘Yes.’

  “‘At eleven, or thereabouts.’

  “‘Yes. I think I must have been with him for half an hour.’

  “I held her hand very tight. Then I let it go.

  “‘That’s the last of my questions,’ I said. ‘But I’d like to ask you a favour, as we are here alone. I’m in desperate need of guidance. Please will you pray for me?’

  “‘Oh,’ she said. ‘Of what use are my prayers now?’

  “‘Perhaps I see more clearly than you. They’re far more valuable.’

  “Her head went down… So she sat for a moment. Then she stood up, and I rose.

  “‘For what it is worth, I will – with all my heart.’

  “She turned and passed up the steps…

  “After a moment or two, I made my way through the meadows and over the wall.”

  There was a long silence.

  At last –

  “Well,” said Falcon, “my case was now complete.

  “For some reason or other, the Mother Superior’s suspicions were aroused. So she sent for Sister Helena on Sunday. Not satisfied with her demeanour, she went herself to the terrace on Monday night. She was listening outside Number Four, when St Amant broke down. When the scene came to an end, lest she should be discovered, she entered Number Three. And when the coast was clear, she returned to her apartments – by the meadows, as she had come. She made up her mind that night to put St Amant to death.

  “This was too easy. She still had the deadly poison, which her sister had passed to her just fourteen years before. Paterson’s reports had told her that St Amant took his tablets at four a.m. And so, at a quarter to two on that dreadful Wednesday morning, she entered his room, took the japonica tablets and left two tablets of Mafra in their place.

  “Motive, opportunity, means – all three were evident. Her step had been heard by Sister Josephine; and Dallas had waked to see the light of her torch. And I had found the tablet which she had dropped.

  “The only question remaining was how to proceed.”

  “The only question,” said Mansel.

  “Exactly,” said Falcon. He sighed. “I thought I’d had problems before. But I’d never had one like this. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Inquest would be resumed that afternoon. And I had to be there, for Sir William was coming down.”

  “Oh, my God,” said Mansel.

  “Yes. It was very trying…

  “So much was at stake. First and foremost, justice had to be done. The woman must be arrested and charged with the crime. There, in a way, my responsibility came to an end. But that was all very well. As the AC had said, the scandal would be too awful. That couldn’t be helped, and it didn’t weigh with me. Mother Superior or mill-hand, she was a murderess. But two things did stand out – and the look of them made me blench.

  “The first was this. If the woman came to be tried, Sister Helena must be called and she would have to reveal exactly what she had told me upon the terrace steps.

  “The second was not so frightening, but it was almost as grave. If the woman pleaded not guilty, I had no doubt at all that she would get off.

  “Let me set out my reasons for that belief.

  “Sister Josephine would make a bad witness – and that is putting it low. What was much worse, hearsay is no evidence. And that would wash out almost all Sir Evelyn had said. He couldn’t mention the poison. All he could say in court was that in July 1940 he had taken Madame de Jeige to visit her sister who was at Ne’er-do-well Home. If he could have told the Court what he had told me, his evidence, coupled with that of Sir William, would, I truly believe, have sent the woman down. But he couldn’t do that. Repeat what his dead wife had told him? In the absence of the accused? The thing was absurd.

  “And so I was faced with a question which, to be perfectly honest, was not for me to decide. The decision should have been taken by someone greater than I. And yet I dared not submit it. For one thing, I hadn’t time. On Saturday morning at latest, I had to act. And, for another, no one was as qualified as I was, for I alone had been taken behind the scenes.

  “The question was this. In view of the fact that the woman would be acquitted, if she was brought to trial, was it right to expose Sister Helena, who had already endured an agony not of this world, to an even more savage ordeal than those through which she had passed?

  “Well, I didn’t take long to decide.

  “They could draw and quarter me; but, if I could prevent it, her piteous, heart-rending story should never come out.

  “The thing was, how to prevent this; because, you see, I’d got to make the arrest. Of that, there was no question at all. I didn’t mind being broken for using my discretion and using it wrong: but this was as clear a duty as ever I saw. I couldn’t do it on Friday, with the Inquest round my neck. But on Saturday morning at latest – I think I’ve said that already – the thing must be done.

  “Well, now I was almost sure that, rather than stand her trial, the woman would take her life. And nothing could possibly be better. It was the ideal solution. But she had got to take it before she was under arrest. Apart from the fact that I’d given the AC my word, I could never allow her to do it. I simply had not the right. More. I should have to prevent her, if she tried.

  “As you may well believe, Friday last was the most distracting day I have ever spent. Could I have had my way, I would have spent the day beneath one of the trees in your meadows, entirely alone. I needed peace and quiet, to hammer this problem out. I mean, it was critical. It demanded the deepest reflection. The course which I had to steer was more than delicate. The slightest mistake would be fatal, and I should be on the rocks. As it was, I had next to no time
at all. The Inquest, which didn’t matter, had to take pride of place. The Chief Constable, the Coroner, the local police – all had to be seen and talked to. And then Sir William arrived. And then the Inquest itself. And the Press – on the top of it all…”

  “I couldn’t have done it,” said I.

  Falcon shrugged his shoulders.

  “I don’t know how I did it – and that’s the truth. But I filched twenty minutes here and another ten minutes there. And, after what reflection I could muster, I decided to write the letter of which you know.

  You will receive me tomorrow precisely at ten o’clock.

  “In view of our pleasant relations, there could, I felt, be no mistaking at all what such wording meant. It was more than peremptory. It was the Law speaking. The mask was off.

  “Now I thought it possible that her sister might have given her more than one dose of Mafra, so that not only she, but one of her flock could use it, if occasion arose. Of course, Madame de Jeige might not have had it to give. But she had pressed a dose upon Lady Scrope. And that had been declined. So it did look as though she had two, to give away; for her sister would have been in her mind from the very first. And if the Mother Superior had more than one, it would be easy for her to take her life. And if she meant to do this, she could do it before I came.

  “But she didn’t. She went one better.

  “When I saw her sitting there, for a moment I thought I’d failed. And then I hoped and prayed that the poison was in her mouth. But when she went on talking, I gave up hope. I simply couldn’t believe – and I had Sir William behind me – that the poison, if it was there, would not have dissolved. I gave it every chance. And at last it was clear that I could wait no longer… And when she put up her hand and I caught her wrist, I really and truly believed that I had played and lost.

  “And then…after all…I won.

  “Or did she win? I don’t know. Let’s say that honours were even.

  “The Inquest will be held on Tuesday. I shall be the principal witness. For the look of the thing, I’ve written her spoken confession down in my book. And I shall read it from that. I have, of course, omitted her reference to her statement. That will be suppressed.

  “My letter will take some explaining. That can’t be helped. I mean, it was pretty fierce. And why did I write it at all? I’d like to suppress it, too. But I can’t do that. For if I do, why had she Mafra in her mouth?”