Miss Rowan Learns Her Lesson (Lady Detective Book 1)

by Sterling Scott

  This being the second Sunday of my employment, I had anticipated the course of events and had taken an earlier opportunity to pen a note describing my status to Captain Stuart. He had asked that I let him know of my progress and this was my first opportunity. Sealing this note with a bit of wax, I secretly pressed it with another note and a coin into the hand of the cab driver as he assisted me down from his carriage. The second note instructed him to deliver the sealed note to the Chief of London Detectives, where he would receive yet another coin for his trouble. The first note informed Captain Stuart that I had successfully entered the employ of Countess Barnet and had somewhat endeared myself to her. While I had yet no clue as to the source of her income, my search of the house indicated that she did not have lavish funds stored in the house. Thus, I had high hopes that a revelation would be soon in coming as she set out to secure more money. Of course I did not explicitly use her name or the exact nature of my assignment should the cab driver decide to read the note himself in lieu of delivering it. However, my coded comments would make my meaning clear to the keen mind of Captain Stuart.

  Shortly after our return to the house we presented a midday meal for Lady Ann and Sir Anthony and then the servants took their own meal on the lower floor. While we could not discern their words, we were privy to an extreme argument as it spontaneously erupted between the two persons upstairs. Even Mrs. Davenport bade us to hush as she attempted to hear the purpose for the argument. Only Mr. Cambridge appeared to have knowledge of the precipitant event and he would say nothing of it. My concern at the time was for the bad mood Sir Anthony would be in when he called me upstairs for a word. As bad as his instruction sessions could be, I assumed it would be worse today.

  As I feared, an hour later Mrs. Davenport’s cast iron finger jabbed between my shoulder blades when she said, “Trollop, Sir Anthony wishes to have a word with you before you begin the cleaning of the upstairs rooms.” Lucy hatefully giggled, as I began to drag my feet up the stairs as though I were ascending the hangman’s gallows. No doubt I was due a lesson on attentiveness to my duties as he had been privy to the exchange between Lady Ann and me early that morning. No doubt he would find some new humiliating way for me to perform my cleaning duties before issuing an examination. As he had done a few days ago with Lucy, I expected that this examination would include an introduction to his cane.

  Mr. Cambridge was reading a book while sitting in the foyer chair as I stepped from behind the tapestry that concealed the stairway between the first floor and the lower servant’s floor. Hoping to get some information that might diminish Sir Anthony’s ire, I approached him.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Cambridge.”

  He looked up from his book clearly surprised that I had spoken to him. “What do you want, Marge?” he answered in a flat tone.

  “Sir, I am on my way to have a word with Sir Anthony.” I took a breath while I paused to ensure that the full meaning of my statement sank in. “And, I understand your obligation to protect her ladyship’s privacy, but I fear that Sir Anthony’s mood may be the worse for their lunchtime argument. Is there portion of the event that you can tell me so that I might say… or not say something that will reduce his ire? Please, sir.”

  He studied my forlorn face for a long moment and then said quickly, “It has to do with money. As you have no business knowing, Madam gives him some… allowance. And it seems he has gambled it away and sought more money from her. To compound the matter… and this is truly none of yours or my business… her ladyship appears to be short of funds. She thinks he has stolen some from her.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I said and turned to resume my journey to the second floor.

  “Marge,” he added, “don’t be too curious about it, lest someone think you are the thief.”

  I nodded to him and again said, “Thank you for the advice, sir.”

  I determined that I would examine Lady Ann’s strong boxes hidden in the closet when I cleaned her rooms to establish the truth of his statements. I would have to be extra careful to ensure that I was not caught in the act, as that would almost surely be all that would be required to establish me as the thief. While I could easily show my credentials to the magistrate and escape prosecution, my adventure to determine the unlawful activities of Countess Barnet would be spoiled.

  Events became more confusing when Lady Ann joined me on the upper landing and escorted me into Sir Anthony’s bedroom. Instead of witnessing my instructions as she had during my last lesson, she commanded me to assist Sir Anthony as he packed his valise. The Lady Barnet spoke not a word to him as she observed the items I placed into his valise and, with that, he wordlessly took his leave, departing never to be seen again. With this observation, I concluded confirmation that the source of the consternation between them had something to do with misuse of her money or property, but whatever the reason, my bottom was glad to be rid of him. However, Lady Ann did not vacate her room for the remainder of the day and I had no chance to examine her strong boxes.

  And then the rain began, although it would be some number of days before I understood the importance of this intrusion. Just as this Sunday morning marked the end of Lady Ann’s morning smiles, and my opportunity to decipher their mystery, it also marked an increase in her preoccupation with the aforementioned unknown concerns. From Sunday on, it rained each afternoon and she remained in her dressing gown while she paced like a caged animal in the drawing room. Her irritability bloomed and resulted in her insistence that Lucy be paddled by Mrs. Davenport for some unspoken transgression. While I was present in our shared room when Lucy received her bedtime paddling, I remained respectfully quiet and kept my eyes averted. Mrs. Davenport showed no mercy as she paddled the young woman until she cried uncontrollably. Perhaps Lady Ann had some reason to think that Lucy was involved with the theft.

  As Lucy turned toward the wall to sleep that night, she said the oddest thing, “Evil as he was, Sir Anthony did know the cure for her ladyship’s hysteria.” It seemed that Lucy knew more about the special relationship between Lady Ann and Sir Anthony than I, and it seemed that I was correct in my notion that it had something to do with the female paroxysm.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  She turned her face from the wall and looked at me with her red swollen eyes. “I can only say that the man knew what women want… most?” And then she turned away.

  She seemed to be speaking from some personal experience. Holding my curious tongue, I did not ask her any more questions.

  What do I want most from a man – from Captain Stuart? Can he know what I want most, even if I do not?

  I turned to sleep.

  Whatever Lucy’s transgression might have been, it did set Lady Ann’s favor decidedly against her. Henceforth, Lucy was forbidden to enter the Barnet House’s top floor and, as a result, I was the sole servant for her ladyship’s needs and the cleaning of the upper apartment. In the absence of Sir Anthony, the cleaning workload decreased significantly, but Lady Ann’s demands for attention increased. Therefore, with Lucy’s warning, I did tread ever so lightly when in her ladyship’s presence, lest my bottom share Lucy’s fate. However, I continued to avail myself of opportunities to carry on my search of Countess Barnet’s rooms. Again I had the opportunity to inspect her strong box and found her supply of coins and bank notes nearly depleted.

  For three days it rained and then on the second day of sunshine, that was Friday, Lady Ann decided to dress and leave the house. Additionally, I was to accompany her upon her errands. She gave me a light pink suit – full skirt with matching jacket, parasol and boots – a high collared white shirt and two petticoats from her wardrobe in which to dress myself. She and I were the same height, but I lacked her ladyship’s fullness of figure so the outfit looked a bit baggy on me, as it had been fitted for one with softer curves. The second petticoat made the affair presentable. I did feel grand to be once again dressed in something besides my ragged frock, although I still did look a bit tawdry. Her ladyship
wore a golden yellow suit similarly outfitted, although hers was properly tailored to enhance the beauty of her natural curves with fine lace trimmings that made it shimmer in the afternoon sunlight. This change of dress gave us more the appearance of sisters than mistress and servant, as she had me escort her about London on various errands in the afternoon sun. Mr. Cambridge had secured a speedy hansom cab for us and, with the promise of a proper payment, Countess Barnet instructed the cabbie to remain with us throughout the afternoon.

  It was quite improper for a woman to approach the residence of a man unescorted, thus it was my task to present her ladyship. For example, upon our arrival on the first doorstep I knocked and when the manservant answered, I said in my noblest tone, “The Countess Barnet requires a word with your master, Edward Agar.” I then presented her card. The butler bade us to enter and sat us with tea and biscuits in a drawing room. When the master of the house entered, I stood and said, “Sir, the Countess Barnet,” as I curtsied to her. He bowed and kissed her hand and it was clear that he already knew exactly who she was. While I was invited to receive tea, Lady Ann had instructed me to politely decline suggesting that I had some stomach discomfort requiring me to excuse myself. I then waited in the foyer until she signaled for our departure.

  This scene repeated as we visited the homes and businesses of five men, though the exact purpose of the errands was never expressed and I was not privileged to hear any significant conversations. The final stop was to visit a bank. My curiosity was highly attentive, as Captain Stuart had said no bank deposits belonging to Countess Barnet had been located. Unfortunately, I learned nothing, as yet again I was instructed to wait in the outer office after I made the introduction. She conferred with a bank officer for about fifteen minutes. For later inclusion in my report to Captain Stuart, I made a mental note of this man’s name, as well as the names of the four prior men we visited.

  While I waited for her ladyship, I took the opportunity to pen a note to Captain Stuart on a piece of the bank’s stationary. As I would be unable to wax seal the note, I used the cleverest of innuendos to present my meaning – the events in the household were changing fast and I would soon have significant information to report. This was a bit optimistic as I, as of yet, had no idea concerning Countess Barnet’s income. However, my keen detective senses indicated that the strange events of the past few days were quickly leading toward some pinnacle event. Folding the note I wrote instructions on the outside for the cabbie to deliver it to Captain Stuart. As I had done before, I secretly pressed it with a coin into the cabbie’s palm after Lady Ann dismissed him.

  With the bank being our final errand, we returned home where Lady Ann immediately retired to her bedroom with instructions not to be disturbed for the remainder of the day. While this action seemed odd to me, the others in the household staff seemed to consider it of a normal course of her mood. As evening approached, Mrs. Johnson prepared the last meal of the day. While a plate was set aside should her ladyship request it, no attempt was made to deliver it or to alert her to its presence. I retired to my room to read one of Lucy’s penny dreadfuls while she and the others were engaged in a game of cribbage. Eventually Lucy retired and I extinguished the reading lamp. Soon her soft breaths morphed into gentle snores, but the events of the day weighed on my mind and I could not find sleep.

  I reasoned that there must be some connection between the missing money and her ladyship’s errands. The purpose of the errands were clearly a means to have a private conversation with the individual men and, as the final errand was to a bank, I could only conclude that the entire procession had something to do with money and hence the source of Lady Ann’s seemingly endless wealth. Most likely, Sir Anthony had stolen some of her money and she was forced to rein in her expense. This would account for the need to cancel the party. Additionally, she was now upon the task to acquire new funds and it was this means that was the purpose of my investigation. To soothe my restlessness, I decided to get up and pace. Not wanting to disturb the others, I snuck up the stairs to pace across the foyer. As my efforts upon this investigation had consumed nearly a month, I had many facts and notions to absorb my mind as I paced back and forth barefoot over the carpet. Clearly, there was some arrangement of the ideas spinning around in my head that would hint to a course of action. I was so deeply engrossed in my thoughts that I failed to hear the noise upstairs and nearly failed to perceive a dim light as it floated down the stairs without benefit of an attached body.

  I must frankly admit that my first thought was that the house was haunted and the resident spirit was about to make its presence known to me. Fortunately, just as quickly as that notion entered my mind, I tossed it aside and discerned that something humanly sinister must be afoot. I quietly backed deep into the shadows as the floating light reached the bottom of the stairs.

  I had spent a number of hours polishing the wood paneling at the bottom of the stairs and now my efforts were rewarded as the smooth oiled surface reflected the tightly muted light as though in a mirror. This afforded me the vision of a man’s shadow cast from the lantern light that he carried. Thus, the light was not floating as though propelled by an apparition, but rather it was being carried by a man dressed completely in black. From his black shoes to his black hat, this man was completely invisible in the room’s darkness. This presumed thief even carried a small black bag which no doubt contained his booty.

  My next thought was to scream and alert the household to the presence of this thief in the night. However, the previous two weeks of Mrs. Davenport’s paddle and Sir Anthony’s instructions had taught me respect for my betters and thus the chastisement I received from Captain Stuart following my last assignment came into my mind and halted my actions. This experience now before me was eerily similar to that prior night of my previous investigation when I caught the jewel thief. It had been in just this situation that I accosted him alone and thus exposed myself to significant personal injury. As I related at the beginning of this narrative, Captain Stuart had been furious with my undisciplined behavior.

  As the Countess Barnet’s wealth was seemingly endless and most likely an ill-gotten gain, this thief could have no property worthy of my exposure. If that were not reason enough to hold silent, I had to consider that this night I was barefoot and wore only my nightdress. I would be in no position to offer any defense of myself against the strength of a man. Therefore, I merely watched him with the idea that I would determine the method he used to gain entry to the house and whether he had any accomplices. This information I would relate to Captain Stuart at the conclusion of this assignment concerning the Countess Barnet and perhaps he might give the pursuit of this thief to me as my next assignment.

  In complete dismay I watched the figure approach the tapestry on the left side of the hall where he tripped a small hitherto undiscovered leaver, which opened a hidden panel. Just as the tapestry on the right side of the hall concealed from view the stairway to the servant’s basement, this tapestry concealed a tiny doorway that was previously unknown to me. The thief ducked through the small doorway, but did not close it behind him. I concluded his reason was to facilitate reentry for another bag of loot.

  Creeping to peer through the doorway, I saw the dim light as it slowly receded down a hidden stone stairway. As it so frequently does, my curiosity got the better of me, and filled with bravado, I followed him. The cold stones of the stairs chilled my bare feet as I silently pursued the nearly invisible light. The base of the stair appeared to lead to absolutely nowhere as only a small ten by ten foot empty cellar room emerged. The silent black-suited man appeared to know something about the tiny room. Placing the lantern on the floor, he knelt and began to disassemble the stones that created the floor. I watched from only a few feet above, as a grating appeared when the stones were removed. This was evidently an old remnant from a house previously built on this same foundation and provided drainage into the cistern below.

  Once the stones were cleared away, the man removed the
grate and then, taking a ladder that had been concealed from my view beneath the stairs, he lowered it into the hole. It was no surprise to me that he began to climb down the ladder. It suddenly became clear that this was not a thief seeking his exit from this house. He had entered the house with the express purpose to use this passage to gain entry to somewhere else. But, what was he doing coming down the stairs from the house’s top floor? Had he been hiding in Lady Ann’s bedroom? Had she been murdered in her sleep?

  I followed the figure into the subterranean darkness.

  The ladder ended on the floor of an ancient storm water drainage culvert with its thick musty air. Its floor was cold, slick and damp, and more than once I lost my footing to fall upon my scantily clothed fanny as I continued to follow the light. Fortunately, Sir Anthony’s instructions had trained me to accept such abuse on my bottom silently, therefore my existence behind the man with the light was never revealed. He opened the lantern’s covering to release more light and then followed the culvert for a hundred yards or more and turned left when this culvert joined a much larger one. This one was circular in cross section with a substantial stream flowing along its floor in the opposite direction of our travel. A very narrow section remained above the flowing water, yet it was sufficiently close to the horizontal to allow a footfall to hold a person upright. The man continued to walk upstream along this narrow dry strip while I followed. A single slip would not only expose my existence, but would, more significantly, dump me into the swiftly flowing water that would carry me to Heaven knows where. Therefore, I pulled the hem of my nightdress up and tied it high around my waist to prevent it from snagging on one of the stones making up the walls of this culvert. Such a snag would surely cause me to trip and fall into the water.