The Ghosts of Ardenthwaite (The Northminster Mysteries Book 5)

by Harriet Smart

  He looked about the room, at the half-finished dresses hanging on hooks and at the neatly folded lengths of stuff, carefully stacked on a bench. A mixture of shades and weights, but none of it looked cheap or shoddy, as far as he could judge.

  “You have a lot of work in hand,” he said.

  “Yes.”

  “And are these customers connected in some way to Kate, Miss Waite?”

  “I have to eat,” she said. “I can’t –”

  “Just tell me when Kate was here, and what she said to you. Can you do that much? You will help her if you do.”

  “She’s past helping!” she burst out. “Oh, she’s a daft girl and I did what I could for her, of course I did, but please, sir, I can’t say anything more than that, not without –”

  She turned her back on him and stood at the window, holding her work in her hand. It was a half-made bodice, in dark blue satin.

  “I suppose Miss Bickley will be angry if she gets her dress late,” Giles hazarded, thinking of how that lady had been dressed. “Yes?”

  Miss Waites made a muffled sound that might have been a yes, and nodded.

  “That’s better,” he said. “I shall ask questions and you can nod or shake your head. Then you will be able to tell them that you said nothing. Yes?”

  She nodded.

  “So you make dresses for Miss Bickley?” She nodded. “And for the women at the house behind Butcher’s Row?” She nodded again. “A good business, then. You should be in better premises. A shop somewhere, with hands to help you, where all the other ladies in Northminster could come. A better reward than this.”

  There was a long silence and then the woman turned, and said quietly, shaking her head, “I’m lucky to have this. Given everything that has happened. I’m lucky. And I can’t say any more than that, do you hear me?”

  And, in her fierceness, for a moment Giles thought he saw something in her features that he had seen somewhere before – though where, he could not at once place.

  “One more question, Miss Waites, only one,” he said. “Were you born in Northminster?”

  “I’ll not say another word!” she exclaimed. “Not another word!”

  Chapter Twenty

  “It might be better if I were to take you home,” Felix said, when her tears had subsided a little. “It would be more comfortable for you there, perhaps?”

  “No,” Miss Blanchfort said. “No, I do not want to go back.”

  “Do you not want your mother?” he said.

  She broke away from him, shaking her head.

  “No, that is the last thing I want. You saw how she was –”

  “Yes, but she was misinformed, and, if she knows the true circumstances, surely she –”

  “She was not misinformed,” said Miss Blanchfort. “She has known about this all along. She has known he was dying and kept it from me.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “You don’t know her!” she said. “I swear it, Mr Carswell, that is exactly how she is. She loathes him so much – and she will be happy now, oh so very happy, now that –” She broke off and turned away from him.

  “Maybe you should rest?” Felix said. “This has been a dreadful shock for you – you will need to recover from it physically as well as mentally. You cannot think straight at the moment.”

  “Perhaps,” she said.

  “You can rest on my bed, in here,” he said, pushing the door open to the adjoining bedroom. “And later you can decide what you want to do.”

  “Do you mean that?” she said. “About allowing me to decide?”

  “Yes, of course. And if you rest, you will be more likely to come to a sensible decision.”

  “You mean I will decide to go back to her,” she said, with sudden sharpness.

  “I did not say that, but in the circumstances, then –”

  “And I thought you were different!” she said. “That you –”

  “She is your mother,” Felix said. “And I am sure, in her way, she cares about you.”

  “You saw how she was this morning,” she said. “You saw that vile woman, holding my arm. I am nothing better than a prisoner and you wish to send me back!”

  She rushed over to the window again. For a moment Felix thought she was about to hurl herself out of it.

  “A prisoner?” Felix said. “Surely not?”

  “What can you know about it?” she said, turning to him. “You have had perfect liberty all your life to do as you like!”

  “Not at all,” said Felix. “And the world would be a fine mess if we all espoused perfect liberty.”

  “Have you had your every waking moment supervised, Mr Carswell, your day regimented by the quarter hours of the clock, with not a moment to think your own thoughts, and all the time told to be grateful that one is in a state of such slavery? And if I do not show gratitude, I am punished. I tell you, I am no better than a Negro wretch on some plantation!”

  “That is an absurd thing to say,” Felix said. “You have clothes on your back and food in your belly. No one is forcing you to labour for no wages, nor flogging you if you take some necessary rest. You cannot compare your privileged state with theirs!” He had spoken a little more forcefully than he intended, and he saw her lip quiver and she looked as if she were about to burst into tears again. “Excuse me for speaking so plainly, Miss Blanchfort. You need to rest. You will be able to think more clearly if you do.”

  “On this point,” she said, choking down her tears, “I will be perfectly clear, I assure you, whether I rest or not!”

  There was a knock on the door and Mr Wilkes came in with Lord Rothborough. The latter looked grim-faced and uncharacteristically at a loss.

  “This is –” he began, but failed completely and sat down wearily. “My dear Eleanor,” he attempted again, stretching out his hand to Miss Blanchfort. “I cannot begin to –” He broke off, covered his mouth and shook with his tears.

  Lord Rothborough’s distress moved him, but Felix was uncertain quite how he should behave. In the end he settled for laying his hand on Lord Rothborough’s shoulder, a gesture which was received with a glance upward towards him full of pitiful gratitude.

  “It was very peaceful,” Felix managed to say. “Canon Fforde gave him Communion and there was no pain.”

  “I am glad to hear it,” said Lord Rothborough, making an effort to right himself. He wiped his eyes, got up from his seat and went over to Miss Blanchfort. He took both her hands. “He was, at one time, the dearest of friends to me, Eleanor, but my loss is as nothing compared to yours. I promise you now, my dear, that I will do all I can to be a good father to you, for that is what he has charged me with.”

  He kissed her on the forehead and embraced her.

  She looked up at him and said, “Then you will not make me go back to her?”

  “Her?” said Lord Rothborough, puzzled.

  “My mother,” said Miss Blanchfort. “I will not go back there. I cannot. I swear I will go mad or destroy myself if I am made to go back. I cannot bear it any more, especially not now, sir, you must understand! Please –”

  She was now on her knees begging him, and liable, at any moment, to sink further onto the floor in a mess of miserable tears. Felix sensing she was likely to become dangerously overwrought, intervened to help her to her feet and back to the armchair. She struggled somewhat at this, but eventually submitted.

  “You are in a state of great shock,” he managed to say, having got her to sit down. She was shaking with a mixture of frustration and misery. “Nothing needs to be decided yet. In the meantime, I strongly advise that you rest. In fact, I will give you something to calm your nerves if you like.”

  She pushed him away.

  “No! I will not take anything. I know what you are trying to do, and I shall not. You are just the same as all the others!”

  “My dear,” Lord Rothborough ventured. “You should not be so quick to judge. Mr Carswell is trying to help you.”

  “No, he
is not!” she said. “He is just doing what they all do.”

  “Has your physician prescribed something for you, Miss Blanchfort?” Felix said. “Did something disagree with you?”

  “Disagree?” she said. “Is that how you put it, sir, when you starve a person of sensation with your vile concoctions that make them into a befuddled doll who cannot walk across a room without falling? All the while telling me it is for my own good!”

  “Who has been attending you, Miss Blanchfort?” said Felix.

  “A dirty quack called Cranstoun,” she said. “I dare say she found him in the gutter begging for pennies, for he certainly is no gentleman. But she seems to think he is a genius!”

  “Was this since you came here?” asked Lord Rothborough, “or when you were at Cheveleigh?”

  “At Cheveleigh. Thank God he did not come with us, though my mother would have brought him if she could! But she brought his wretched potions. Of course she did!”

  “I should be very interested to see what this stuff was,” Felix said.

  “So you can pour it down the throats of your own patients?” she said.

  “No, of course not,” he said. “It sounds as if the prescription has been ill-judged.”

  “Ill-judged!” she said. “Oh, how you quacks all pull together to defend each other!”

  “Mr Carswell is no quack,” said Lord Rothborough. “Eleanor, I know you are distressed, but really –”

  “I cannot condemn him outright,” Felix said, “because I have no idea what this man intended by his prescription. Until I know exactly what it was you were given, I have only your word against him and no more solid evidence than that.”

  “So you don’t believe me?” she said.

  “I do. It sounds likely you have been given something far too strong for your constitution, and I can perfectly understand your unwillingness to accept anything similar from me. So instead, I shall have Mrs Wilkes bring you some lime-flower tea, which is utterly harmless, and extremely pleasant, and you are going to rest, just as we discussed earlier. Yes?”

  There was a long silence while she considered his words and then she got up from the chair and said, “If I must. I don’t want quarrels at such a time.”

  “And while you rest, Lord Rothborough and I will go and see your mother,” Felix added, glancing at Lord Rothborough, who nodded his assent. “And I promise you we will decide nothing further without your consent.”

  “You swear so?” she said. “I shall hold you to that, Mr Carswell, mark my words.”

  -o-

  “You managed that extremely well, Felix,” said Lord Rothborough when they were in the carriage heading for Hawksby.

  “I should be doing a post-mortem,” Felix said, as they passed the gates of the Infirmary.

  “This guardianship is going to be a ticklish business. When Dick asked me to do it – well, the girl was still a babe in arms, and I never thought I would be needed. I hoped she would be a middle-aged woman before her father died.” He sighed. “I am glad you were able to help him, Felix, when I could not. And God knows, you are of far more practical use in these circumstances than I could ever be. I had not thought of that before, to tell you the truth. Your profession ought to stand by that of the priests.”

  “Certainly we should be above the lawyers,” Felix could not help saying.

  “Certainly!” said Lord Rothborough. “Opinion must change on the matter.”

  “It will, as our knowledge and skill increases,” Felix said. “Take a man like Mr Harper at the Infirmary – no one could deny him a place at their dinner table on the grounds of his profession.”

  “Quite,” said Lord Rothborough. “I’m glad to hear you say that. In fact, I was thinking of asking him to Holbroke for a few days – along with the Ffordes. I want to gather the University party together, and I think Mr Harper would be a useful addition. After all, there is a medical school to think of.”

  “In Northminster?”

  “Of course. Why not?”

  “No reason, I suppose,” Felix said.

  “Exactly. Why should the project be limited by the terms of the late Bishop’s will? In fact, I think the spirit of the thing is there, if one reads it carefully.”

  “I thought it was mostly about training clergymen,” said Felix.

  “Additional funds would be required, of course,” Lord Rothborough went on. “But that is a small matter.”

  “It would be no small matter to get Mr Harper to come to Holbroke,” Felix said. “I can’t imagine him allowing himself the indulgence of a holiday.”

  “You will have to work on him for me. I had underestimated your persuasive talents until I saw you with Eleanor.”

  “Miss Blanchfort and Mr Harper are hardly comparable cases,” said Felix. “He is the embodiment of reason, while she is – I won’t say she’s a fool, because she certainly isn’t. No, she’s a bundle of impulses, all at war with one another, as far as I can see.”

  “She is going to keep me busy, then,” said Lord Rothborough. “What is to be done with her, that is a difficult question.”

  “I suppose she will marry someone,” said Felix.

  “And that is a problem. She is now one of the richest women in the country. If she were an ordinary, vulnerable girl with a few hundred to her name, then –” He sighed. “It’s really no surprise her mother has kept her under lock and key!”

  -o-

  Lady Blanchfort was at first distinctly prickly on finding Felix and Lord Rothborough waiting for her in her drawing room, but the facts were soon laid out. The new widow sat ramrod straight, pale and apparently chastened by the news and said, “I must see Eleanor. She will be...”

  She got up from her chair and went to ring for a servant.

  “I think it might be wise to wait a while,” said Lord Rothborough.

  “What do you mean?”

  “She is very distressed, and –”

  “Then I must go to her. I can’t conceive why you did not bring her back with you.”

  “She is being well looked after, Lady Blanchfort,” Felix said. “She was not ready to leave her father.”

  “Then I will go to her,” said Lady Blanchfort. “A common inn is no place for her at such a time. At any time!”

  “It’s hardly that,” said Felix.

  “The difficulty is,” said Lord Rothborough, “Eleanor was adamant that she did not wish to come back here. Now, even accounting for her being in a state of shock, she was clear on the point, and this is not the time to distress her further by insisting upon something that would appear to cause her pain.”

  “She doesn’t want to come back to me?”

  “Of course, in normal circumstances, her place is with you, but these circumstances are hardly that. She feels –”

  “She does not know what she feels. She is a child who does not know what is good for her. I cannot conceive why you are allowing her to use you like this, Rothborough.”

  “She is a young woman now, and I cannot dismiss her opinion entirely, Anne, even if it is misguided. As her guardian I must listen to her.”

  “And at once give in to her! What a poor father you must be, sir!”

  “I must listen to her,” repeated Lord Rothborough. “And make a judgement as to what will be best for her welfare. She is over-wrought already. Naturally I suggested strongly that she come back here to you, but she would not hear of it.”

  “This is quite outrageous. Why did you not overrule her?”

  “Because she is suffering enough as it is! Give it a little time, Anne, and all will be well. I shall take her to Holbroke for a few days. Maria is with me. And then –”

  “No, no, I will not have this!” said Lady Blanchfort throwing up her hands. “She will come back with me at once. I see how it is, yes, I see what it is you are doing, and I will not allow it.”

  “And what is that?”

  “You are scheming, Rothborough, as you always do! But do not expect that I will not fight this. I sh
all take you to court, if necessary. You will not get her so easily.”

  “I am only proposing a few days at Holbroke until the first sting of her grief –”

  “A few days which will turn into weeks and then months. I know how it will be, and she will be made a stranger to me!” said Lady Blanchfort.

  “As you did with her father, I suppose,” Felix could not help remarking.

  “And then what will you do, Rothborough, marry her off to your little bastard here?” she said flinging her hand towards Felix. “That is the plan, is it not? Sending him here this morning like that, when you know how impulsive and difficult she is! It is outrageous, utterly outrageous!”

  “Very well,” said Lord Rothborough after a moment. “If you are going to throw about accusations, ma’am, let me remind you that not everything in your own conduct would stand up to public scrutiny. You are on thin ice with this, remember.”

  “And you are trying to steal her from me!”

  “No, no, I want nothing but peace between you and she, for the Lord’s sake!” exclaimed Lord Rothborough. “Dick is dead, can you not remember that, and be decent for once? Our poor dear man is dead, and we shall not fight about this, I tell you. I shall not have it, for his sake, nor Eleanor’s. She will come back to you, and in her own time, and you will be grateful for it when she does. In the meantime, let her grieve as she must, and perhaps spare a few of your own prayers for poor Dick. He deserved better than you, but he loved you, for all your sins against him!”

  “How dare you!” she said. “I think you had better leave. But do not think you have had the final word on this.”

  She rose to show them to the door.

  “There is one more thing,” Felix said. “Miss Blanchfort mentioned a medicine she has been taking, prescribed by Dr Cranstoun. A sedative of some sort.”

  “Why do you ask about that?” she said.

  “Because, to be frank, ma’am, it sounded dangerous. I wonder if I might have a sample of it?”

  “No, you may not. You are impertinent.”

  “Very well, then may I strongly suggest instead that neither yourself nor anyone in the household takes any more of it? It is sometimes the case that servants take medicines not meant for them, and do themselves great damage. Please keep it safely under lock and key.”