The Butterfly Conspiracy

by Vivian Conroy

  Raven looked at her. “If?” he repeated incredulously. “You doubt that it was her? But it all comes together now. Don’t you see?”

  “It seems so.” Merula stood and smoothed her skirt. “I want to talk to her first and see what kind of person she is. If she could hate enough to do such a gruesome thing.”

  “Can you tell by just talking to someone? Maybe she is nice and friendly on the outside while her pain over her mother runs deep on the inside.”

  Merula wondered if, with those words, Raven was also describing himself: the gentleman who spent money on every corner, who liked parties and good food and wine, who was considered flighty and silly, while perhaps inside he was broken over his mother’s death and the suggestion that it might have been foul play.

  Raven said, “Off to Le Bonheur we are.”

  Leaning over Merula, he added, “Bonheur, happiness, luck. It doesn’t seem like Lady Sophia was lucky in buying her fan there. Or that the young lady who made it will be very lucky once her misdeed comes to light.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Le Bonheur was a beautiful large shop with two windows on either side of the door. They were filled with hats, both small models for everyday use and large extravagant affairs with feathers and pearls, the richest fabrics, and the highest contraptions.

  Raven looked at them with distaste, muttering, “Waste of money, all of it.”

  “If you had a wife, wouldn’t you want her to look pretty and sophisticated? She would have to represent a certain … level of living. She’d have to represent your wealth and standing to the world.”

  “I know, a sacred duty,” Raven said sardonically. “I just wish women would not take it so seriously and spend quite so much good money on it.”

  Merula laughed softly as they went inside. In the solemn silence she began to walk more slowly, trying to spy the owner, who was usually at hand herself. But the woman was nowhere in sight, and from behind the silk curtain in the back they caught subdued voices.

  “A client,” Merula said to Raven. “who does not wish to be served in full view. We could have to wait a while.”

  But as she said it, a tall blonde girl came from the back, smiling at them. She was handsome, with big blue eyes, and Merula froze as she compared Polly’s description to this girl.

  “May I help you?” the girl asked. “Are you looking for a hat or fan perhaps? We can also do gloves, as we have excellent contacts with…” She fell silent, studying Merula more closely. “I know you,” she said. “You came here before with Miss Julia DeVeere, Lady Emma’s daughter. I’m so sorry that I did not recognize you at once.”

  “No need for apologies,” Merula said. “I’m not here to buy anything, just to ask a quick question.”

  “How may I be of assistance?”

  “You delivered hats and fans to Lady Sophia Rutherford, did you not?”

  The girl winced a moment as the name was mentioned. An almost imperceptible stiffening of her shoulders, a tightness in her lively face. She said, “Yes, why do you ask?”

  “Did you also create a fan of ostrich feathers for her? A rather large one?”

  “Yes. That must have been five weeks ago now.”

  “Five weeks ago?” Merula glanced at Raven. That was odd. A woman who had a new wardrobe item to show off would usually take it along at the first occasion. Would Lady Sophia have kept her new fan in a drawer for five weeks before taking it to the lecture?

  “Who made it?” Raven asked.

  “I did, sir. Well, that was, I did part of the work. We have someone who makes the handles for us and attaches the feathers. We then refine them with paint and other adornments.”

  “Scent?” Raven asked.

  “Yes, also, if clients ask for it.”

  “Did you scent the fan for Lady Sophia?”

  “Yes, with her favorite perfume.”

  Merula tried to detect something of discomfort in the girl at the turn the conversation was taking. If she was guilty of putting almond essence on the fan, she had to realize these questions posed a danger to her and be on her guard. But while she seemed slightly puzzled by all the questions, she didn’t seem troubled by them.

  Raven said, “Did you know if Lady Sophia wanted to use the fan for a special occasion?”

  “No, sir. I assume she wanted to use it as soon as it was finished.”

  “She didn’t want to take it especially to a zoological lecture, for instance, because the feathers of an exotic bird would look well there?”

  “I have no idea, sir. The customers rarely tell us much about the social events they attend. They do talk among themselves sometimes, and one can catch a thing or two, but…”

  “And you caught a thing or two about Lady Sophia?”

  “She hardly ever came here. She disliked it. She had someone come to her home with items to show her. She then ordered them.”

  “I see. And have you ever been to her home?” Merula asked.

  The girl nodded. “Twice. It’s a beautiful place.”

  Full of wealth and luxury, while this girl’s mother had died from her swollen hands and bad lungs, a consequence of being turned into the street by this vain, rich woman.

  Raven asked, “On those occasions, did Lady Sophia recognize you?”

  “Me?” The girl seemed taken aback. “She knew I worked here.”

  “No, I mean from an earlier occasion. Did she know you are the daughter of her former cook, Mrs. Bridgewater?”

  Now the girl froze and looked at the curtain, behind which her mistress was helping the customer. She lowered her voice and said, “No, I don’t think so.”

  “And your employer doesn’t know that either.” Raven looked at her with a probing gaze. “You kept it to yourself.”

  “My mother was dismissed for a trifle. She could not help it. She was ashamed of it though, and…” The girl’s lips pulled tight. “Why are you asking about her?”

  “Did you know for what trifle your mother was sent off? Did you understand what it meant?”

  “She had supposedly put a nut in a dish, and Lady Sophia believed she could have died because of it. But it was just an accident. There might as well have been a bone in the fish. It was not my mother’s fault.”

  “But your mother did pay a heavy price for it. She died.” Raven looked at the girl. “Do you blame Lady Sophia for her death?”

  “No. Not anymore. I used to when it first happened, but … what was the point? I couldn’t change anything about it.” The girl knotted her fingers. “I have a good life now. A job I love, a place to live. I try not to think about it anymore.”

  “Can you really not think about your mother? My mother died, and I still think about her.”

  Merula shrank under the heartfelt tone of Raven’s voice.

  As if she had also sensed the intensity of his statement, the girl looked at Raven. “I’m sorry for your loss, sir. But I also lost my father when I was just ten. And servants we knew lost some of their children. Death is a part of our lives.”

  “Sometimes death comes too early. It could have been avoided,” Raven said through clenched teeth.

  “How can you know that? I don’t disagree with fate.” The girl held her head high. “I accept it and I move on.”

  “Still, when you realized that the woman who had dismissed your mother and caused her to sicken and die was now a customer of yours, you must have thought about it. When you were working on her fan, did you not think of her and her white hands that were going to hold the fan, the same hands that had killed your mother? “

  “You make it all sound so … dramatic. I did think about it, I won’t lie, but I didn’t…” The girl’s eyes were worried now, a frown hovering over them. “Why are you asking all of these questions?”

  “Lady Sophia is dead,” Merula said. “You must have heard that she collapsed at a lecture and died. The police think it wasn’t an accident. They treat it as foul play. Murder. The fan you made might have something to do with it.”

/>   The girl became deathly pale. “No,” she whispered. “That can’t be.”

  Raven supported her as she staggered and led her to a chair to sit down.

  The girl refused, whispering, “I can’t sit down there. It is for the customers.”

  She leaned on Raven, saying to Merula, “How can a fan have anything to do with her death?”

  “She breathed in a scent that was on the fan and it killed her. You just admitted you scented the fan.”

  “Yes, with her perfume. But a perfume can’t kill anyone, can it?” The girl pushed a hand to her face. “How can this be? What is happening to me now?”

  Merula wasn’t sure what to think. Was the girl guilty and was this just a very good act to elicit pity and escape justice?

  Or did she really not know anything about the almond essence on the fan?

  Raven had said a hasty conclusion had ruined the life of his mother and others, including himself, the little boy who had been left motherless, struggling with questions and doubts and fears for the future. Could they just accuse this girl without having tried to find every possible answer to the puzzle?

  “You said you made the fan five weeks ago,” Merula said. “How did it get from here to the house? Did you take it there?”

  “No, we had the parcels delivered. Lady Sophia always had them delivered. As I said, she rarely came here herself. Just…” The girl halted and frowned.

  Raven asked, “What is it? What do you remember?”

  “Well, I think the fan was picked up here. It was not delivered to her house, in fact.” The girl stared ahead, her face scrunched up in the deepest thought. “It was picked up here and paid for. I remember clearly, as it was unusual. Lady Sophia always had all of the things delivered. But this was picked up. By her companion.”

  “Miss Knight?” Merula asked.

  “Yes. I recognized her right away. When my mother was still Lady Sophia’s cook, I went there to visit her on the estate. I’ve seen Miss Knight there.”

  “And she has seen you,” Raven added with a quick look at Merula. “Did she mention she remembered you?”

  “No. But she already knew I worked here. I had been to the house, as I just said. She saw me there.”

  “So Miss Knight knew you were working at this shop and that you had prepared the new ostrich feather fan for Lady Sophia.”

  “Yes. We talked about the scent on it briefly. Miss Knight said Lady Sophia liked heavy perfumes, but they gave her headaches that she then complained about.”

  Merula looked at Raven. “Miss Knight knew that the fan was made here, that it was scented.”

  “With a heavy scent,” Raven added, “that would disguise whatever else.”

  Merula looked at the girl again. “Five weeks ago? You are certain?”

  “I usually remember the more extravagant pieces we make. But I can look up the date. We write everything down. One moment please.” She disappeared into the back.

  Raven whispered to Merula. “How devious. Miss Knight recognizes the daughter of the dismissed cook as working at the milliner’s now. Perhaps she didn’t think up a plan right away, but the information lingered in the back of her head.”

  Merula added, “Then Foxwell humiliated her, rejecting her affection. Lady Sophia accused her of theft. She wanted to get even with both of them. She knew of the almond incident. As a nurse, she had the knowledge to recognize Lady Sophia’s ill response to the almond. Not choking per se, but a response to the almond itself. A response that could be provoked again.”

  “The collapse would never be connected to the fan,” Raven added, his eyes sparkling with fervor. “And even if it would, then there would be a scapegoat in place. The daughter of the dismissed cook, carrying a grudge, preparing the fan. So perfectly planned in every little detail.”

  The girl came out the back. “Five weeks ago, like I said,” she enthused. “Miss Knight picked it up and took it along.”

  “But I bet she didn’t give it to Lady Sophia right away,” Raven said to Merula. “She had to treat it with her own little scent first.”

  “What are you saying?” the girl asked.

  Merula touched her arm. “Don’t worry about it. You have done nothing wrong. Lady Sophia died because someone wanted her to die, and we now know who it was. The police won’t come here to bother you. I’m sorry about what happened to your mother. But I’m glad you made a good life for yourself. I hope you will be very happy.”

  “Thank you,” the girl said, perplexed.

  They left the shop and stood on the pavement looking at each other. Raven said, “We need to make sure we’re right. We need to know that Miss Knight treated the fan and not somebody else. Foxwell, for instance. We have to ask Buckleberry if he knows when the fan was given to Lady Sophia. Where it was before the night of the lecture.”

  Merula nodded. “Bowsprit can contact him and bring the information to us.”

  Raven looked at her. “I don’t really understand Miss Knight’s motive though. Do you? What did killing Lady Sophia solve for her? It meant she lost her position, for a companion is no longer needed when the lady she has to accompany is no longer there. She’d have to find a new position. She’d move away from the household where she could see Foxwell. Assuming she did fancy him.”

  Merula said, “Maybe she wanted to go away because Foxwell hadn’t reciprocated her feelings for him.”

  “But she could have taken her leave.”

  “Then people would have wondered why. Now they pity her and will want to help her find new employment.”

  Raven pursed his lips. “Is it a strong enough reason to kill? You said before that a nurse is dedicated to healing people, that she would not easily take a life. I agree with that idea. She would only kill if she had a really good reason. But I can’t see what it might have been.”

  Merula shrugged. “Let us first fit all the pieces together. Then we can see what to do with what we know.”

  * * *

  Bowsprit reported to them that Buckleberry had been there in the hallway when Lady Sophia had been about to go out to the lecture and that the companion had given her the fan then. There had been a moment’s discussion, as Lady Sophia had wanted to know why she had not been informed sooner that her fan had arrived from the milliner’s, but Miss Knight had said it had come in that afternoon.

  “On the day of the lecture?” Merula said. “That was a lie. Miss Knight had already had it for weeks.”

  “To treat it,” Raven said. “This is conclusive for me. It was her.”

  “But,” Merula said, “where did she keep the almonds as they were soaking in the alcohol to create the fatal essence? Her room in the house would not have been private. I mean, any servant could come in and see something.”

  “She might have put it in a closet underneath something. I don’t suppose the servants go through her things behind her back.”

  Bowsprit lifted a hand. “If I may, my lord. Buckleberry mentioned earlier that Miss Knight never received any letters at the house, nor did anyone ever call for her. He had the distinct impression she had an address elsewhere. Perhaps a room in a boardinghouse.”

  “But why keep a room if you are never there?” Raven gestured with his hands. “That only costs good money. She had a day off, I assume, but that doesn’t explain keeping a room somewhere.”

  “There is only one way to find out,” Merula said. “We must lure her into a trap.”

  “What?” Raven stared at her.

  “I’ll tell her I know she did it and I want money to keep my mouth shut. Then she will have to do something. Deny, or pay up.”

  “No, no, no,” Raven said. “It’s much too dangerous. I’m not letting you do anything of the kind.”

  “But I have to save my uncle. And the police aren’t looking for any other suspects. The lawyer even said Uncle Rupert had to admit the murder and throw himself at the mercy of the jury! We have to force Miss Knight’s hand in some way. If she tries to attack me or hurt me, we c
an prove she has something to hide.”

  “If I may again, my lord,” Bowsprit said. “There was a parcel delivered to the house holding a poison bottle. There was also a death’s-head hawk moth attached to Miss Merriweather’s dress when she spoke with her cousin at the exhibition. Did Miss Knight do that? Or somebody else? Can she be in a league with others?”

  “Exactly. It is much too dangerous to confront her. I won’t have it.”

  Merula straightened up. “Oh, so we go to the police and we tell them that Miss Knight picked up a fan at the milliner’s and went home and soaked almonds to make an essence and scented the fan with that and then gave it to Lady Sophia as she was about to leave the house so she would inhale the almond essence and get unwell and die at the lecture where my uncle would get accused of murder? They will never believe that.”

  “It does sound…” Raven sighed.

  “Besides, they are looking for us. For me, in any case. As soon as we walk in, we’ll be arrested. We can’t turn to the police. Not unless we can prove Miss Knight killed Lady Sophia.”

  Raven hid his face in his hands. “I hate to admit this,” he said, smothered, “but you are right. Still, I think you shouldn’t confront her. She’s smart, and she won’t let you get away. Bowsprit just said there may be others involved.”

  “But I’m not alone either. You can follow me and watch and see what happens. If she does try to hurt me, you can prevent it.”

  Raven shook his head, but Merula continued, “It’s our only chance. I’ll write her a note saying I want to meet her in the park. I’ll have it delivered to Lady Sophia’s house. Miss Knight will realize that I’m on to her and she’ll come. Believe me.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Merula thought of these self-assured words as she walked up and down in the park, seeing gentlemen on horseback, nannies with their charges, and even a hotel page boy smoking a cigarette while he probably should have been on duty. Everything around her was lively and bustling, but inside her it was cold and still.

  If Miss Knight had killed Lady Sophia, she was a ruthless woman who had calmly handed the fan to her mistress, knowing it would kill her. Her motive was still unclear. Perhaps she was simply mad and capable of anything?