The Summerfield Bride

by C. G Oster

  “As I mentioned before, I have no motive nor any relationship with Cornelia Vellsted and hence no motive to murder her.”

  “Motive is often a hidden thing.”

  Exactly, which was why she was telling him these observations. “Yes and I think it is hidden in some of the discrepancies between the accounts of Prudence, Rose and Annabelle.”

  “Over fashion sense and bridesmaids?” he asked.

  “Yes exactly,” she said. “These are the things that are important to these girls, the things important enough to provide a motive for murder.” Hopefully he was finally listening to her.

  His features seemed to soften a little. “I will look into this.”

  Dory surveyed him, not knowing how to respond. Yet she knew he would have absolutely no chance of getting a good answer out of these girls. His intention was probably to bring them here and to terrify them, but these girls had an extraordinary sense of entitlement and would be represented by the best barristers in the country. Their fathers were powerful and would likely not let their daughters be dragged into any police station.

  Dory suspected DI Capshaw would be hamstrung in every direction. Perhaps he already had been. Maybe that was what made him so reticent to even look at these girls as his suspects.

  “As I said, I generally discourage suspects go speak to each other,” he said. “And I certainly don’t need your help investigating my case, Miss Sparks. I would like you to desist.”

  Dory considered him. She knew in her gut that this murder would never be solved if she left it to DI Capshaw. He simply didn't have a way of reaching these girls, or understanding the turbulent relationships between them. But she had already mentioned her opinion on that.

  “As I said, the people involved are all close friends with my good friend Livinia Fellingworth,” she said. A bit of a lie. Livinia would never consider her a friend, and visa versa. It wasn't entirely true these girls were more than acquaintances to Lavinia, but DI Capshaw probably didn't understand the distinction well either.

  There was no point continuing this. Capshaw wasn't going to listen. But she had done what she felt required to, had informed him of what she knew. In her gut, she knew it was important information, and she’d tried her best to convey that to him.

  If he dismissed it, that was his poor judgment. “Thank you so much for your time, DI Capshaw. I appreciate you taking the time to see me.”

  He nodded. “Give my regards to your intended. I hear through the grapevine that he is taking on a new position now.”

  “Yes, so I understand.”

  “He is a good man,” Capshaw said.

  “He said the same thing about you,” she said with a smile.

  Capshaw seemed to appreciate the statement and he gave her a small smile in return. “Good afternoon, Miss Sparks. Do you need me to see you out?”

  “No, I think I'll manage.” With a tight smile she left and walked back down the hall she’d come through, making her way out of the police station.

  It hadn't gone as she'd intended. He hadn't listened to her, nor understood the gravity of what she was saying. It was unfortunate, but perhaps she shouldn’t be surprised. Now she had done her duty and she would report this information to Lady Pettifer, who she suspected would take it very differently.

  Chapter 20

  DORY GRUMBLED AS SHE left the Marylebone police station. Capshaw had utterly dismissed her information, and granted, to him, it might have sounded inconsequential. Maybe she had been wrong as she’d stood there on that pedestal at Mr. Harlowe’s shop, feeling tingles all over her body. It had just clicked so much into place, but maybe she was wrong.

  Maybe being threatened by cutting someone from the bridal party wasn’t akin to motive. Obviously it wasn’t to her. To her, it would be a relief if someone politely asked her not to be a bridesmaid. The whole concept was so inconsequential, she had decided not to have any bridesmaids.

  But to these girls, it was not. It was vitally important. And it could be that Rose Wentley had murdered Cornelia out of rage because she was removing her from the bridal party. Alright, it sounded a bit melodramatic.

  Walking down the street, Dory mulled all this over until she spotted a telephone booth and started searching through her purse for money. Stepping inside, she asked the operator to put her through Aylesbury exchange and then to Wallisford Hall.

  Mr. Holmes answered as he always did and Dory asked for Lady Pettifer. It took some time as the telephone was moved to the salon. Or Dory assumed so. “It is Miss Sparks calling,” she heard Mr. Holmes say.

  “Dory,” Lady Pettifer said as she answered. “How did the fitting go?”

  “Oh, it was marvelous. The dress is an absolute dream. But I heard something very interesting while I was there. Jane, one of the shop girls, said she overheard Prudence Marsh speak to Rose Wentley, implying that Cornelia wanted to cut her from the bridal party.” Dory waited anxiously for Lady Pettifer to respond.

  “That is very interesting. Why would she do such a thing?”

  “Cornelia?”

  “Yes. There had to be some reason.”

  “I don’t know. I tried to tell Mr. Capshaw, but he dismissed it as unimportant, I think. He couldn’t have rushed me out of his office fast enough. Truthfully, I think his sandwich constituted a more pressing concern for him, but perhaps I am being unkind. I just got the feeling as I heard it that this could be the motive for the murder. It seems it was quite an emotional reaction the way she was murdered.”

  “That is an astute observation,” Lady Pettifer said.

  “None of the girls mentioned this when we spoke to them.”

  “That is odd too as it would seem a point of contention between them.”

  “That is suspicious in and of itself. But then, would you really murder someone for not being in the wedding party?”

  “It is an entirely different thing being removed from the wedding party. I think it is also the intent behind it that is more important than the action itself. Such a step would be designed to be both humiliating and vengeful. The question is why Cornelia would do such a thing.”

  “The girls, as well as Charles, the groom’s best friend, seem to elude to Cornelia not being a very pleasant person to the people around her.”

  Lady Pettifer was quiet for a moment. “Still, there would be some motive on Cornelia’s part for taking such a step. Something she was taking revenge for. It could simply be that Cornelia felt Rose was getting too big for her own breeches and hence deserved a dressing down. But cutting someone from the wedding party is more than a dressing down. It would be humiliating and the murder did avoid Rose Wentley that humiliation.”

  It sounded even more compelling the way Lady Pettifer told it. “It may well be that we have found both our motive and murderer. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to get the police interested in it.”

  “No, and I’m not sure whether that is good fortune or not. His means of exerting pressure is unlikely to work on these girls. They wouldn’t fear him like others would.” Like Dory would if she were to get hauled in and grilled. These girls wouldn’t bat an eyelid, knowing their father’s solicitors would be there in a heartbeat, and if not that, then whatever judge or parliamentarian they had in the family. Capshaw would be forced to back off.

  “I think you will have to interview all the girls again and query this new information,” Lady Pettifer said. “Livinia will have to come. She is at some house party at the moment, so it will have to wait a few days.”

  Dory smiled, thinking DI Capshaw probably didn’t have to put off an investigation because his partner was at a house party. But Livinia had her own priorities.

  “We’ll see what we have after that,” Lady Pettifer said. She was quiet over the line for a moment. “It is a fairly mean thing to do to include someone in your wedding party to then exclude them again. It sounds very purposeful—cruel even.”

  “From what I am hearing, it doesn’t sound out of character.”

 
“No, perhaps not. If Cornelia Vellsted did this, then it would hardly be the first time she’d acted like this. Girls who tend to play such games don’t just do so suddenly. Her background will be littered with such ill-intentioned games played with her acquaintances.”

  Dory nodded even as Lady Pettifer couldn’t hear her. “Alright, we will interview them when Livinia is back.”

  “I will have her call the Swanley post office to organize a time. I am pleased you like the dress.”

  “I do. It is beautiful. The most beautiful dress I will ever wear.”

  “That is the thing about a good wedding dress—it should make you feel magnificent.”

  “Well, it certainly doesn’t fail in that regard. I have another fitting, but then it should be ready.” Nervousness flared in her stomach. It would be ready, which meant it would be time for the wedding. Why she was so nervous, she didn’t know. It wasn’t as if she had doubts about Ridley. Maybe it was just standing in the church with all those eyes on her. Then again, they would be staring at the dress, wouldn’t they? The thought made her feel a little better.

  Saying her goodbyes, she hung up and stood staring inside the phone booth for a moment, not quite knowing what to do next. There was nothing pressing. There wasn’t anything she needed to rush back for as such, and there was nothing she could do to further the case until Livinia returned.

  Perhaps she would go to a café. They had some very nice ones here in Marylebone. Or she could go have one at Selfridges. There was a very nice café there too.

  Dory decided to walk toward Oxford Street, mostly because it was a distance to walk and it allowed her to clear her head of everything that was swirling around in there. She’d been so busy with solving this murder that the wedding had become secondary. Maybe that was a little on purpose so she didn’t sit and stew on how nervous she was about it.

  Walking past a park, she saw a woman with two small children and a pram, sitting on a bench and telling the children to go play. That could be her soon. Children were a natural consequence of getting married, weren’t they? In truth, it hadn’t been something she’d thought about too much, and the idea of having children made her nervous.

  What if she wasn’t a good mother? What if she wouldn’t like being a mother? These things she couldn’t answer, but they were also not things she could walk away from. Once she had children, she would be a mother for the rest of her life. It was a big change.

  Obviously she loved Ridley and couldn’t imagine marrying anyone else. It just spelled such a big change in her life. Wedding dresses and such things were merely a distraction from the large change this marriage would entail. No longer could she simply go off and do something when the opportunity arose, like return to France when Lady Pettifer decided to go. Such things would not be an option. She was trading in that freedom for something else, for a husband. It would be worth it. She loved Ridley and Ridley loved her. They would be very happy. She was sure of it. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be nervous.

  Chapter 21

  “IT’S GOING TO START to look silly that we randomly pop in when passing by. They’re going to click on that we’re querying them about this murder,” Livinia said as they drove the long curving drive to Rose’s house.

  “Maybe we should make out that we’re gossiping about something DI Capshaw’s doing,” Dory suggested, gripping the side of the car with the sharp turn Livinia made.

  “That is actually not a daft idea. And say what?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe the truth and say he appears to be utterly uninterested in solving this case.”

  “As we think she may be guilty, that might put her at ease and she’ll let something slip,” Livinia said, pulling over next to the curious entrance to the house with the curved and stark portico.

  Dory remembered how intrigued she’d been about the house, although now not as much with the people who lived in it. It could well be that Rose was the person responsible for Cornelia’s murder. A shudder went through her. It was simply impossible to understand such hatred. All over a stupid wedding.

  “Ah, Livinia. Back again?” Rose’s mother said, again appearing with gloves and secateurs. On the face of it, she didn’t look like a gardener. Then again, it was summer and shrubbery grew.

  “Is Rose in?”

  “Yes, she’s about somewhere. Come have some tea. I could use a cup myself,” the woman said with a smile.

  This wasn’t good. Rose was unlikely to talk in front of her mother. But as guests in the house, they couldn’t really say no.

  The elegant Mrs. Wentley led them to a seating area in the back by a set of glass doors.

  “This is such an interesting house,” Dory said.

  “Thank you. We built it a few years back. It won awards.”

  In Dory’s book it was so unlike any houses she knew. She wasn’t entirely convinced of the modern aesthetic.

  “It was built to be both beautiful and functional. It suits our family well. The idea is to make the outside spaces very much a part of the house. To frame the beauty of nature.”

  “Wallisford Hall’s nature is practically impossible without staff,” Livinia said. “We had barely any during the war and the house went to rack and ruin. A large house is so impractical. I can definitely see the appeal of a thoughtfully designed house.”

  Dory wasn’t sure if Livinia was being agreeable or if she believed it. Then again, Livinia had never seemed all that interested in Wallisford Hall. It was Cedric’s issues to deal with. Perhaps these modern houses did truly appeal to her.

  “Ah, visitors,” Rose said as she came out through the open back door. Again she looked lovely wearing a summer dress. “Passing by?”

  “We were, actually,” Livinia said, rising to kiss Rose on the cheek. “You remember Dory, of course.”

  Rose nodded her greeting. “Naturally. How are you?”

  “Well,” Livinia said, answering for her. “As she is having her wedding dress made, she’s been back to see Harry Harlowe. And the most extraordinary thing.” Now Livinia turned to her expectantly to finish the story of whatever lie they were concocting for being there. “That policeman has been lurking around. Mr. Harlowe is quite miffed, that man casting all sorts of dispersions. Querying all the staff. He even asked repeatedly if Fredrick Summerfield had been seen on the premises, asking repeatedly.”

  “No, that’s not true at all,” Rose said emphatically. “Freddy was never there.”

  The strength of Rose’s vehemence was surprising and Dory paused for a moment. “Well, they by course suspect the spouse.”

  “Intended,” Rose corrected.

  An awkward silence grew.

  “Anyway,” Livinia cut in, “that stupid detective doesn’t seem to have a clue what he’s doing. He’s very much querying the staff at Mr. Harlowe’s, but he hasn’t come to see either me or Constance. Have you seen him again?”

  “No,” Rose said. “And why would he? There is nothing I can tell him.”

  The teapot arrived and Mrs. Wentley served it into fine bone china cups with oriental design. Like the house, these teacups looked considered too. “Thank you,” she said as she accepted hers. Maybe she would soon have to make decisions on the style of teacups to buy, a thought interfered, for her new home. These were likely very expensive. Shaking the intruding thought away, she refocused her attention on the discussion.

  “There was also mention that Corny anticipated some change to her wedding party,” Livinia said carefully.

  Rose’s face was already heated, but it colored even more and she looked down on the table with her head held high. Well that was the look of embarrassed stoicism if Dory had ever seen it. Rose knew exactly what was being mentioned.

  “What’s this?” Mrs. Wentley asked, turning her attention to Rose.

  “Nothing, Mother. Corny was simply stirring. She had a habit of doing that.” The dismissal and dislike were clear in Rose’s tone. “She always liked being provocative.”

  “She liked
to play games with people, didn’t she?”

  Rose hard stare continued for a moment. “Yes, she did,” she finally admitted. “Corny liked petty cruelty. She liked to press people’s buttons.”

  And if Corny pressed that button, it was likely that belonging was something that was important to Rose. Something she reacted strongly to. Or maybe it was simply the sheer disrespect that had made Rose stab Cornelia.

  Mrs. Wentley sat silently. It seemed she hadn’t been aware of this strain in the friendship. Mothers often assumed things were so much more innocent in their children’s worlds. Well, she was certainly in for a shock if it turned out that Rose had committed this crime. It was actually awful. Discomfort rose up Dory’s spine. Maybe getting married and putting all this bad business behind her wasn’t such a bad idea. And live in a world where people didn’t murder their friends. Then again, she was marrying a policeman.

  Suddenly, Dory felt weary. It was all getting too much.

  “But that was just Corny. You just got used to it. Really, I didn’t listen to her when she was like that,” Rose said in a lighter tone.

  “Was she cruel like that to Prudence too?” Livinia asked.

  Rose sat quietly for a moment as if trying to assess what to say. “It was nothing really, just spiteful remarks every now and again.”

  “Cutting someone from the wedding party is more than a spiteful remark,” Livinia said.

  “Well, it would have been a relief if that happened,” Rose said earnestly. “In all honesty, I’m not sure the wedding would have gone ahead. I don’t know for sure, of course, but I think Freddy was having second thoughts.”

  Dory blinked and tried to absorb this.

  “What makes you say that?” Livinia asked, clearly just as astounded by this, and there hadn’t been anything in Freddy’s words or demeanor that suggested this.

  “Wouldn’t you if you were marrying someone who took such delight in cruelty?”

  “He told you he was thinking of calling it off?”