‘And I suppose he found out about poor little Lucy Velmond from Cleveland’s daughter?’
‘Yes, I collect Mrs Cleveland was quite anxious at one time about her daughter’s friendship with the secretary. No doubt Lucy’s secret was divulged during that period. I don’t know what it may be, but I believe Anthea does.’
‘Tell me, Justin, why did the villain use the name Thompson for this blackmail business? I know you said it was the real name of that poor actor chap whom Peyton shot when the Runners arrested him, but what was the connection between them?’
‘They were both at Cambridge at the same time, and therefore Peyton knew all about Thompson’s disgrace and subsequent flight. When he needed a pseudonym for his blackmailing activities, he adopted that of Thompson — perhaps by a process of association. That wasn’t the end of it. About a year ago, Peyton recognized Thompson in the guise of a down-at-heel actor calling himself Theobald Treherne. Having already established a pattern of blackmail, he used the same method to coerce Thompson into collecting the packets from various receiving offices. And I’m tolerably certain,’ added Justin, ‘that it was Thompson who ransacked Yarnton’s rooms and later hired the ruffians who set upon Watts and myself.
‘There was a snuffbox missing from Yarnton’s place — the Runners had taken an inventory just after the murder — and we found it on Thompson’s dead body.’
‘What about Dr Wetherby? I know you had suspicions of him at one time.’
‘Yes, I certainly gained the impression that he knew something when first I asked him about the name Thompson. He did, of course, not only about the Kinver scandal but also about the blackmail. I’ve taxed him with this since Peyton’s arrest, and he’s admitted that he once caught sight of a blackmail demand when he was visiting Lady Kinver professionally. His view was that nothing could be done to bring the blackmailer to book without causing extreme distress to both Lady Kinver and her daughter, so it was best for her to continue paying.’
‘Something in that, I suppose, and she’s a wealthy woman of course. Not that I can entirely agree with him. Ah, well, my dear boy, you’ll be free now to follow up your own interests. I suppose you’ll be solving the mysteries of some ancient tomb next?’
‘George, there is something I must tell you,’ said Lucy Velmond with an air of decision which belied her quaking inner feelings.
Velmond had been giving her an account of the Peyton affair, having just returned from a session with Justin Rutherford in his rooms.
He smiled fondly and put an arm about her. She removed it gently but firmly.
‘No — wait until you have heard me,’ she went on.
He gave her a keen look. ‘You sound vastly serious, my love.’
‘I am. I don’t know how to tell you, George — indeed, I would have done so before this if only I could have summoned up the courage —’
‘Courage?’ He frowned. ‘You alarm me, Lucy — speak out! There isn’t — there isn’t anyone else, is there?’
‘No, no! Never — there never could be! But there’s something you should know about me — a secret from my past. You know you were saying that — that odious villain Peyton was blackmailing Mr Cleveland and a lady whose name was not revealed? Well,’ she went on desperately, ‘he was also blackmailing me.’
Velmond stared at her, thunderstruck. ‘You! I don’t believe it!’
She nodded miserably. ‘It’s true, alas. He had discovered that I was in disgrace some years ago, when I was at school — in fact I was expelled, George!’
‘Oh, yes, but —’
She put her hand over his lips. ‘No, pray let me finish now I’ve begun, dearest! You see, it was like this. There was to be a gala night at the Sydney Gardens — I was at school in Bath, you know — and all the girls were quite wild to attend. But, of course, it was strictly forbidden. Then the dancing master said that he would take a few of us surreptitiously, if we could manage to creep out after lights out in the dormitory and meet him in the school garden by the rear entrance. I wouldn’t have done it — I am not bold by nature! — but my friend Selina was quite otherwise and determined to go. She said it would be selfish of me not to join her, as she couldn’t go alone with Monsieur Ricard. So I steeled myself to make the attempt.’
‘My poor darling!’ She saw his shoulders were shaking and could not decide why.
‘But she played me false,’ continued Lucy indignantly. ‘She came only as far as the back door of the building, then told me to go on and she would follow in a few minutes, as she’d forgotten to bring something or other. I believed her — why should I not? I did as she bid me and joined Monsieur Ricard by the gate. She never came, but the headmistress did! Oh, George, I shall never forget the shame! So I was expelled and my father was extremely angry — as I’m sure he had every right to be. It was hushed up, and after that I was very strictly guarded at home. But naturally Cecilia Cleveland knew of it, as we were at school together, and I see now that the blackmailer would have discovered my secret by that means. Oh, George, when the demand came, I dare not tell you! And so I pawned my mother’s necklace to raise the money and then had to tell you a tissue of lies to account for my being in a dubious quarter alone — which that horrid man Yarnton revealed to Lady Quainton and you overheard! Oh, George, can you ever, ever forgive me for any of it? Do not say that I have forfeited your love and trust forever!’
He gathered her into his arms and demonstrated convincingly that he had no intention of saying anything of the kind. After an interval he held her a little away from him, surveying her with a quizzical smile.
‘My sweetest life, you could have saved yourself all the agony of concealment,’ he said gently. ‘That scapegrace brother of yours told me your secret some time since.’
‘Oh! If that isn’t just like him! And papa said that it must never be mentioned to anyone!’
‘A suitable parental attitude, no doubt, but most men think nothing of a mere schoolgirl scrape, especially such an innocent one. I don’t propose to give it another thought, except to recover your necklace for you.’
‘It really doesn’t matter, dearest,’ murmured Lucy into his coat, to which she found herself once again pressed. ‘It’s the most hideous thing!’
***
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A NOTE TO THE READER
It’s wonderful to see my mother’s books available again and being enjoyed by what must surely be a new audience from that which read them when they were first published. My brother and I can well remember our mum, Alice, writing away on her novels in the room we called the library at home when we were teenagers. She generally laid aside her pen — there were no computers in those days, of course — when we returned from school but we knew she had used our absence during the day to polish off a few chapters.
One of the things I well remember from those days is the care that she took in ensuring the historical accuracy of the background of her books. I am sure many of you have read novels where you are drawn out of the story by inaccuracies in historical facts, details of costume or other anachronisms. I suppose it would be impossible to claim that there are no such errors in our mother’s books; what is undoubted is that she took great care to check matters.
The result was, and is, that the books still have an appeal to a modern audience, for authenticity is appreciated by most readers, even if subconsciously. The periods in which they set vary: the earliest is The Georgian Rake, which must be around the middle of the 18th century; and some are true Regency romances. But Mum was not content with just a love story; there is always an element of mystery in her books. Indeed, this came to the fore in her later writings, which are historical detective novels.
There’s a great deal more I could say about h
er writings but it would be merely repeating what you can read on her website at www.alicechetwyndley.co.uk. To outward appearances, our mother was an average housewife of the time — for it was usual enough for women to remain at home in those days — but she possessed a powerful imagination that enabled her to dream up stories that appealed to many readers at the time — and still do, thanks to their recent republication.
If you have enjoyed her novels, we would be very grateful if you could leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads so that others may also be tempted to lose themselves in their pages.
Richard Ley, 2018.
MORE BOOKS BY ALICE CHETWYND LEY
THE RUTHERFORD TRILOGY
A Fatal Assignation
Masquerade of Vengeance
THE EVERSLEY SAGA
The Clandestine Betrothal
The Toast of the Town
A Season at Brighton
OTHER NOVELS
The Jewelled Snuff Box
The Georgian Rake
The Guinea Stamp
The Master of Liversedge
Letters For A Spy
Tenant of Chesdene Manor
The Beau and the Bluestocking
A Conformable Wife
At Dark of the Moon
An Advantageous Marriage
A Regency Scandal
The Intrepid Miss Haydon
Published by Sapere Books.
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United Kingdom
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Copyright © The Estate of Alice Chetwynd Ley, 1984
The Estate of Alice Chetwynd Ley has asserted their right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events, other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales are purely coincidental.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-913335-72-4
A Reputation Dies: A thrilling combination of detective fiction and romance (The Rutherford Trilogy Book 1) Page 18
