‘Not really, but I’m staying with her for the time being. If you can find out anything more, come up and tell me.’
I took the glass from Sophie and carried it over to the table at the side of the bed. When Elinor was sufficiently recovered I persuaded her to take a few sips.
I wondered how far this friendship with the hermit had progressed.
‘You were close friends, then?’ I suggested.
‘Oh yes, we talked and talked. I lent him my books.’
‘Goldsmith for one. It had a slip of paper in it.’
‘Which I wrote. We met nearly every day if only for a few minutes. He needed solitude yet I think he was lonely at times, as I was. He understood.’
‘He never told you who he was?’
‘No, and I respected his wish to keep his identity hidden. I thought he might eventually tell me. He must have been in utter despair to do such a dreadful thing – if only I had known – if only I could have helped.’
‘Did he strike you as being very unhappy and depressed?’
‘He was melancholic – very serious and inclined to look on the dark side of life – but then, so am I. Perhaps that is why we got on so well. I can’t believe I’ll never speak to him again.’
I appreciated the poor girl’s wish to keep her friendship secret. I suggested she should spend the rest of the day in her room.
‘You’ve had a dreadful experience; if you withdraw for a while no one will be surprised or require further explanation. You’ll eventually find the courage to take part in everyday life again.’
I did not insult her by telling her she would get over it but when she asked me if it would always be an agony I said it would abate.
‘At present it’s like a sharp knife – in time the knife blunts. Grief comes in waves like the sea. In between the waves is a period of calm and the waves gradually come further and further apart. You will be able to bear it.’
‘You have been very kind. No one else could understand. Thank you.’
It was a bizarre association, I reflected, between an 18-year-old girl and a man more than twice her age. Young girls are sometimes besotted by a mature man but not usually one as eccentric as Brother Caspar.
Sophie came up presently to report that the whole house was in uproar. A doctor had been sent for from Ashdale and Colonel Hartley, who was the local magistrate, was riding over from Shelbourne. Frank and Rowland seemed rather excited by the whole business and had gone outside but Lady Denby was making a great scene and calling for laudanum to calm her nerves.
‘She’s lying on the sofa, quite overcome,’ she added, ‘but I thought poor Elinor could do with some laudanum too so I‘ve brought some. They seem to have plenty. No one’s asked about Elinor.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me.’
I persuaded Elinor to swallow a small dose of the palliative, enough to calm her nerves and perhaps induce sleep. When she seemed more settled I sent for her maid to sit with her and then went downstairs. Before Sophie and I entered the morning room, we could hear Lady Denby’s booming voice complaining loudly. On entering we found her lying on the sofa, draped in shawls and sipping a glass of brandy. Louisa Thorpe stood near the window, looking out over the park and obviously not listening to the lamentations of her friend.
Rowland and Frank were nowhere to be seen and George and Sir Ralph were still outside, presumably keeping watch over the scene of the tragedy until the doctor and Colonel Hartley arrived.
‘How could he do this to me?’ cried her ladyship. ‘You’d have thought he owed me a certain amount of loyalty as I was the one who installed him at Lovegrove. No self-respecting hermit could have asked for more – two good meals a day – two good woollen robes, a comfortable cell and a convenient cave to shelter from rain and sun, a beautiful park to roam in and no work at all. What am I to do now? He was such a refined hermit and I suppose now I’ll have to make do with some dirty old vagabond – if I can find anyone at all.
‘It’s too bad,’ she continued, allowing no interruptions, ‘he’s showed no consideration at all. Totally selfish! The worst thing of all is that the shock has totally deprived me of the power to write. I doubt if my new novel will ever be finished.
‘Then there’s all the nastiness – the coroner nosing around and I’m told the corpse will be conveyed to the laundry when he has seen it. A corpse in the laundry – just imagine!’ She shuddered. ‘It doesn’t bear thinking of. I do hope Colonel Hartley manages to hush it all up.’
‘Elinor is staying in her room,’ I said, when she had paused for breath. ‘She has had a very bad shock.’
‘She’s had a bad shock? What do you suppose I’ve had? She hasn’t had all the bother of hiring a hermit and getting him installed and maintained.’
‘But she found the dead body,’ Sophie interposed, ‘that must have been horrid.’
‘I did not ask for the opinion of an immature girl. Miss Tyler,’ she looked at me for the first time, ‘can you take her somewhere – I find her distracting.’
I took Sophie by the arm and led her out of the door.
‘Distracting!’ she exclaimed indignantly. ‘That poor man is dead and all she can think of is her own inconvenience.’
‘Let us get away as far as possible.’
‘I wish that meant we were going home to Fairfield.’
‘So do I but I fear we’ll have to remain here until after the inquest.’
‘When will that be?’
‘Only the coroner can decide. He has to view the body and hear the opinion of the doctor.’
‘Was it very horrid?’
‘Pretty bad.’ I opened the side door of the house and we stepped out into the fresh air.
CHAPTER TEN
It was a relief to escape from overwrought emotions into the tranquil park. The morning was so bright, so warm and still that it was difficult to believe such a violent act had taken place in such beautiful surroundings. We followed our path to the lake, but on the side furthest from the hermitage.
‘Look there – I think that’s Colonel Hartley waving to us. I like him, don’t you?’ said Sophie.
‘Yes, indeed.’
‘I’m glad he is the magistrate. I thought Sir Ralph would be.’
‘Colonel Hartley was the local magistrate before the Denbys came here – and his father before him. Yes, he wants to talk to us.’
The Colonel had begun walking towards us along the side of the lake so we set out to meet him. We met near one of the seats that overlooked the water.
‘I very much wanted to see you,’ he said. ‘I hope neither of you is too distressed by what has happened.’
‘Poor Elinor is dreadfully upset,’ said Sophie, ‘but then, she found the body. Then Aunt Charlotte went to have a look to make sure she’d not made some sort of mistake.’
He looked at me gravely. ‘That must have been very shocking for you.’
‘Not the worst shock I’ve ever had, but bad enough.’
‘I think I may need your help, Miss Tyler. Sophie, do you think you could run back to the house and fetch your aunt’s sketchpad and pencil?’
She needed no encouragement; glad to be of assistance she hurried off.
‘How can I be of use?’ I asked.
‘I may need a helping hand – literally as I have only one of my own. I know I can rely on you to be absolutely discreet. Sir Ralph means well but he’s a great fusspot and seems to have no idea how matters like this should be conducted. It was all I could do to stop him blundering round the cell, picking things up and moving them. He wanted to remove the body but I told him we must wait for the coroner.’
‘I find it difficult to believe Brother Caspar shot himself a few hours after I had a pleasant conversation with him.’
‘Indeed – tell me about it.’
I related the encounter of the previous afternoon.
‘He seemed perfectly at his ease – quite good-humoured in fact and we walked back to the hermitage together. He saw
you’d sent him a bottle of wine and he remarked he’d have a cheerful supper.’
‘You saw the wine?’
‘Oh yes – the bottle had been left just inside the entrance to the cave so that it was in the shade.’
‘But I sent him no wine yesterday.’
‘He certainly thought it was from you. Did anyone else ever send him any?’
‘I think he’d have told me if they did.’
‘I heard the shot at about two this morning just after the stable clock struck the hour.’
‘Really?’
‘And – this is odd – it was followed a few minutes later by a splash as though someone had thrown something into the lake.’
‘Have you told anyone of this?’
‘No. I heard two shots in the middle of the night about a week ago and I mentioned it to Sir Ralph, but he said it was probably the gamekeepers. He didn’t seem very concerned.’
‘Please say nothing to anyone about this. It may be important. There is something not right about the whole business. Like you, I find it difficult to believe this was a suicide but I have no proof it was anything else. Poor man – his was a tragic life and a tragic death, but not, I feel, self-inflicted.’
‘You knew him well?’
‘I don’t think anyone knew him well. I shall, of course, make known his true identity which I could not do during his lifetime. He has kin in Devonshire who need to know and of course, the coroner must be informed.’
‘And you know why he hid himself away from the world like this?’
He nodded. ‘His real name was James Rushworth and eight years ago he was my colonel and I was a mere captain, both of us serving in the Peninsula. I need not go into the whole miserable business at this stage but he was held accountable for the escape of a French garrison. Everyone knew that he was not to blame. A certain general was mainly responsible. He had passed on the orders far too late and when they eventually arrived, Rushworth, I must admit, panicked a little. Lord Wellington thought we were much nearer to the fortress than was actually the case. He had a low opinion of the general, who had been foisted on him by the Horse Guards and was little more than a half-witted drunkard. Whether Wellington ever knew what had actually happened is debatable. Anyway, he criticized the regiment in his official despatch for allowing the garrison to escape. Rushworth was not mentioned by name but he took it as a personal affront. He asked for an inquiry but that was denied.
‘Rushworth was not, I feel, of the right temperament to make a good soldier. He was immensely brave and did his duty with great devotion but he was too sensitive, too thin-skinned. He brooded and moped and even contemplated suicide.’
‘Then?’
‘Oh yes – though of course I was not told until long afterwards. Instead he sold his commission, quit the army and returned home. One of the majors was promoted colonel and two years later, after a few deaths, I gained the colonelcy of the regiment, which went on to redeem itself over and over again. The sad episode that had blighted Rushworth’s career receded into the past but it still loomed large in his mind. The shame – or what he perceived as the shame of his disgrace – went with him. He chose to change his name and disappear. He wandered about the country, taking employment here and there: as a clerk, as a tutor, as a fencing master….’
‘But he had family in Devon?’
‘An uncle who owns a large estate. Rushworth was his heir. Another man might have shrugged off the whole sad business and started again. Few people in England would know or understand or even care what had happened. Rushworth could not do that. He eventually saw the advertisement for a hermit, knew that I lived somewhere near and came to see me. I secured him the post, as you know.’
‘He struck me as being very melancholic but yesterday evening he seemed perfectly serene.’
‘I think his life here suited him. He had no decisions to make, no responsibilities, peace and quiet in pleasant surroundings and plenty of fresh air and good food. He seemed content and told me he was happier than he had ever been. That does not mean he was quite free of the depression that troubled him – it was something he had suffered all his life and was unlikely to disappear completely.
‘When we’re able to enter the cell after the coroner has seen the remains I would like you to make a sketch of the interior. There are also some questions I’d like to ask you, if you’ve no objection. I’m sorry to put you through this but I can hardly approach Miss Denby.’
‘Of course not, I’m perfectly willing to help. I would like to be of use.’
Sophie arrived with my sketching materials. ‘Here you are – please don’t make me stay indoors. Lady Denby is still complaining and the whole house is in chaos. It’s so gloomy in there and so peaceful out here, despite what has happened.’
‘Yes, I’d rather you stayed with me,’ I said, ‘at least for the present. But first, I’d like you to go to the kitchen and ask the cook to prepare a picnic basket for us – and for Colonel Hartley, who will otherwise have to go hungry.’
‘Not for the first time in my life,’ he grinned.
‘But not in England in peacetime, I hope. Sophie, I think you’d better ask for a maid to bring the basket out to us here on this bench.’
‘Do you think Lady Denby has turned against me?’ said Sophie, hopefully. ‘She was decidedly unpleasant.’
‘No, I think that was a temporary fit of irritation. I’m sure she’ll be gushing over you again very soon. You are important in her scheme of things.’
‘Sophie and Rowland?’ enquired Colonel Hartley when she had gone. ‘I thought there was some such scheme in operation. I doubt if it will come to anything. I fancy Rowland will surprise us all before he is finished.’
‘Really?’
But he said no more on the subject and we were interrupted by the Colonel’s manservant, Sam Bates, who brought us the news that the doctor and the coroner had arrived together and required his presence. I liked the look of Sam Bates, who had served with the Colonel’s regiment in the Peninsula and at Waterloo. He had a rough, open, weather-beaten face and a simple, direct manner. He was obviously someone to be trusted.
Colonel Hartley excused himself and I found myself alone for the first time that day; indeed, for the first time – the hours of sleep excepted – since I encountered Brother Caspar yesterday. It felt like an age ago and the horrors of the morning seemed quite unreal.
Sophie returned at last with a story to tell. ‘The hamper will be sent,’ she said. ‘Cold ham and chicken, a little salad, a strawberry tart and a pot of cream. Oh, and spruce beer and lemonade.’
‘Thank you – that sounds ideal for a hot day.’
‘Everything is in uproar. The poor maid who takes the hermit his food was in hysterics. “Such a nice gentleman!” she said. “treated me so kindly – spoke to me as though I was a lady!” Then she threw her apron over her head and refused to be comforted. So I thought it best to ask for something simple that wouldn’t need much preparation.’
‘That was very sensible of you.’
‘Then I decided to get something to read from the library – we don’t know how long we will be stuck out here. I overheard the most almighty row going on between Lady Denby and Mrs Thorpe. They were in the study next door and I could hear them shouting at each other, even through that heavy oak door. I got the impression that Mrs Thorpe was tired of Lady Denby’s complaints and told her to shut up. Then her ladyship started telling her a few home truths. I distinctly heard her say: “You are a perfect disgrace and behaving like a common trollop!” Imagine! Now, if I shouted like that you’d tell me I was unladylike.’
‘And so you would be. Lady Denby is a law unto herself and I strongly suspect Mrs Thorpe is not a lady.’
‘Then I suppose she’ll take herself off and Frank Lawrence with her, which would be a pity – he’s amusing. Still, I suppose it will get her away from Papa, which is more important. On the other hand, you said we’d probably all have to stay here until after the inq
uest.’
‘Inquests are usually held fairly promptly,’ I told her. I reflected that a falling-out between Lady Denby and her old friend might, as Sophie supposed, lead to her early departure from Lovegrove. However, I did not trust her and felt sure that if this happened she would concoct some scheme for seeing my brother again.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
After the remains of the supposed suicide were removed to the laundry, Colonel Hartley asked me to accompany him to the hermitage. Sophie, who was anxious to help, was given the task of drawing the outside of the cave.
We went inside. ‘I hope this will not be a painful experience for you,’ he said, ‘and if you’d rather not do this, please say so.’
‘No, I’m quite prepared.’
‘Then tell me first, if anything has been disturbed in any way since you entered this morning and found the corpse.’
‘I don’t think so.’ My eyes took in the bed, where the pillow had been covered with a cloth, and then I noticed the open box of pistols on the floor. One remained inside but the other was missing.
‘Where—?’ I began.
‘Preserved as evidence. But the box was there when you entered? Sir Ralph started moving it away.’
‘Yes, I’m sure that’s where it was.’
‘Then can you make a sketch of the room, exactly as it is?’
‘I will try.’
‘And another thing, if the recollection is not too distressing, can you show in your sketch how the body was lying when you saw it? I will help you.’
I drew the room first, leaving blank the area where the body lay.
‘It looked,’ I said, ‘as though he was seated on the side of the bed to shoot himself and then he fell backwards.’
‘Quite so.’ He moved behind me and watched me begin to sketch the dead man. Then he took the pencil from my hand.
‘I’ve done some drawing myself in the past but you are so much better at it than I. Fortifications and battlefields are more in my line. Now – the pistol had fallen from his hand and lay here.’ He made a swift sketch. ‘Does that look right to you?’
The Lovegrove Hermit Page 7
