Only once he had descended Strand Hill, did he dare to pull over and make the 999 call.
Chapter Fifteen
Saturday 15th April 1911
Edward Mercer could barely contain himself. He and the rest of the Blackfriars household were on the final leg of their journey home from Scotland. He was grateful that Lord Rothborne had decided to return slightly earlier than planned to be with his wife following the illness that had sent her home prematurely. The family and all the domestic staff had stayed overnight in London, ready to take the first train back to Rye. A convoy of six shiny black horse-drawn carriages were cutting their way through the glorious Sussex countryside towards Winchelsea. Edward gazed through the coach window at the patchwork quilt of yellow and green fields that ran endlessly into the horizon. He wasn’t really taking in what his eyes were seeing; his thoughts were preoccupied with Mary. His feelings for her had seemed to spring unexpectedly from nowhere, but were now so powerful that they were driving his every thought and action. The time when they could be together, properly and seriously, couldn’t come soon enough. The painful absence from her had sown the seed of the idea of getting married as quickly as possible. When he had proposed, they had only discussed the marriage in very general terms, which revolved around their family being informed. But now, Edward didn’t care what their family thought about it; he loved Mary and she loved him. Throughout the time in Scotland, the idea burgeoned to the point that Edward had written a letter to the vicar of Winchelsea, requesting a special marriage licence so that they could be married quickly and without the need for banns to be called. They could even marry in secret and then tell their family. He couldn’t wait to tell Mary—he knew that she would be as thrilled as he was at the prospect. Edward had made up his mind that the two of them would go and speak to the vicar this very afternoon. Lord Rothborne had kindly given all domestic staff the rest of the day off, including those who hadn’t been included in the trip, meaning that he and Mary could have an entire day off together. It was probably too ambitious, but he wondered if he could take her to Hastings after they had seen the vicar, or somewhere further afield. Although, thinking about it more, he knew that Mary would much prefer to take a picnic and head out into the countryside where they could be alone together. Whatever they did, it didn’t really matter. The weather, too was perfect for them—bright blue skies with only the merest smudge of cloud.
‘What you grinning at, Mercer?’ Jack Maslow asked, as the coach bumbled along an unmade section of the road.
‘Nothing,’ Edward said, unable to stop smiling. He had told Jack everything about his courtship with Mary, but now wasn’t the place to open up about the marriage, since James Daniels and Thomas Redfern were also sharing the coach with them. The gossip had inevitably spread but the last thing Edward wanted was to add fuel to the fire.
‘Mary, Mary—my darling, Mary!’ James teased. ‘How I long to hold you in my arms!’
Edward smiled and ignored the goading. His stomach began to churn as the grand front entrance to Blackfriars came into view. Usually, the servants would have been brought in via the back entrance along Friar’s Road, but the grand spectacle of six horse-drawn carriages was an opportunity to remind the village of the prominence of the Mansfield family.
Upon entering the estate, the procession split: the coaches containing the family went to the front of the house and the carriages containing staff and luggage drew up at the kitchen door. As much as Edward wanted to run into the house to find Mary, he still had work to do yet. They could only be dismissed once all the trunks and cases had been safely taken to the correct areas of the house. The mammoth operation of unpacking and life returning to normal was to begin tomorrow.
Edward was disappointed when he first entered the gloomy kitchen to be greeted by Bastion’s wretched face and a disgusting smell. He had hoped that wherever Mary was in the house, she would have seen their return and come and welcomed him. She must be busy somewhere at the back of the house and not know we’re home, Edward thought. What a surprise she’ll have! He grinned and left the kitchen to help carry the suitcases inside.
‘Come on, lads, let’s get this done,’ Edward said, heading to a coach containing the cases and trunks.
‘Yeah, we know why you’re in a hurry, Mercer,’ Jack Maslow said with a laugh.
Edward responded with a smile, rolled his sleeves up and reached up for the first trunk.
It was almost ten o’clock in the morning by the time all of the luggage had been carefully transported inside. The horses had been led away to the stables and the coaches stowed in the old cart lodge. For Edward, the time had passed agonisingly slowly and there was still no sign of Mary. It’s just like her to keep me waiting, he thought with an inward laugh.
He headed through the kitchen, which was still filled with the unpleasant aroma of offal being sliced and diced, towards the servants’ hall, whistling a made-up tune. As he walked along the corridor, the door to the housekeeper’s room opened and Mrs Cuff and Miss Herriot stepped out. ‘Good morning,’ Edward said cheerfully. ‘We’re back!’ He stepped back to allow the ladies to pass.
‘Good morning,’ the ladies answered as they wandered smartly past.
‘Have either of you seen Mary at all?’ Edward called after them. He watched, somewhat alarmed, as both the women stopped and glanced at each other before turning back towards him.
‘Has nobody told you?’ Mrs Cuff asked.
‘Told me what?’ Edward said, beginning to panic. ‘Is she okay?’
Mrs Cuff nodded. ‘She’s fine.’ She looked again at Miss Herriot. ‘You go on, I’ll be along in a moment.’ Then she faced Edward. ‘Come into my room for a moment.’
At Mrs Cuff’s request, Edward sat down at her oak writing desk. She took a seat opposite him and sat with a solemn face. He was really worrying about whatever he was about to be told and a thin bead of sweat broke out on his forehead. ‘What is it, Mrs Cuff? Please, tell me.’
‘I’m afraid that Miss Mercer has left the employ of Blackfriars,’ she began.
‘What do you mean?’ Edward asked.
‘I mean that Miss Mercer no longer works here.’
‘Why? What did she do?’ Edward demanded, straightening defensively in his chair.
Mrs Cuff paused for a moment. ‘It’s a delicate matter, the details of which should probably be left to the discretion of Miss Mercer. Suffice it to say, something occurred last Wednesday which could not be tolerated at Blackfriars.’
‘Where did she go?’
‘Home, I would have thought.’
Edward stood, mumbled his thanks and dashed from the room. He bolted along the corridor, through the kitchen and out the door. ‘What have you done, Mary?’ he said to himself as he ran at full pelt up the back path. He briefly left the path at the orchard and stuck his head in the old abbey ruins, but she was not there.
When he reached his aunt and uncle’s house, Edward kept pounding on the door until somebody answered it. ‘Come on, come on!’ he yelled breathlessly. ‘Mary!’
Finally, the door was unbolted and Caroline’s face snarled through the narrow gap that she had allowed. ‘Edward,’ she said, her voice finely laced with disgust.
‘Caroline, open the door. I need to see Mary,’ Edward said, taking a step closer to the house.
Caroline held the door firm. ‘You’ve got a nerve showing up here after what you and Mary did to Edith. Judas.’
Edward began to lose his temper and raised his voice. ‘It’s none of your business, just open the door. I need to see Mary.’
Caroline frowned but said nothing for several seconds. ‘Why would Mary be here on a Saturday?’ When she saw Edward’s confusion she widened the gap in the door. ‘Where is she?’ she demanded. ‘She owes us her wages from last week.’
‘Who is it?’ a voice called from behind Caroline.
Edward recognised it as his aunt’s voice. ‘It’s me, Edward. Can you come to the door, please?’
&n
bsp; Caroline sneered and stepped back to allow her mother to come forward.
‘Oh hello, Edward. Do you want to come in?’
Edward nodded and followed his aunt inside and through to the kitchen.
‘Sit down. I’ve just made a pot of tea. What are you doing up here on a Saturday, then?’ his aunt asked. ‘Oh, have you just got back from Scotland? How was it?’’
‘It was okay, thanks. Listen, I’ve come looking for Mary. Have you seen her since Wednesday?’
His aunt laughed, as she poured two cups of tea. ‘What, do you mean she’s disappeared? She should be at work. It is Saturday, isn’t it?’ she said, sounding slightly confused.
Caroline had followed them into the kitchen and stood with her arms folded in the doorway. Edward glanced at her then back to his aunt. ‘I don’t really know what’s happened, but they let her go on Wednesday last week. They’ve not seen her at Blackfriars since.’
His aunt frowned at him and set down the teapot. ‘Well where the devil is she, then?’ She turned to Caroline. ‘Do you know where she is?’
Caroline shrugged. ‘Don’t ask me where she’s gone. Probably somewhere of ill-repute, knowing Mary.’
‘Caroline!’ her mother snapped. ‘That’s enough. I really don’t know why you’ve got it in for her.’ She turned back to Edward with an apologetic look on her face.
Edward ignored the nasty comment from Caroline and addressed his aunt. ‘We need to find her. All the other servants are off today so I could get some help searching for her.’
‘Isn’t that all a bit dramatic and over the top?’ Caroline asked.
Edward stared at her cold, uncaring face. ‘Is it? Your sister has been missing since Wednesday—aren’t you a little bit bothered.’
‘She’s old enough to look after herself. What did she do at work to get sacked anyway?’
‘I don’t know,’ Edward said quietly. ‘It doesn’t really matter to me. The point is that she’s nowhere to be found.’
‘Where are you going to look for her?’ Caroline asked derisively.
Edward hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. He just knew that he needed to look for her. ‘I don’t know… we could ask around the village. Search around the Blackfriars estate. Maybe she slipped and banged her head or hurt herself somehow.’
With trembling hands, his aunt picked up her cup and saucer and took a sip of tea to steady her nerves. ‘Edward’s right. This is out of character for Mary. She does do some silly things but she’s never run off like this. When’s Edie home? Maybe she’s heard from her.’
‘I think if Edie had heard from her we’d soon know about it,’ Caroline said. ‘She’s livid with her. Understandably, she feels totally betrayed.’
‘Caroline, just stop with your harsh words,’ her mother instructed in a soft but direct tone. ‘Why don’t you go and get yourself ready to help look for Mary?’
Caroline exhaled, then silently left the room.
‘Just ignore her, she’s still very emotional following William’s death. She’s taken it hard, poor girl,’ she said, taking a seat opposite Edward.
Edward looked into his aunt’s eyes and a desperate biting feeling overtook him and he began to sob. Something had happened to Mary. He knew that it was something bad. His aunt reached across the table and took his hand.
‘We’ll find her, don’t you worry. You know what she’s like—always getting herself into mischief.’
Edward wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘But where can she be? This is so not like her. She wouldn’t have just left like this, not without telling me.’
His aunt breathed in and out heavily for several seconds. ‘I must admit, when she didn’t come with Edie to collect me from the sanatorium last week I was a bit worried, but then Edie said Mary hardly ever comes home now on her half day’s leave, so I didn’t think any more of it.’
‘Can you think of anyone she might have gone to?’ Edward asked.
She thought for a time, then shook her head. ‘Nobody that comes to mind. You probably should get someone to check with your mum and dad—make sure she’s not waiting for you there.’
Edward hadn’t thought of that and the notion that she was simply with his parents, waiting for him to get back, filled him with a little hope that she was okay. But how would she think I would find out where she was? Edward wondered. Maybe she’s left a note for me somewhere. He chastised himself for not having searched his own room for any letter or note that she might have left him—exactly as he had done for her. The sinking feeling that he had been experiencing was suddenly lifted to one of hope. That will be it—she’s left me a note telling me where to find her. ‘I’m going to make one final check of Blackfriars. If I don’t find anything, I’ll return with help and we’ll begin searching for her.’
‘Okay.’
Edward stood up and darted from the house back to Blackfriars. ‘Why didn’t I think of that before?’ he mumbled to himself as he ran into the estate.
Breathlessly, Edward climbed the stairs to his bedroom. He headed straight for the bed and lunged for the pillow. Below it, there was no note. Nothing. He then turned the room upside down, emptying drawers and his wardrobe, searching every nook and cranny that he could find. But there was nothing. The room hadn’t been touched since he had left for Scotland.
In despair, Edward kicked the bed and then yelped in pain. He stood in the centre of his trashed room, desperately trying to stop himself from crying. He frantically considered his options and any places where she might have gone or clues that she might have left here in Blackfriars. There was only one other place to check: her bedroom.
Descending the stairs two, sometimes three at a time, Edward raced along the corridor and up the stairs to the female servants’ quarters.
‘Edward!’ Eliza yelled angrily when she bumped into him at the top of the stairs. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Sorry, Eliza, I know it’s forbidden but I must look in Mary’s room,’ Edward managed to say through gasps for breath. ‘She’s disappeared.’
‘What do you mean?’ Eliza asked indignantly.
Upon hearing a man’s voice, Clara stepped out of the bedroom that she had shared with Mary. ‘What’s he doing up here?’
Edward turned to face Clara. ‘Mary stopped working here on Wednesday and she hasn’t been seen since. None of her family knows where she is and—’ he was cut off by another voice further down the corridor.
‘She was sacked, the naughty little girl.’ It was Joan, who stuck her head out from her bedroom door.
‘Do you know why she was sacked, Joan?’ Edward asked.
Joan shrugged her shoulders smugly.
‘Please, nobody knows where she is,’ Edward pleaded.
Joan grinned. ‘Apparently, so I was told, Mary was caught by Her Royal Highness wearing all her fancy clothes. Parading up and down in her bedroom, so I was told. Typical Mary—thinking she’s better than everyone else.’
Edward was perplexed. Why would Mary be wearing Lady Philadelphia’s clothes? Was that even enough to be sacked? ‘Then what happened?’
Joan shrugged again.
‘Joan, just tell him if you know anything, you can see how worried he is,’ Clara said.
‘She came up here, packed up her things and left. I saw her leaving myself. Gone. She’s probably hiding, too ashamed to show her face. She’ll not work in a house like this again, I can tell you.’
Clara rolled her eyes, then faced Edward. ‘Did she not just go home?’
‘No, she never showed up. I was hoping she might have left a note or a clue.’
‘You’re welcome to have a look in our room, but I haven’t seen any notes.’
‘Thanks—it’s my last hope before I really start to panic,’ Edward said, as he followed Clara into the room. Eliza also joined them and between them they methodically searched the small bedroom.
‘There’s nothing here,’ Edward said, resigning himself to the situation. Her drawers and ward
robe were empty, her bed was stripped bare: there was nothing of Mary here. She’s gone, he was forced to admit.
Edith had to get some fresh air. At least that was what she had told her mother earlier today. In reality, she needed to escape her overbearing sister, Caroline. She longed for the day Caroline would return to own house in Bristol. Why is she even still here? Edith asked herself, as she traipsed through the Strand Gate, running her fingers slowly over the ancient stone. She says it’s because Mother is still unwell, but it’s more likely because she’s enjoying being in charge. A gentle wind wafted through Edith’s hair and seemed to calm her thoughts. She stood still and closed her eyes, trying to settle her mind before returning home. She wished things could go back to how they were last year. The seriousness of life seemed to have suddenly come upon her. In just a few days she and Mary would turn eighteen. It was a milestone birthday and they were at odds with each other. Edith inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying—really trying to forgive her twin. But she just couldn’t yet. She felt utterly deceived by Mary’s actions in the past few months. First the job, then Edward. And she didn’t even have the courage to turn up on Wednesday to face her—probably snuggled up somewhere with her fancy man.
‘It’ll work itself out, Edie,’ her mother had said, trying to console her. ‘Look how it all turned out with the job—you’re going to be the second housemaid at Durrant House. Besides which, you’re still young. You don’t need to saddle yourself with a man yet. Trust me, there’s plenty of time for that.’
But her anger and hostility only worsened and deepened. Edith had been alarmed at the rise of her ill feelings towards her sister. Then she had berated herself for such shameful thoughts.
Edith turned the corner into Friar’s Road. Something was going on. Something serious. The usually deserted street was bustling with activity. At least fifteen people, comprising neighbours, friends and some servants whom she recognised from Blackfriars, were all milling about and chatting noisily just in front of her house. Was it her mother? It couldn’t be, she had seemed so well since she’d been home. Perhaps it was her father.
The Lost Ancestor (The Forensic Genealogist series Book 2) Page 20
