Chapter 27
If the breakfast table had buzzed about Inspector Brighton wanting to speak to Stewart Grenadier, there was uproar at lunch when Lorenzo Spinoza told the group that Stewart Grenadier had been his wife’s lover.
‘Inspector Brighton told me himself not long ago. I know the inspector would have been discreet but I wanted to be upfront with you all. You’d find out soon enough and I’d rather you heard it from me than the papers.’
Dorothy Mowbray was ashen faced and barely touched her bowl of pea and mint soup. Her sister-in-law and her great aunt sat either side of her, trying to encourage her to eat. Marjorie Mowbray’s face wore an expression of concern but when she looked away from Dorothy, a mixture of relief, triumph and scorn flashed across her face. Algernon Wainwright sat opposite her, staring at Dorothy with a hopeless expression on his face.
Etta felt intensely sorry for her, she had lost her brother one day and discovered her supposed lover had been in love with someone else the next. She tried to imagine how she would feel if she ever discovered that Luke had betrayed her. The idea panicked her; it made her stomach churn. Life without Luke was impossible.
‘I can’t believe it,’ Dorothy kept repeating. ‘I simply can’t believe it. There must be some mistake.’
Lady Mowbray was keeping to her room but Sir James had come down for the first time, to lunch. ‘I wish I could get my hands on the feller,’ he like his daughter, kept repeating.
There was no one to defend him or to point out that he was supposedly innocent till proved guilty. Etta looked at Miss Mittens but she was talking to Lorenzo Spinoza.
‘I’m like Dotty here. I can’t believe it either. He seemed like a regular guy, you know?’
The discovery of the murderer seemed to have cheered him up considerably.
‘It must have come as a great shock to you,’ Miss Mittens said.
‘Yes and no. To be honest, it’s always a danger, a risk, when you marry a beautiful woman twenty years younger than you but I thought I could trust Evangeline.’ His voice sounded bewildered rather than heartbroken.
Etta stole a glance at Dennis Mowbray. He was seated next to his wife drinking his soup mechanically and staring straight ahead of him. It must have come as a great shock to him to find out that Evangeline Spinoza had been cheating on him too.
Jen didn’t like pea and mint soup so she skipped that course had some bread and cheddar for her lunch. The servants too, were discussing Stewart Grenadier.
‘He seemed like such a nice gentleman,’ said Kate.
Callum laughed but said nothing. Kat flushed and darted a look of dislike at him.
‘When did you meet him?’ asked her boyfriend, John the footman with keen interest.
Kate blushed. ‘I met him when I was cleaning his bedroom one morning and he seemed very affable.’
Jen wondered exactly what had gone on that morning. John clearly shared her suspicions.
‘Appearances can be deceptive. I always knew he was a wrong ‘un,’ he said with vicious pleasure. ‘I took one look at him and knew he would be up to no good.’
‘A pity you didn’t tell the rest of us then,’ said Mr. Cook snidely.
John imitated his girlfriend’s actions but directed at Mr. Cook.
Jen felt compelled to say something. ‘Just he’s been taken in for questioning doesn’t mean he’s guilty of anything.’
She heard a mutter of, ‘you would say that.’
‘Yes, I would,’ she said sharply. ‘And I would have thought that you might have learnt something from that to stop you instantly assuming that a man is guilty.’
Honestly, how could they be so blinkered and narrow minded?
‘Miss James is right. Mr. Grenadier has not been arrested so perhaps we should refrain from slandering him until we have further information.’ He looked meaningfully at Mr. Cook.
Mr. Cook flushed an unbecoming red and said, ‘I quite agree with Mr. Taylor. I don’t want to hear any more of this sort of talk at this table.’
Miss Potter was seated next to Jen. ‘Mr. Cook may say that but it won’t stop us thinking it. Of course the man is guilty. The wages of sin, mark my words,’ she muttered.
‘So you knew about it?’ Jen asked.
‘Of course, I knew about it. I was her maid.’
‘What do you think happened?’ Jen asked her in a low tone.
Miss Potter sniffed. ‘He had a row with his harlot, killed her and stole the necklace. Then he put the necklace into your lady’s room to get her blamed for the murder. ‘
‘And Cecil Mowbray?’
‘Perhaps the young master saw something he shouldn’t have. Stewart Grenadier is a great sinner and we know what happens to sinners.’
‘What does happen to sinners?’ asked Callum,
He must have very good hearing to overhear this conversation, Jen thought.
‘Like all sinners, he will reap the consequences of his actions. He’ll be hanged and then will burn in hell for eternity.’
Callum laughed again.
‘Do you know the fate that awaits unbelievers?’ hissed Miss Potter, leaning forward; both her cheeks had a bright red spot of anger.
Jen started to reconsider whether Miss Potter was a religious nut or not. It occurred to her wonder whether Miss Potter, she could not bring herself to call her Cynthia, had told Mr. Spinoza about his wife’s affairs. That would give him a very strong motive for killing her. Then another thought hit her.
She leant forward, ‘Miss Potter,’ she asked in an undertone, ‘did you tell the police about Mr. Grenadier and the necklace?’
From the way she flinched back and her right eye twitched, Jen knew that she was on the right track.
‘You did, didn’t you?’ she persisted.
‘He deserves to be punished too,’ Miss Potter snapped. ‘I refuse to be harassed about this any more.’
Her loud tones attracted the attention of Mr. Cook.
‘Ladies, I beg you, let us change the topic of conversation.’
Murder and Mittens Page 27
