Fifteen
By the time everyone was finally out of the manor it was well after midnight. Once the police arrived and turned the estate from a party to a crime scene, no one wanted to leave. They were all more interested in trying to get a glimpse of what had happened, though the police officers were doing their best to keep people downstairs. After hours of arguing with various partygoers, the police ordered them out of the house.
The only people left were Cordelia, Birdie and the General, and Victor, who was allowed to stay as he was the family solicitor. The staff had been confined to the servants’ quarters, protected by a pair of officers, and the manor was almost silent. Cordelia sat in shock on the loveseat in the study, with Birdie beside her holding her hands.
“When did you first notice your husband was missing, Lady Whittemore?” The police officer that stood before her was an older man, and Cordelia was certain he outranked all the others she’d seen. He had a large mustache and she tried to focus on it while she spoke to him.
“I did think it a bit strange that he wasn’t there to listen to my performance,” Cordelia said. “I suppose I assumed he would be along later. I didn’t think to look for him.”
“Why not?”
“To be honest, sir, he and I were not on the best of terms at the moment.” Her eyes flicked over to Victor, then Birdie. “We had an argument and things had been rather cool since then.” Birdie frowned at her.
“You didn’t tell me that, Delia. What were you fighting about?”
“Please let me ask the questions, Mrs. Ellison,” the officer said impatiently. “You had a fight with your husband, the people I spoke to downstairs said they hadn’t seen you since the piano performance, and you were the one to find him dead. You can see how that looks suspicious.”
“What on Earth are you talking about?” Birdie’s brown eyes were fierce. “My sister would never kill anyone. Besides, she was with her lady’s maid when she found Arthur’s body. It’s not as if she pretended to find him by accident.”
“We’ve spoken to Miss Parker,” the officer said, and for a moment Cordelia wondered who he was talking about. “Or rather we’ve tried to. She’s rather shaken up at the moment. Can’t stop crying long enough to say anything other than she’s never seen a dead person before.”
“If you’re accusing Lady Whittemore of something, then come out and say it,” Victor said. “Otherwise she will speak to you further in the morning. She’s had a long, difficult evening and needs to get some rest.”
“Fine,” the officer said, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at her. “You’re not to leave the estate tonight, though. I’ll be stationing a couple of officers outside the door just in case anyone tries to get in or out.”
“That’s not necessary,” the General said. “My wife and I will be staying with Lady Whittemore tonight.” He looked at Victor. “I assume her solicitor will want to return to his home but we will be more than happy to look out for her.” Cordelia looked over at Victor. She wanted him to stay more than anything but with the General and Birdie in the manor they wouldn’t be able to be alone together, so there was little point.
“If it’s all the same to you, General Ellison, I’d like to stay the night as well. It seems there is ample room in the manor for all of us and I’d like to be close by in case the police feel the need to question Lady Whittemore again.” He folded his own arms across his chest and Cordelia was able for the first time to understand how intimidating he could be.
“There you have it,” the General said. “She’s in good hands with all of us here. You have nothing to worry about where Lady Whittemore is concerned.” He put a hand on Cordelia’s shoulder and she looked up at him, grateful.
“All right,” the officer said. “We’ll be back to speak to you again in the morning.” He started for the door and Victor followed him. The General stepped around the couch and went behind them.
“I’ll see you out.”
As soon as he was gone, Birdie leaned over and hugged her sister tightly. The warmth of her arms made tears well up in Cordelia’s eyes and a moment later she was crying. Birdie patted her back as Cordelia had done hundreds of times when they were children, murmuring that things would be all right. Cordelia sat up straight and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and Birdie opened her handbag and took out a delicately embroidered handkerchief.
“Here,” she said gently. “Wipe your face.”
“Thank you,” Cordelia said, taking the handkerchief. “I’m sorry for being so dramatic.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Birdie said with a smile. “You just found your husband murdered at your party. I’m surprised you haven’t been screaming since you opened the door.” She reached up and tucked Cordelia’s hair behind her ear. Between the long night and her tryst with Victor, it had fallen almost completely out of the updo Patricia had been so proud of that morning. “Do you have any idea who could have done this?”
“No,” Cordelia said. “I don’t. It had to have happened during the party, though. He was alive this afternoon.” She shook her head. “In fact, he rode down to town and came back just before people started to arrive. The last time I saw him was when he went upstairs to change clothes.”
“There were so many guests,” Birdie sighed. “It’s hard to believe someone could have done such a thing.” She took Cordelia’s hands. “Will you be all right, sleeping alone?”
“Of course I will,” Cordelia said. “I sleep in my own room all the time.” Birdie gave her a curious look and Cordelia realized that she’d never told her sister that she and Arthur slept in different rooms. It was unlikely that she and the General were in a similar arrangement and she was suddenly embarrassed to tell her. “Arthur snores,” she lied. “Snored, I mean. I could hardly sleep most nights.”
“Poor thing.” The door opened again and the two men returned without the police officer. The General looked as if he was starting to get a headache. Victor looked less than pleased as well and Cordelia frowned at them.
“What’s going on?”
“They’re down at the servants’ quarters questioning all the staff,” Victor said with disgust. “After midnight and they’ve got all of them awake asking who they saw, and all sorts of nonsense. They seem determined to make everyone in your estate’s life miserable because they haven’t got the first clue who did this.”
“You should get some rest, Cordelia,” the General said. “I don’t know my way around your kitchen but I do recall where Arthur kept his brandy. I’m going to get you some of it.”
“Thank you, Richard.” Cordelia smiled up at him gratefully. He was such a kind man, it was no wonder Birdie loved him so dearly.
“I’m going back down to the servants’ quarters to see if I can’t get them to leave the staff alone,” Victor said. “There’s no call for it.”
“Thank you, Mr. Pembroke.” Their eyes met again, briefly, then he turned and walked out of the room with the General. Cordelia thought she heard them saying something about having some brandy as well and she couldn’t help smiling. “Men,” she said. “Always have to be doing something, don’t they?”
“They really do,” Birdie said. Her eyes drifted to the ceiling. Arthur’s room wasn’t directly above them but she couldn’t know that. “I’m so sorry they’re making you stay here tonight, Delia. I’d much rather you come stay with us. It’s going to be unsettling sleeping down the hall from a murder scene.”
“Here’s that drink for you, Cordelia,” the General said, striding into the room and handing his sister-in-law a glass. It was half-full of amber liquid and her eyes widened. “You don’t have to drink it all at once.”
“What about me?” Birdie stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Why don’t I get a drink of brandy as well?”
“I didn’t know you wanted one,” the General said amiably. He handed his glass of brandy to his wife. “There you are, my love.”
“Hmph.” Birdie lifted the glass to her lips and took a drink, keeping an eye on her husband over the rim. In spite of the situation, Cordelia found herself laughing a little. Surprised by her sister’s outburst, Birdie took an enormous gulp of brandy and started coughing at once. This made Cordelia laugh in earnest, more so when the General started thumping her little sister on the back. The whole scene would have scandalized their parents – not to mention Mrs. Richmond – but Cordelia didn’t care. There would be plenty of time to cry and ache. This was what she needed right now.
“Cordelia!” Victor shouted from the front hall, and the panic in his voice froze her blood. She looked up to see him burst through the study door. “It’s your Mrs. Richmond!”
“Mrs. Richmond?” Both Cordelia and Birdie spoke at once, and Cordelia stood up. Birdie thrust her glass into the General’s hands and he set it aside.
“What’s happened?”
“I went down to stop the questioning,” Victor said, out of breath. “They were getting out of hand and one of them started trying to push the staff around, and Mrs. Richmond got in their faces. She was shouting one of the officers down, then clutched her chest and collapsed.” He grabbed Cordelia by the wrist and pulled her into the hall. “Come on, they’re sending for the doctor right now.”
“Oh my God,” Cordelia said, looking over her shoulder at Birdie. She was right on her heels with the General and Cordelia looked at Victor. “Is she awake? Is she breathing?”
“She was breathing when I came to get you,” he said. “I don’t know if she’s conscious. I came to get you before I checked just in case she got worse.” He seemed to realize he was still pulling her along and released her arm. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s all right,” she said, wishing he would have just kept holding on.
The four of them ran down the stairs and across the driveway to the modest building where the live-in staff were housed. Birdie was holding her skirt up so high that Cordelia could almost see her knickers while Cordelia was doing her best to keep her beautiful gown out of the dirt. She was vaguely aware that the men were behind them but all she could think about at that moment was the old woman who had been with her since she was born.
They found Mrs. Richmond lying on the couch, partially covered with a blanket. She was still wearing the muted brown dress she’d worn to the party but someone had been kind enough to remove her shoes. Cordelia looked her over, searching for a sign of life and was relieved when she saw Mrs. Richmond’s chest rising and falling slowly.
“I think it’s her heart, ma’am,” the carriage driver said quietly. “She’s not as young as she was and them officers got her worked up.”
“They’ve sent Wesley off for the doctor,” said the cook. “Rode off down to Greenley like his pants were on fire.”
“That’s good,” Cordelia said, falling to her knees beside the couch. Wesley was one of the stable boys and loved riding horses as hard and fast as he could. If anyone could get to the doctor quickly, it was him. She reached out and took Mrs. Richmond’s hand. It was cool and limp, but when it moved ever so slightly in Cordelia’s grasp her eyes filled with tears.
“Cordelia Elizabeth Payne,” she said weakly. “What on earth are you doing on the floor?”
“Don’t try to speak,” Cordelia said, swiping a tear away from her cheek. “They’ve gone for the doctor. You just rest right now.”
“Those men,” Mrs. Richmond said, scowling. “Thinking they can just come in here and bully people. I’ll expect a full apology from them.” She closed her eyes. “I shall also speak to their superiors.” That she was still able to summon enough anger to complain about the officers’ behavior was encouraging and Cordelia smiled.
“You do that,” she said, patting Mrs. Richmond’s hand. “You do just that.” Letting go of the old woman’s hand, Cordelia looked around. Patricia was sitting in the corner crying quietly and she went to the girl. “Patricia?”
“Oh, Lady Whittemore,” Patricia looked up at her and rubbed her eyes with her handkerchief. From the looks of it, it was soaked. “I’m so sorry, I should have been looking for Lord Whittemore instead of dancing. If I had he might still be alive.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Cordelia said. “What if you’d walked in on the murderer? You could have been hurt as well.” She was fully aware that the entire staff plus Victor and her family were watching, but she put her arms around Patricia as well. “Come with us,” she said kindly. “I want you to sleep in the manor with us this evening.”
“Oh no, ma’am!” Patricia’s eyes were wide with fright. “I’d rather sleep out here. What if whoever did it is still in the house?”
“The police went through the entire manor,” Victor offered. “There’s no one there who’s going to harm you or any of us.” Patricia shook her head.
“No,” she said. “Thank you very much for your kindness but I’m going to stay here.”
“Whatever you think is best,” Cordelia said, turning back at Mrs. Richmond. Birdie was sitting on the edge of the couch and was looking down at her former governess with a tenderness she couldn’t remember ever seeing on her sister’s face. Cordelia met Victor’s eyes and he nodded almost imperceptibly toward the door.
Cordelia followed him out onto the porch of the servants’ quarters and closed the door behind her. It was dark and cool outside, with only the moonlight to illuminate them. Victor spoke quietly, just in case anyone was listening.
“They’re going to want to know where you were when it happened,” he said. “Your lady’s maid said she thought you were dancing but no one could remember seeing you.” Victor shook his head. “Either you’re going to have to tell them about us or we have to figure out who killed Arthur while I do my best to keep you out of jail.”
“Then I’ll tell them,” Cordelia said. Victor looked at her in surprise and she looked into his eyes. They were so blue she could have gotten lost in them were the situation more pleasant. “You said you wanted to be with me. If it proves my innocence, I don’t give a damn about my reputation.”
“You’re not thinking clearly,” Victor said. “This isn’t the time to make a decision like that.” He reached out and touched her face. His hand was cool on her warm face, but more vital than Mrs. Richmond’s and she closed her eyes. “I do want to be with you, Cordelia. We must be careful, though.”
“Delia?” Birdie’s voice was very near the door and Victor pulled his hand away as if he had been burned. The door opened and Birdie looked out. “There you are. Is everything all right?”
“Yes, as much as it can be.” Before she had to come up with a way to explain why she was on the porch with Victor, a horse came thundering up the main drive. It was definitely Wesley, who had Dr. Timms on the back of his horse as well, holding on to the younger man.
“Lady Whittemore,” the doctor said, getting off the horse. He looked shaken and she went down the stairs to greet him. “Your young man said it was urgent. What’s happened?”
“It’s Mrs. Richmond,” Cordelia said, deciding she didn’t have the strength to go into detail about what had happened to Arthur. The police had brought their own doctor to declare Arthur dead and though she knew their family doctor would hear about it the next day she couldn’t make herself do it right then. Mrs. Richmond was the one that was important. “She seems to have had some sort of episode. We think it’s her heart.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Dr. Timms said. “Every time I see her I tell her she needs to retire but she just tells me I don’t know what I’m talking about.” Cordelia led him up the stairs and he nodded to both Victor and Birdie.
“Birdie, dear,” Cordelia said to her sister, “could you please show Dr. Timms where Mrs. Richardson is? I just need to speak to Mr. Pembroke a moment more.”
“Of course,” Birdie said. She opened the door for the doctor and they went inside. Wesley went to put the horse away and Cordelia waited until they were completely alone to turn to Victor.
“I have no intention of causing more trouble for myself than I’ve already got to deal with but I’m also not going to be sent to jail for something I didn’t do when the answer is as simple as admitting to being unfaithful to my philandering husband.” It sounded terrible when she said it aloud and Victor’s face was expressionless for a moment, making Cordelia wonder if she’d said the wrong thing. Then he stepped forward, grabbed her and kissed her more forcefully than any man had ever done before.
“Nothing’s ever simple where the law is concerned,” Victor said when he let go of her. “I’ll do my best to protect you, Cordelia, but you must not go making things harder than they are. Unless they try to arrest you, don’t tell the police anything.” He smirked. “Give me the night to figure out how to handle this while I sleep down the hall from you and try not to think about how soft your lips are.” He opened the door to the servants’ quarters while Cordelia was still speechless and went inside, leaving her on the porch.
Cordelia leaned against the railing that surrounded the porch and looked up at the manor. The last thing she wanted was to sleep alone that night, but if Victor was determined to keep their secret for the night she would have to do the same. She sighed deeply. She’d never gone looking for trouble in her life, but it seemed that trouble had come to her door anyway. Cordelia took a deep, shaky breath, then walked back into the servants’ quarters to check on Mrs. Richmond.