7 Pay the Piper (20 page)

Gertie raised her eyes toward the ceiling as Mrs. Chubb broke off.

“Oh, there you are, Daisy,” the housekeeper said as the door swung open. “Or are you Doris?”

“I’m Daisy, Mrs. Chubb.”

“Well, where have you been, Daisy? The silverware has still got to be polished, and Gertie can’t do it because she’s got to be in the church.”

“Yes, Mrs. Chubb, I know.” Daisy sounded as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

“Before you do that, take these candles in to Doris in the dining room. The candlesticks need changing.”

“Yes, Mrs. Chubb.”

Now, Gertie decided, was a good time to tell the twins what she’d decided. She waited until the door had closed behind Daisy, then wrung out her chamois leather and draped it over the side of the bucket.

“I’m just going to the dining room for a minute,” she told Mrs. Chubb. “I’ll be back in a tick.”

Before the housekeeper could utter the protest hovering on her lips, Gertie fled from the kitchen.

She caught up with Daisy just as she reached the doors to the dining room. Following the girl inside, Gertie saw Doris setting up glasses on a table.

“I want to talk to the both of you,” Gertie announced as Daisy carried the candles over to her sister.

Both girls turned a wary eye on her. “Yes, Miss Brown?” Doris said nervously, while Daisy merely looked guilty.

“I’ve got something to ask you two.” Gertie tried to look indifferent. “I don’t mind if you don’t want to, but I thought I’d bloody ask anyway. Just tell me if you don’t want to, all right?”

“If we don’t want to what, Miss Brown?” Doris asked in her meek little voice.

Daisy just stood there, looking belligerent now.

“Well,” Gertie said casually, “it’s like this. My twins being born without a father, so to speak, and me not having any parents, well, except for me father, but he’s no bleeding good … anyway, what I’m saying is, Lilly and James don’t have no aunts or uncles, like so I was wondering …” She paused, then finished in a rush, “… if you two would like to be aunts to me twins. I mean, I know it won’t be official like, but they could call you auntie, and they’d have twin aunts like they’re twins, you see, and … well, I reckon that being twins you’d understand better what it’s like to be twins—” Aware that she wasn’t making much sense, she shut her mouth.

Doris had gone pink in the face, though Gertie wasn’t sure if that was because she was pleased or not. Then she looked at Daisy, and her own face started to get warm. Because, right there in front of her, Daisy was smiling.

It wasn’t a big smile, mind you, but it was a smile nevertheless.

“I’d like that very much, Miss Brown,” Daisy said.

“Me, too, Miss Brown,” Doris echoed.

Feeling as if she’d just jumped into a warm bath, Gertie hunched her shoulders. “All right, then. I’ll see you after the christening. I wish you could have come, but someone had to stay here and look after the guests.”

She left then, before she started bawling. Though why she felt like that now that she had two new members of her little family, she wasn’t really sure.

Mrs. Chubb was waiting for her when she got back to the kitchen. The housekeeper was fairly buzzing with curiosity. “What was all that about, then?” she demanded as Gertie went back to polishing the windowpane.

“I just asked the twins if they wanted to be aunts to my babies, seeing as how they don’t have any.”

“Oh, Gertie, that was nice. What did they say?”

“They were happy about it.” Gertie smiled. “Daisy even bleeding smiled.”

“Go on! I don’t think I’ve ever seen that girl smile.”

“Nor’d I, not till now,” Gertie said with smug satisfaction.

“It’s nice for the babies to have someone they can call auntie. As long as the girls don’t spoil them, that is.”

“Well, I reckon James and Lilly will do all right now. What with the twins for aunts, and madam and Mr. Baxter for godparents, and you for grandma …”

“What!”

Gertie grinned and turned around to face the startled housekeeper. “Well, you’ve been a bleeding mum to me all this time, it’s only right they think of you as their grandma. Besides, I’ve got to have someone stop us all spoiling the babies.”

Mrs. Chubb clasped her hands together. “Oh, my, two more little grandchildren to love. I gave up waiting for my daughter to have another baby. Now I’ve got three little ones to love.”

Well pleased with her morning’s work, Gertie turned back to the windows. Now she had only one more problem to
face, and that one wouldn’t be near as easy. Her smile faded as she thought about Ross McBride.

She had promised to give him his answer that afternoon, after the christening. She had been awake most of the night, and she still wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She could only hope that by the time she met him in the conservatory, she would have made up her mind.

CHAPTER
20

The church seemed unnaturally quiet as Cecily stood at the font with Lillian in her arms. Gertie stood next to her, holding James, while Baxter watched the Reverend Algernon Carter-Holmes with apprehension on his face.

The little group was silent as the vicar began the ceremony. Gertie seemed ill at ease and kept glancing at Cecily as if for reassurance. Cecily did her best to comply with a warm smile.

It was good to feel the soft, warm weight of a baby in her arms again, she thought, as the vicar intoned the words of the service. Lillian stirred, her wide-eyed gaze on the light filtering through the colorful stained-glass windows.

Looking down at her, Cecily felt a moment of bittersweet anguish. Once she had held her own babies like this. How
she had longed to hold her grandchildren. Now Michael was once more going somewhere beyond her reach.

Sensing his eyes upon her, she looked up at Baxter. He was watching her with a slight frown of concern. She hadn’t been able to find him before they left for the church, and there had been no time then to tell him about Michael’s imminent departure.

The vicar chose that moment to take James from his mother. The baby uttered a howl of protest, which escalated to a scream when Algie brushed the cold water across his forehead.

Lillian turned her head but remained quiet, much to Cecily’s relief. Poor Gertie looked as if she were about to die of mortification when the vicar handed the screaming baby back to her. Cecily was impressed, and immensely thankful to say the least, when the bumbling vicar somehow managed the maneuver without mishap.

Now it was Lillian’s turn. As Cecily handed her over, Baxter rolled his eyes heavenward, evidently expecting more screams to be added to the racket. To everyone’s surprise, Lillian lay calmly in the crook of the vicar’s elbow while he crossed her forehead with water.

“That just goes to show,” Cecily told Baxter later, as they sipped champagne at the reception in the ballroom, “that women can withstand trauma more easily than men.”

Baxter, looking uncomfortable in his uncustomary role of guest, raised his eyebrows. “To use one of your more endearing phrases, madam … piffle.”

Cecily grinned. “I would not expect you to agree. You must admit, however, that Lillian was a little angel, while James, on the other hand, created quite a fuss.”

“Merely exercising his right to protest, I would say.”

“Ah, I see.” Cecily nodded her head. “When men make a fuss, they are exercising their right. When women do, they are complaining.”

“I did not make the rules, madam.”

“Maybe not, but do you have to enjoy them quite so much?”

He was about to answer when a suave voice interrupted them. “Cecily, my dear! How good it is to see you again. May I say how utterly ravishing you look today?”

Cecily smiled up at the handsome face. “Why, thank you, Kevin. That is very gallant of you.”

“If you will excuse me,” Baxter said, putting his glass down on the table, “I have something that needs my attention.” He gave the doctor a curt nod. “Prestwick.”

“Mr. Baxter.” The doctor clicked his heels and inclined his head. “And how are you, my dear chap? Well, I hope?”

“As well as can be expected.” Baxter gave Cecily a cool look. “Please excuse me, madam.”

“Of course, Baxter. I will speak with you later.”

She watched him with a slight feeling of regret as he crossed the floor, his coattails flying behind him in his hurry.

“Cecily, my dear,” Dr. Prestwick murmured, “I don’t think there is a sight in this world more enchanting than watching a lovely woman hold a tiny infant in her arms.”

Cecily lifted her chin. “Gertie did look quite wonderful, I agree.”

“I was referring to you, my dear, as you well know.”

How could she ever have thought herself attracted to this man? Cecily wondered. There were times when she found his effusive flattery quite irritating. Although she was quite sure that the rumors about his philandering were unfounded, she could quite see how they had arisen.

As for Baxter, it was painfully obvious to everyone except Kevin Prestwick that he thoroughly disliked the doctor. Cecily would have made her own excuses to leave at that moment, had not Dr. Prestwick added, “I saw your daughter-in-law a few days ago.”

“Yes, Michael told me she had been ill. I really don’t think she will feel better until she is back in her native country.”

“Ah, so Michael did tell you,” Prestwick said, nodding his head. “I wondered when he would get around to it. Simani seemed to think he was afraid to tell you they were returning to Africa. I suppose it’s natural she would want her baby born in her native country.”

Cecily stared for a long time at the glass in her hand, amazed that the sparkling champagne did not spill. “I’m sure she has her reasons,” she said evenly. “I am happy for them both, of course, though I shall miss them when they return to Africa.”

“I’m sure you will. I was only saying to her—”

“If you will excuse me, Doctor? I see Phoebe is about to leave, and I simply must have a word with her before she goes.”

The doctor’s shrewd eyes regarded her for a moment. “I’m sorry, Cecily, I thought—” He broke off, apparently reluctant to finish the sentence. Instead he took her hand and raised it to his lips. “If you need someone to talk to,” he murmured as he let her go, “I am always happy to lend an ear.”

For a brief moment she almost wished she cared enough for him to confide in him. Then she caught sight of Baxter across the room. He was talking to Gertie, actually smiling at her.

“Thank you, Kevin. I appreciate your concern, but I assure you, I am not in need of your services for now.”

“In that case, I will take my leave. I have an appointment later this afternoon. I’m afraid a doctor can never count on a day’s rest.”

Feeling a little ashamed of her slight, Cecily murmured, “You provide a wonderful service to this village, Doctor. I really don’t know what we would all do without you.”

“I am more than happy to do what I can.” His smile seemed a little strained as he bid her goodbye.

Cecily spared him no more than a passing thought as he left. Now she very badly needed a cigar. Actually, she needed more than that. She needed Baxter.

* * *

“Whoa, you dinna have to be in such a hurry,” Ross McBride said when Gertie rushed into the conservatory an hour later. “I just got here myself a few minutes ago.”

“The bloody reception went on forever,” Gertie said, gasping for breath. “I couldn’t bleeding get away until it was all over. Everyone wanted to talk about the babies.”

“How did the bairns like being christened?”

Gertie gazed up at him. He was such a nice man. Not that she knew him all that well, it was true, but somehow she knew he would make a good father and a good husband. He was kind, and honest, and nice-looking. He’d told her he had a good job working for the railways. He was well able to provide for her and the twins.

“Lilly was all right, but James played up,” she said, plonking herself down on the padded bench in front of the aspidistras. “Made a terrible noise, he did. Near on bleeding deafened me. He was making such a racket I couldn’t hear what the bloody vicar was saying.”

Ross chuckled as he came to sit down next to her. “I wish I could have been there.”

“Yeah, it was too bloody bad you had to be in Wellercombe.”

“Ay, but at least I’m registered for the contest. Though I didna think I was going to make it back here in time to meet you.”

He seemed different today, somehow, Gertie thought, beginning to feel awkward now that she was alone with him again. He seemed older, more serious.

“Well, now,” he said, taking hold of her hand, “it does a boy good now and again to air out his lungs.”

“I suppose so.” She looked down at their linked hands and wished she knew what to say next. There was plenty of words in her bloody head, they just didn’t seem to want to come out.

“Have you given any thought to my proposal?” Ross said, squeezing her fingers just a little bit.

She’d been awake all bleeding night thinking about it. She couldn’t tell him that, though. “I did think about it, yes.” She could hear Doris singing somewhere down the hallway. For several moments that was all she could hear.

Then Ross prompted gently, “And?”

Her heart ached as she pulled her hand from his. Plucking at her skirt, she mumbled, “I can’t come to Scotland with you, Ross. I’m very sorry.”

She squeezed her lips together hard as the seconds ticked by.

After a long pause, Ross said heavily, “I see. Well, I thought it was too good to be true. I had hoped … oh, never mind what I had hoped. I couldna expect a lass like you to love an old man like me.”

“You’re not old.” Tears sprang to her eyes, and she dashed them away with the back of her hand. “It’s nothing like that, honest. I do like you a lot, I really do. It’s just that this is me bleeding home, and now that I’ve got the babies, I need to be with people I know. I never had much of a family, like, and now I’ve got one, sort of. I can’t go and leave them now. I just can’t.”

Determined not to cry, she clamped her lips together as tight as she could get them.

Ross uttered a soft curse and put his arm around her. The weight of it felt good … sort of comforting. “There, there, lass, dinna take on. I know I’ve rushed ye, and I’m sorry for that. It’s just that I didna have much time before I left.”

“I know.” Gertie swallowed down the lump in her throat. “I’m really sorry, Ross. I’ve never been to Scotland, you see, and it’s such a bleeding long way away. I feel safe here in Badgers End. What with two babies to take care of …”

“I understand, lass.” He squeezed her shoulders.

They sat in silence for a long time while she wondered if she was being a bloody fool for turning him down.

Then he said tentatively, “Would ye mind if I wrote to
you when I get back? Just a little note now and again to see how you and the bairns are getting along?”

She smiled up at him with blurry eyes. “Ooh, I’d really like that, I would.”

“You’d write back to me?”

She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Yes, I will, I promise. I’m not too good at writing, but Mrs. Chubb can help me.”

“Ay, then I’ll have to be satisfied with that for now.” He put his finger under her chin and lifted it. “I’ll wait for you, Gertie. For as long as you need. Just try not to make me wait too long, all right?”

She would have nodded, except he was kissing her, and she was enjoying it too much to pull away.

“I thought the entire proceedings went very well,” Cecily remarked as she gazed around at the cluttered tables in the deserted ballroom. “I hope Gertie enjoyed the reception.”

“She left in rather a hurry, I thought,” Baxter said, reaching down to pick up a fallen serviette from the door.

“Leave that,” Cecily said, moving over to sit down on a chair. “The housemaids will take care of it later.” She felt tired now. Weary, and uncommonly dispirited.

“Are you feeling all right, madam?” Baxter said, watching her from a few feet away.

“What? Oh, yes, thank you, Baxter. Though I would dearly love a cigar. Do you happen to have some with you?”

For once he made no comment as he lit up a cigar for her. Drawing in the smoke, Cecily closed her eyes for a moment.

“I hope that doctor chap didn’t say something to upset you,” Baxter said a trifle sharply.

“Not at all.” She watched the thin, gray spiral float up toward the ceiling. “At least, not in the way you mean.”

Baxter edged a step closer. “In what way, then, might I ask?”

She managed a faint smile. “Don’t sound so belligerent, Baxter. The good doctor merely advised me that my
daughter-in-law is expecting my first grandchild. I was left to wonder why my son felt it imprudent to inform me of the fact.”

She wasn’t looking at him, but she sensed his immediate concern.

“I’m so sorry,” he said after a short pause.

“So am I.”

“Cecily—”

She silenced him with a lift of her hand. “It’s all right, Baxter. It’s no more than I deserve. I’m afraid I have rather bungled things with Michael. I hope someday he will forgive me.”

“Oh, I’m sure …” His voice trailed off, as if he had no idea what to say next.

What could he say, she thought sadly. There were no words to comfort the ache. Only time would heal, as she well knew. Deciding it was time to change the subject, she said firmly, “I saw Elsie this morning. She is very happy that things turned out so well for Tom. I hope they will have a better marriage now. It’s an ill wind, as they say.”

“It is indeed.” Taking his cue from her, he asked, “There is one thing I would like to know. How were you so certain that Alec McPherson was the culprit?”

Cecily leaned forward to tap the end of her cigar into an ashtray. “I was quite certain the murderer was one of the pipers. Elsie said that when she looked out of the window that night she thought she saw Peter Stewart walking away from the shop. At the time I was preoccupied with all the rumors about ghosts, so I didn’t put too much significance on her statement.”

“But it wasn’t Stewart, of course.”

“No, it couldn’t have been. The poor man was already dead. What Elsie saw was a man wearing a kilt.”

“But it could have been any one of the pipers.”

“True.” Cecily watched the end of her cigar glow as she drew on it. Breathing out the smoke, she added, “I decided it was much too late at night for any of the Wellercombe
men to be in Badgers End, which meant the suspect had to be someone staying here at the hotel. Actually, it was Colonel Fortescue who gave me the clue.”

Baxter rolled his eyes. “By accident, no doubt.”

This time she managed a genuine smile. “Naturally. He told me that he saw two of the pipers fighting at the George and Dragon, apparently because they recognized each other. It occurred to me that since the contestants needed an impeccable background in order to qualify, that incident could suggest a motive for murder, given the grandeur of the prize.”

“So you decided that the murderer and the victim must have known each other before.”