A Fatal Freedom (49 page)

Meg opened the door to them, her face excited. ‘You got company, miss. It’s Mistress Alice’s sister and ever such a nice young man. They are with Mrs Maple in her parlour and you’re to go along there as soon as you arrive.’

Ursula’s tiredness slipped away. She couldn’t wait to find out how Rachel had been freed from gaol and what she’d been doing at the menagerie.

The moment she and Jackman entered the parlour, Rachel came and embraced Ursula. Lord John shook Jackman’s hand. Mrs Maple said how pleased she was to see them both and went to get Meg to produce fresh tea.

‘Before you ask,’ said Rachel, releasing Ursula. ‘John got his father to intervene on my behalf. I hated having a duke use his position like that but I have to admit that life in a police cell was dire.’ She smiled at the young man. ‘I think we’re now engaged but I don’t expect John will find it all beer and skittles.’

‘Really, dearest, where do you get your language from?’ said John, laughing.

Ursula sat down. ‘Why did you go to the menagerie?’

Rachel went silent for a moment.

‘She had a letter from that pretty girl at the circus,’ said her fiancé.

‘John, it’s my story.’

He retired to the back of the room, leaning against Mrs Maple’s desk, covered as usual with papers, and remained looking lovingly at Rachel. Ursula wondered how long he would be happy to be ordered about.

‘Millie asked me to go and meet her, said I could change her life. I thought first of all she was trying to blackmail me but I think it was just she’s unused to writing letters. It turned out that she wants to find another post as a lady’s maid and thinks I could recommend her to someone.’

‘Would your sister take her back, do you think?’

Rachel looked at Ursula and realisation dawned. ‘You mean you’ve found out who murdered Joshua and Alice is going to be released?’

Ursula nodded. She turned to Jackman. ‘You tell them.’

Before he could start, Mrs Maple entered, followed by Meg with a tray of tea.

Once cups had been passed around, Jackman detailed what had happened.

His audience looked stunned.

‘Mrs Bruton?’ said Rachel. ‘The one who held the tea party that Joshua gate-crashed? You mean, that was when it all started?’

Ursula nodded. ‘I worked most of it out this morning.’

‘And still went to the menagerie with a murderer this afternoon,’ muttered Jackman. ‘Talk about taking your life in your hands.’

‘The way you told it,’ said Mrs Maple, putting her cup on to her desk, ‘it sounded as though she could be clever enough to get away with it. Even when I knew her, all those years ago, she was a very smooth talker, always thought she was a bit above the rest of us. I suppose with a name like Eugenie she thought she could behave like an empress. We never called her that, though, she was known in the hospital as Jeannie. If it goes to court, she’ll put on a good show.’

Jackman nodded. ‘If she gets an experienced counsel, he’ll make mincemeat of Millie, he’ll trash her reputation. After he’s finished with her, I wouldn’t take a bet on any jury believing she’d actually witnessed Mrs Bruton attacking Miss Grandison.’

‘And he can claim anyone can have a cream beret in their wardrobe,’ said Rachel.

‘A beret doesn’t sound like Eugenie’s style at all,’ said Mrs Maple.

‘You said you knew her?’ said Jackman.

Mrs Maple nodded. ‘A long time ago. We were nurses in a hospital, and quite close at one time.’

‘Then she would be able to use a syringe?’

‘Indeed. There was a doctor who made sure all the nurses knew how to inject. We were taught to put our fingers either side of where the needle was to go in, and pinch the flesh together; then to insert the needle at an angle and push it gently in. Quite easy really.’

‘Mrs Bruton didn’t bother with any of that this afternoon,’ said Ursula grimly.

‘Well, as I said, in those days she acted a bit uppity but she could be very entertaining. We used to get young men to take us to the music hall, she said there was safety in numbers. Not that that counted for anything, as I found out later.’ She gave a reminiscent smile. ‘I was maid of honour at her wedding to Joe Peters.’

Her words had an electrifying effect. ‘Joe Peters?’ said Rachel. ‘Could you mean Joshua Peters?’

Mrs Maple laughed. ‘That was his name on the marriage certificate. We had a good laugh over that, Jeannie and I. She said she’d never call him Joshua.’

‘You mean he was married to Mrs Bruton?’ Rachel sounded astounded.

‘Did he really abandon her?’ asked Ursula.

Mrs Maple nodded. ‘I don’t think he ever really wanted to marry her. Only she was in the family way and she had a nest egg saved up. Well, he took it all and went off, just before the baby was due. Right bastard he was.’

Nobody seemed surprised at such unusual language from Mrs Maple.

‘How did she hear that he’d died?’ Ursula asked.

‘Ah, now there I have something to confess,’ Mrs Maple said, not looking at all guilty. ‘There was a report in the
Times
one day. A patient used to give me newspapers, he said he was trying to educate me.’ She looked almost bashful. ‘That was Mr Maple. After he recovered we walked out together. Anyway, I read all the papers, every page; didn’t understand half of it, all those speeches from politicians and accounts of what was going on abroad. But I found a story that said an Englishman called J. Peters had been accidentally shot and killed in Cairo. I showed it to Jeannie. She had taken his desertion very hard and she’d lost the baby in childbirth. I thought if she knew her husband was dead, she could start over again.’

‘Did you ever find out he wasn’t really dead?’ asked Jackman curiously.

‘Oh, yes! Jeannie decided to give up nursing and trained as a manicurist instead. She offered her services in a big spa hotel on the coast, and that’s where she met Mr Bruton. She came back and told me all about him. She seemed really happy and I was pleased for her. They had a small marriage ceremony and went off to the continent on honeymoon.’ Mrs Maple paused. Everybody was waiting for more and after a moment she continued: ‘By then Mr Maple and me were affianced, but I was still working in the hospital. And one day he turned up, Joe Peters, and asked to see me.’

‘Must have been something of a surprise,’ said Ursula.

‘A breath would have knocked me down. Joe tried to spin me some tale of wanting to repay her the money he’d taken – except he told me she’d lent it to him. Well, I knew that was a lie. It seemed he’d made it big and thought he’d make it up to her.’

‘Was he going to try and make another go of their marriage? asked Jackman.

Mrs Maple shrugged her shoulders. ‘Never asked him. Never could stand him and the way he’d treated her, I couldn’t bear him to ruin her life again. So I told him she’d died having the baby.’

‘And you didn’t tell her he’d turned up?’ said Ursula.

Mrs Maple shook her head. ‘He said he was going back to Egypt, he had a shipping business of some sort there, so I didn’t think there was much chance of her ever finding out.’ She poured herself more tea. ‘It wasn’t as if she needed Joe’s money, Edward Bruton had plenty.’

‘Would you be prepared to give a statement as to the marriage between Eugenie whatever-her-name-was-then and Joshua Peters?’ asked Jackman.

‘Her maiden name was Carson.’ Mrs Maple thought for a moment then said, ‘Well, I can’t see giving a statement would do any harm. And if it means helping to get her convicted, then of course I will.’ She turned to Ursula. ‘I feel just terrible that she attacked you like that. And to think I sent you to work for her!’

‘You thought you were doing me a good turn, and you were. It was a very good job. Tell me, when you ran into her that time, how long was it since you had last seen her?’

‘Oh, many, many years. After she married Mr Bruton, she … well … I understood he was a cut above me and Mr Maple.’

It was obvious that Mrs Bruton had dropped her old friend and that it still rankled with Mrs Maple.

‘But when I ran into her outside Harrods, we recognised each other instantly and she was charming. We had quite a chat, I told her about this place,’ Mrs Maple glanced around her parlour with a touch of satisfaction. ‘And she told me she’d just emerged from mourning and intended to build a social life. That was when she mentioned that she would be looking for a secretary.’ She turned to Ursula. ‘I immediately thought of you. She said you might be suitable and gave me her address.’

‘Is there any chance, do you think,’ said Jackman to Ursula, ‘that the certificate from her first marriage could be in Mrs Bruton’s home somewhere? Hidden away? If we had that, the case against her would be strengthened. Or,’ he turned to Mrs Maple. ‘If you could tell me where and when they were married, I should be able to get a copy.’

‘You don’t need one,’ said Mrs Maple. ‘I’ve got their marriage lines here.’

There was an astonished silence.

‘You mean?’ said Ursula.

‘I mean when Jeannie left the hospital to train as a manicurist, she said she was leaving all her old life behind her. She was fed up with caring for the sick, now she was going where the money was and making sure the rich paid her way through life. She told me to take anything I wanted from her old room and throw the rest away. Well, I found her marriage lines in a shoebox with a letter or two that Joe had sent her at some stage, plus a nursing certificate and some odd bits and pieces. She hadn’t given me a forwarding address, so I just took the box and kept it carefully. I should have thrown it away a long time ago but, somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to.’ She bent down, opened the bottom drawer of her desk and took out a battered shoe box. ‘Here it is. Who should I give it to? You, Thomas, or you, Miss Grandison?’

‘I’m only the assistant,’ said Ursula with a smile, ‘You’d better give it to Mr Jackman.’

A week later Ursula went down the basement steps to the Wilton Crescent kitchen, knocked and entered.

Enid was sitting at the pine table, rubbing at a copper pan with a salt-laden lemon half and sniffing. She looked up as Ursula entered.

‘Oh, Miss Grandison! I thought I’d never see you again!’ She rose and put the kettle on the range. ‘You’d like a cup of tea, I’ll be bound.’ Then her smile vanished. ‘Only, Mr Bruton is here.’

‘Is he? Well, I expected that he would have been informed of Mrs Bruton’s arrest. And I understand that she has now been charged with the murder of Joshua Peters and Albert Pond.’ Ursula could have added the attempted murder of herself.

‘Oh, miss, it’s dreadful. He’s fired Cook and Ned, the boy what did, you know? I’m the only one left. And he says as soon as he’s sorted out things upstairs, I’ll get my marching orders.’

Enid bustled about organising teapot and cups.

‘I hope he gave them proper references – and wages in lieu of notice.’

‘Cook said he wasn’t overgenerous but she couldn’t complain. And so long as I get my reference, I shan’t be sorry to leave; he’s a right little Napoleon, issuing orders and never a thank you.’

‘It must have been a shock to discover his step-mama was being charged with murder.’

‘You could have knocked all of us down with a fairy cake. Who’d’ve thought it!’

Enid supplied Ursula with a cup of tea and a slice of seed cake. ‘That’s the last of it. I’m not to make any more, Mr High and Mighty says. Half for you and half for me.’

As Ursula settled down for a nice chat, the bell rang.

‘Lawks, that’ll be him wanting something or other. More than my life’s worth not to tell him you’re here, Miss Grandison.’

‘Of course,’ Ursula sighed.

Five minutes later she was standing before Mrs Bruton’s stepson. He sat at the desk she still thought of as hers. All the files had been taken out of the cupboards and there were neat piles of papers everywhere.

‘So, Miss Grandison, you are back visiting the scene of the crime, eh?’

‘There are one or two personal items I came to collect.’

He picked up a small carrier bag from the back of the desk. ‘Notebook, comb, small scarf and two handkerchiefs? That correct?’

‘Thank you, Mr Bruton.’ Ursula looked at him a little more closely. He seemed to have aged ten years since she had last seen him, and lost some of his bombast.

He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his neat beard in a weary gesture. ‘I suppose I should apologise for my stepmother’s attempt on your life.’

‘It was nothing to do with you.’

He nodded with a return of some of the authority she associated with him. ‘Indeed. Yet, if only I had been able to persuade my father she was not what she seemed … well, he would not listen to me.’ He put a large hand on one of the piles of paperwork. Ursula recognised a set of monthly bills. ‘I suppose you’re going to ask for severance pay.’

‘Mrs Bruton owes me for two weeks’ wages; I was about to write to you.’

‘Nothing but outgoings at the moment! And it’ll be months before I can dispose of any of the assets. At least that marriage certificate means I don’t have to wait for a guilty verdict before I can take possession of my heritage. To think I need not have had to wait all these years!’

Ursula said nothing.

Mr Bruton removed a wallet from an inside pocket and opened it. For a long moment he hesitated, then removed several large, crisp white five pound notes. He placed them on the desk, reached for a piece of headed notepaper and wrote out a receipt.

‘If you will sign that, Miss Grandison, I think we shall have concluded all business between us.’

She scribbled her name, received more than three months’ wages and tucked the notes into her wallet. ‘Thank you sir, that is generous.’

He nodded. ‘I trust you will be discreet about your employment with Mrs Bruton, as I suppose I must continue to call her. I have written a reference which should meet your needs.’ He handed over a brief document that attested to Miss Grandison’s abilities to carry out the duties required of a social secretary.

She placed it in her handbag, thanked him again and, with a final farewell to Enid, left Wilton Crescent.

* * *

Next Ursula called on
Maison Rose
. The previous Monday she had woken feeling wretched. Delayed shock, she decided, and wrote to Count Meyerhoff excusing herself for the rest of the week. She also gave the count the news of Mrs Bruton’s arrest for the murder of Joshua Peters and Albert Pond.