An Indelicate Situation (The Weymouth Trilogy) (28 page)

Her subterfuge paid off almost immediately, for after a couple of fruitless mornings Maggie
was thrilled to
discover a letter for Mrs Staveley, directed in a rather hilly but round hand
which struck her immediately as the sort of hand that Mr Staveley would have, awaiting collection on the modern console table
in the hall
. She looked about her for a second. There was nobody to be seen. So she took the letter in her hand
, kissed it with a surreptitious little smile,
and was just in the process of slipping it into her reticule when the drawing room door opened and Mrs Wright
instantly
emerged.
Maggie’s hand stopped, frozen, in mid air. Mrs Wright’s hand stopped,
equally
frozen, on the
handle of the
drawing room
door.

‘Whatever are you doing with
that letter
, Miss Owens?’ she demanded, moving forward to peer
at it
more closely. ‘It is
certainly
not yours to remove. I demand that you hand it to me this instant.’

Maggie found that she was trembling. She was feeling like a naughty schoolgirl, though she knew
that
she
’
d done nothing wrong.

‘I do beg your pardon, Mrs Wright,’ she heard herself saying. ‘I saw that it was directed to Mrs Staveley. I know that she is desperate to hear from her son so I thought I should take it up to her this instant.’

Mrs Wright stiffened.
She was wearing a new morning gown ‘
à
la militaire’, finished off with a Parisienne mob cap with flaps to the ears and a large item of decorative fruit at the front which looked like it could have been a pear.
It
would have made her appear
quite comical had the sternness of her ex
pression not detra
c
ted from the
effect. As it was Maggie found it difficult to look her in the eye.

‘
You
thought?
You
thought? And since when have
you
had any authority to decide who should have
their post and who should not?’

She stalked up to Maggie and held out her hand. Maggie gave her the letter without thinking.

‘I’m sorry Mrs Wright. I had been talking to Mrs Staveley only the other day and she asked me particularly to look out for a letter for her. I certainly have no wish to cause you any offence.’

Mrs William
ri
pped open the seal
and allowed the paper to unfold. Another piece of paper fluttered down to the ground from within it. They both looked down and stared
at it. It was a
note
from the B
ank of England
, made out for the sum of
five
pound
s
.

Mrs William
’s demeanour suddenly changed. She grimaced menacingly at her governess. Here was the opportunity she had obviously been waiting for.

‘Oh, so you have been talking to
Mrs Staveley
, have you? You have been visiting her whilst her son is in Town,
prying
,
going
through her things, hoping to
find something of
value
that she may not miss. Oh no, Miss Owens,’ as Maggie was about to make some protest. ‘Oh no – do not even
think
of gainsaying me. I know that you are a
robber
and a
thief
. I know that you steal from the old fool, just as you tried to steal my
husband
away
from
me
. You steal her
jewellery
, do you not – you take her trinkets from her and sell them
for yourself
and now you are trying to steal the
money
she is given by
her
son
– money which is clearly intended for
me
. Oh yes
– yes indeed. You know that it’
s true. You cannot deny it. You cannot fool
me
, you know, Miss Owens. You cannot fool
me
at all. Did you really think that I did not see you that day at Bel
voir
House
–
sidling
off with
that
rascally
husband of mine
into the bushes round the side
? Did you not know that I saw
the pathetic little
worm
– who will pay for it as surely as you will pay, be assured of
that
, my dear – creeping
like the rat he is
out of
your chamber
at the dead of night? Did you not know that I should find you out for what you really are?
You think you are
clever
– you think you are
bright
and can get away with all your
goings
-
on
,
do you not, Miss Owens?
But
you are not a very
bright
young lady af
ter all
. You are not a
bright
young lady at all. I
have spotted
all
of your little tricks and you have done for yourself
right and proper
.
So – what
do
you have to say for yourself – eh? That you are not the robber that I can
prove
you are? That you have not tried to make me look a
fool
? Come on, then – speak up, Miss Owens. Persuade me of your
innocence
. I am waiting to hear your defence.’

Maggie found that she could say absolutely nothing in her own defence. Want to or not, she found herself completely unable to s
peak. She stared at Mrs William
open mouthed. The onslaught had come so entirely out of the blue that words failed her. She was totally unable to think of anything whatsoever to say.

‘So you
cannot
deny the charges, Miss Owens?’ continued Mrs William, looking at her triumphantly. ‘You cannot find any words in self defence. I thought
not
.
I have to say, y
ou do not surprise me
in the least
.
You deserve to be tried and hanged at the gallows for everything that you’ve done in
my household
. Tried and taken to the gallows.
But allow me to give you a little
choice
, Miss Owens. My own good nature knows no
bounds
, to be sure.  Here is a choice for you to make.
Either you pack your trunk
immediately
– this very moment – and remove yourself from Grosvenor Place
for ever
or I shall get you indicted for robbery at the Dorchester assizes and get you sent
quite away
. Take your pick, Miss Owens.
Removal
or
assizes
. I care not which you choose.’

For a long moment Maggie just stood and looked at the bundle of righteous indignation that stood before her. She blinked
unconsciously
. Was this really happening to her?
Surely it
was
only a dream? It felt
most peculiar
-
as if she were
suddenly
somebody else
. It felt as if she were
a third party floating somewhere
in the stairwell
, looking down at the drama which was then being enacted in the
dingy
brown
hallway of Grosvenor Place. But then she realised that it was not a dream – that she really was standing there with Mrs Wright, listening to her barrage of pent
-
up abuse, hearing that she no longer had a job, or a home, and that she should leave the household without a friend in the world
, without anybody who c
ould offer her
any
support.
Perhaps she should stand her ground – brazen it out, challenge Mrs William to do her worst and indict her after all?
She knew that she was perfectly innocent, that she would no more think of robbing Mrs Staveley than she would fly to the moon,
and for a second or two she almost decided to put her employer to the test. Perhaps she should challenge her to get her indicted? Perhaps she should be allowed to
prove
her innocence in court? She thought these things for a second or two but then she cast them aside. S
he had so little faith in the criminal justice system – she had heard so much of its corruption and its procedural failings – and so little faith that she could prove that what Mrs Wright was accusing her of was false that she had to feel almost grateful to her fo
r allowing her the chance
to run away.

‘But wherever is she now, Jane?’

Kathryn was taking tea with
her sister
-
in
-
law. Mrs John had heard the news from Mrs William almost as soon as Maggie had vacated the house and she was now repeating it
verbatim
be
tween
mouthfuls
of bread and
jam as
t
he
y sat
comfort
ably together
in the warm yellow
ray
s of
the
late September
sun.
The jam had just been made by Kathryn with the final raspberries from Belvoir’s extensive crop. They were finding it quite delicious.

‘I have no more idea than you, Kathryn. I expect that she has taken some lodgings somewhere until she decide
s
what to do next. But do you really think that she would steal those things? I must confess not to have taken a great deal of notice of her until now, but she has always struck me as a genteel, pleasant sort of a girl. I would not have thought her a common crook.’

Kathryn shook her dark curls firmly.

‘No, she is no more a thief than you or I. Yes, she may have been misguided. She may have been naive. But she is as honest as the next man, Jane, of that I am certain.
Indeed, surely, had Mrs William truly believed that she was guilty of the thefts she would not have given her the option
of
simply
running
away.
Have no doubt
-
Georgiana is not a benevolent woman.
She would not have given Miss Owen
s the chance to run away out of the goodness of her heart.
No, I cannot think that she truly believed in her guilt. But w
hat on earth
is
the poor girl
to
do now?’

‘I cannot imagine. It will be most difficult for her, that’s for sure. I doubt she has much money to tide her over
and e
ven were she to find an advertisement tomorrow
I expect it would
be quite
some time before she could secure another post.’

Kathryn frowned. She had not seen much of Miss Owens of late – she and Andrew tended to steer clear of Grosvenor Place as much as possible – and she had no idea as to whether Maggie had taken her advice regarding
Mr Wright
. Certainly Mrs
William’s reaction
suggest
ed
the revenge of a woman scorned. Nevertheless, whether Maggie had been culpable or merely foolish it seemed a harsh punishment to send her out into the world entirely on her own.

‘Well, if
ever you should hear of where she’
s gone please be sure and let me know, Jane.  I should like to do something for the poor girl if I could. She has no other friends, to my knowledge. It is not a pleasant situation, believe me, to find oneself entirely on one’s own.’

Mrs Wright smiled and nodded.

‘I will certainly listen to the gossip,’ she assured her. ‘I expect that someone will know where she
ha
s gone.’

Kathryn was so concerned at what her sister
-
in
-
law had told her that despite the lateness of the hour – it was almost a quarter before five when she quitted High Street – she determined on going immediately round to Grosvenor Place and interviewing Mrs Staveley for herself. Mrs Staveley was a good sort of a woman. True, she was getting a little old and forgetful but she most certainly would have her own views on the truth of the matter, and may even
have some inkling as to where M
aggie might have gone.