An Indelicate Situation (The Weymouth Trilogy) (32 page)

In all of this, however, Maggie had underestimated the determination of her new employer. Mild mannered, kind and generous as she was, Mrs Berkeley even so possessed a good deal of grit and determination when she could see that another person’s welfare was at
stake. A
nd a
s she had decided not to let matters rest until she had both restored Maggie’s good name and also enabled Mr Staveley to assure her that this had been done she was certainly not to be thwarted by the mere fact of Mr Staveley living a mile or so down the road. So as soon as she had heard from her sister
-
in
-
law of both gentlemen’s safe return she persuaded Mr Berkeley to send a brief note to Grosvenor Place, requesting the pleasure of Mr Staveley’s company at tea the next afternoon. This she sent via
George, the
footman, with strict instructions to place it directly into the intended recipient’s hands, even if this meant awaiting the gentleman all day
on his own
in the hallway.

‘So you will understand exactly why we felt it important to discuss the matter with you prior to taking any action on it, Mr Staveley.’

Mr Berkeley had just completed a full and detailed explanation to Mr Staveley of what he and his wife currently understood to be the situation regarding the property and finances of his mama and was now munching thoughtfully on a biscuit while his visitor absorbed what he had just that moment been told.

‘Yes,’ he said at last. ‘Yes, M....Mr B...Berkeley. I can ap....appreciate where you are coming from, to b...be sure. And you are quite certain that it was m....my mother’s jewellery that m...my cousin took into the shop to sell?’

‘Yes – that is, as certain as we can be. We both saw it as clearly as we can see you now. Mrs William was totally innocent of our presence
in the shop
and I regret that we did not see the necessity of making ourselves known to her
at the time
. It would be too much of a coincidence, surely, for Mrs William to have two such items of her own?’

‘Indeed,’ put in Kathryn, quietly. ‘One of the actions that we might wish to consider would be to return to Mr Weld’s shop and see whether the items are still there – and perhaps see whether the pins have turned up there as well.
I daresay that you would be able to identify them as the ones lost by your mama, Mr Staveley
?
Even were
you to find them
sold, g
iven the like
ly nature of the transaction,’
here Kathryn smiled a little ‘I daresay that Mr Weld –
as well as his assistant – would
be well able to describe
them to you
. I expect he
would be able to descri
be the lady who sold them to hi
m
as well
. I cannot imagine for one moment that the experience w
as an entirely happy one for hi
m.’

The two gentlemen shared her smile.

‘Well,’ said Mr Staveley, eventually. ‘I am not too certain that I want to accuse m...my cousins personally of stealing m...my mama’s things. It is difficult enough for her, living alongside them as she does. I do not want to make m..matters even worse, although I
’
d certainly like to get the trinkets b...back for her if I can.’

‘Well, if you would like to call in at Mr Weld’s to enquire about them I’d be most happy to accompany you there as a witness, Mr Staveley. I do not wish to cast aspersions on your relatives, but I have a feeling that we should all take the utmost care in our dealings with Mrs Wright.’

Mr Staveley brightened a little at this suggestion. He had obviously not relished the thought of tackling the investigation on his own.

‘Yes. And if we find that your susp....suspicions are well founded
, Mr Berkeley,
p....per....perhaps you would be good enough to acc....accompany me to Grosvenor P...Place to raise it with my cousins?’

The agreement reached, Mr Staveley accepted another cup of tea and looked at Kathryn with what appeared to be a little embarrassment. She looked back at him and gave him an encouraging smile.

The warmth of the smile appeared to embolden him a little.

‘Could I take the lib....liberty of thanking you, M...Mrs B...Berkeley, for being so kind as to offer Miss....Miss Owens a home?’ he said at last, reddening ever such a little. ‘I was m...most concerned when m...my mother told me that my cousin had sent her away. Indeed, she was quite
distressed ab....about it
. She had gr
own quite fond of her, I think
.’

Kathryn smiled even more.

‘Would you l
ike to see her, Mr Staveley? I’
m sure she would welcome the opportunity of assuring herself that you do not believe in her guilt.’

Mr Staveley brightened even more.

‘Yes, I would like that,’ he assured her. ‘I would like to reassure her that I have every intention of re...remaining her friend and that I do not b...believe for one m...moment that she has done anything wrong at all, and that neither does m...my mother.’

This was more than enough for Kathryn.
A startled
Miss Owens was immediately invited into the drawing room and
, almost without realising it, instantly found herself being
provided with a fresh pot of tea and a seat next to Mr Staveley
’s
on the
pretty
blue
-
and
-
white sofa near the window.

And indeed, it was
just
as well that she had been given no intimation of Mr Staveley’s visit, for
even
as it was the sight of him standi
ng there
as she entered,
looking
fixedly
at the ground,
and the nature of her feelings for him
,
and the nature of her worries concerning him,
made her redden so much that even Mr Berkeley appeared to notice.

‘There, there, Miss Owens – there is no need to look so uncomfortable. Mr Staveley has not come to interrogate you. We thought that you might like to hear what he has to say.’

It may well be that both Mr Staveley and Maggie had plenty to say to each other. Indeed, they probably did, but for some reason neither of them felt in a position to say any of it in the presence of Mr and Mrs Berkeley. So,
it was left to Kathryn to speak for them – suggesting
quietly
that Maggie might have felt a little worried about what Mr
and Mrs
Staveley had made of the situation and assuring her that
neither
Mr
nor Mrs
Staveley in
any
way considered
her to blame.

Maggie’s joy as
Kathryn
told her this was almost tangible. It was as if a thick dark cloud had suddenly lifted from atop her very shoulders
to reveal
a
brilliant orange sunshine in a deep blue sky beyond
.
Indeed,
so elated was she that
for a good few moments she felt complete
ly unable to articulate a word
, but from the
beaming
smile on her face and the tears in her eyes it was evident to all of them that her relief at this assurance
was
totally
and
truly
absolute.

Another silence followed the first, with Mr Staveley seemingly quite as unable as Maggie
had been
to articulate a thing
, and Maggie fully occupied by the delightful emotions that Mrs Berkeley’s assurances had just that moment evoked in her. Mr Staveley still believed in her. He had believed in her innocence in the face of his own cousin
’
s assertions to the contrary and here he was – looking as bashful and handsome and lovable and adorable and desirable
and Freddy-like
as ever – as living proof that he believed in her. It was enough to send any young lady into a paroxysm of delight
and for a moment she could hardly restrain herself from throwing her arms around him and kissing him passionately on the lips
.
It was
perhaps
fortunate, therefore, that she
re
cover
ed
h
erself just in time, recollecting
that Mr
Staveley had only recently
arrived
from London and that he had come from there
wit
h
some
important
news of his own.

‘And I understand that congratulations are in order, Mr Staveley,’ she managed to blurt out eventually. ‘
Captain Wright
has been given his first command and
you are to
join him on board. You must be very pleased.’

Freddy nodded.

‘Yes. I shall b...be his second lieutenant. It is m....most
satisfactory
. And he has b...been given a most unexcep....unexceptionable ship. ‘Leveret’ is quite a new sloop, you know, and most co....commodious for a sm....small b...boat – she has only eighteen guns but she is devilish quick and nim...nimble.
She carries
twenty
-
four
-
pound carronades and we shall have a crew of more than a hundred men.
We shall have to distinguish ourselves so that we get a rated ship as soon as we can – that is the only real way in which we will gain any p...prize money, after all.’

‘And when,’ Maggie could hardly bring herself to ask him. ‘When do you expect to join her?’

Here Mr Staveley looked a little downcast.

‘Quite soon, I fear, M...Miss Owens. We shall p...prob....probably be off in a
week or ten days’
time. We shall p...prob...probably stay in coastal waters initially. I expect Ca...Captain Wright will get some orders after that.’

‘A
week or ten days
?’ Maggie looked similarly downcast. She would like to have said a little more, but she was acutely aware of her employers sitting nearby. ‘Oh. Your mama will miss you, I know.’

‘Yes. She was asking after you – I had told her that I was visiting B...Belvoir today. I think she enjoyed your com...company.’

Maggie felt quite gratified.

‘That is most kind of her, Mr Staveley. We had some cosy
evening
s together whilst you were away. It is a pity that I shall not be able to visit her any more.’

At this point Mrs Berkeley felt it time enough to take pity on them both.

‘I wonder, Mr Staveley,’ she interjected, looking a little mischievously at her husband. ‘I hope you will not think us unforgivably rude, but Mr Berkeley and I generally spend an hour or so with our children at about this time of day. It is a time we all value greatly, as you may imagine. We have so little time with them as a
rule, and it gives our nurse
Sally a much
-
needed break for her dinner. As you and Miss Owens quite obviously have a good deal to catch up on, I wondered....would you mind at all if we were to slip away and visit the nursery for just a few minutes? I would not normally suggest such a thing, of course, but I know that you are almost family and I thought you might not mind...?’

Mind? Neither Mr Staveley nor Miss Owens minded at all. Indeed, despite her fondness for both of her employers Maggie was so delighted at the prospect of their imminent departu
re that she broke into a broad
but hopefully unconscious smile that so lit up her face that it
could scarcely be outshone by the even greater beam on that of the young gentleman by her side.

Given the delight that both of them were apparently feeling, it was strange, therefore, that as soon as Mr and Mrs Berkeley had disappeared from the drawing room both of them immediately felt so unaccountably shy and loath to look at one another that it appeared, for a minute or more, that Maggie might sacrifice the opportunity that Kathryn had so thoughtfully provided to her, and
effect a rapid
escape from the room herself. Luckily, however, before she could do so she found that Mr Staveley had recovered his tongue, and was venturing to speak on a novel subject of his choice.

‘I am so p...pleased to find you so well settled here at B...Belvoir, M...Miss Owens,’ he said, looking studiedly at the pattern on the floor. ‘I must say I was – well, I was quite distraught when I returned to Weymouth to find you gone. I was never so angry in m...my life as when m...my cousin told me what she had done. I could
scarcely
b...believe that she
could
do s
uch a thing
. It was all I could do not to strike her, I felt so m...mad.
I have never in my life struck anyone out of anger, Miss Owens – and I
fully
intend
never
to do so. B...but I can tell you
this – that I have never
felt quite so close to doing so
as I did just then
– and I sincerely hope that I shall never feel anything
like
that
ever
again.
I was desperate to find out where you had gone.
I asked everywhere that I could think of. Not one p...person appeared to know.
It was such a relief to find you safely ensconced here.
I was so happy when I heard it from M...Mr Berkeley in his note. The
B...Berkeley
s
are excellent p...people
. I am so pleased that they have offered you a home
.’