The Affair of the Thirty-Nine Cufflinks (11 page)

'I'm sure he's quite without malice, but he just seems such a loafer, with absolutely no power of perseverance. He's had about a dozen jobs in the last four or five years. He's never going to amount to anything. He's the last sort of friend Penelope needs.'

'He may just be one of those guys who takes a long time to find his niche. I'm sure he'll settle down - especially now he's got this money. I fancy he might pleasantly surprise everybody one day.'

'I sincerely hope you're right. Because the more I criticise him, the more vehemently Penelope defends him. So it seems I'm going to have to tolerate him.'

'I'm sure it's good tactics to try.'

'Anyway, er, Stella, I'm really very grateful for your interest, and your offer. If there's anything I can do . . .'

'You know, Timothy, I'm very glad you said that.'

'Indeed?' He looked slightly startled at the quickness and eagerness of her response. 'Well, by all means, feel free.'

'Now I know what you're thinking: first the offer to help and now the quid pro quo. But it's not that. I really do think Penny's a great kid, and I'll be glad to help her in any way I can. But I would like your assistance. If you say no, it won't make any difference as regards her. And no, to pre-empt your next suspicion, I am not looking for free legal advice. However, I do want to use you shamelessly to help further my career.'

'In what way?'

'Would you let me interview you?'

'I'm afraid I do not understand.'

'Well, as you may know, I'm a fashion journalist.'

'I am afraid that if you are seeking my opinions on the latest fashions, I have to tell you it is something I know nothing about, and care as little.'

'Well, we have one thing in common at least. While I know a lot about it, I'm coming to care about it as little as you do - or at least, writing about it professionally.'

'That must make life rather difficult.'

'Not really, just boring. Which is why I would like to break into a different branch of journalism, a more serious side. And I've been thinking that an interview with you, one of the country's foremost attorneys—' She broke off, with a laugh. 'Sorry - foremost barristers, might well appeal to one of the weekly or monthly magazines.'

'I find it hard to believe that any magazine would find me of interest. And I have to say that I deplore this modern tendency to build lawyers up as personalities, like film stars. Marshall Hall had a lot to answer for, great advocate though he was.'

The reference meant nothing to Stella. But she carried on. 'I'd place a bet that I could make your life sound a heck of a lot more interesting than you think it is. I mean, just your experiences of looking after a teenage daughter unaided would make a fascinating story. But of course I wouldn't write about that. I was thinking more about your cases.'

'No doubt of the more sensational ones?'

'Oh, of course. All the ones packed with jealousy, revenge, violence, blood, adultery.'

'I'm sorry. That was ungracious of me. Which ones would you really want to write about?

'The most interesting ones from a legal point of view. I'd also like to get your views about the law in general and the legal system - how you think it might be improved, for instance.'

Timothy took a sip of coffee before saying: 'Well, I certainly can see no objection to a serious piece of that nature. As a matter of fact, the editor of
The British Monthly
approached me some time ago, suggesting I wrote an article for him, along those very lines.'

'Oh, then it seems I'm redundant, if you intend to write such an article yourself.'

'Not at all, I turned him down. I just did not have the time. But I could certainly give you the facts and my opinions and you could write it up, if that is acceptable to you.'

'Acceptable? It would be terrific. I'd have a market for the piece ready and waiting.'

'I could get in touch with him, confirm that he is still interested and tell him the plan. You could then see him yourself and ascertain precisely what he requires in terms of length, general approach and so on.'

'That's better still. Timothy, I could kiss you!'

He looked away quickly and cleared his throat. She realised the last words had been a mistake. 'And you definitely would not write about me as a person?'

'Well, just a few basic details, perhaps. Give it a little human interest.'

'I have to say that I dislike human interest.'

'It does help sell papers.'

'I suppose so.'

'And it might be an idea to include a couple of anecdotes, just to lighten it a little. You must have had some amusing experiences in court.'

'None that seemed amusing at the time; embarrassing rather. Later one can smile.'

'Can you think of one in particular?'

'Well, perhaps, but I don't think it would—'

'Oh, I'd just love to hear it.'

'You may not find it at all amusing.'

Try me.

'Very well. It happened many years ago, when I was an inexperienced young barrister. It was a case, strangely enough, involving a will. It was hand-written, not drawn up by a solicitor, but perfectly legal - if it were genuine. In it, the Testator left all his property to his only son, who had lived some distance away, and it omitted any mention of his daughter, who had lived with him and looked after him for a number of years. I represented the daughter, whose contention was that the will was a forgery by her brother, who had slipped it among their father's papers on one of his infrequent visits. The matter seemed easy enough to resolve, so we sent the will, and a letter, known to have been written by the deceased, to a professional graphologist by the name of William Jones, who in a written report stated that in his view the will was definitely a forgery.

'Came the time for me to call my expert. I said: "My next witness is Mr William Jones." The usher put his head into the corridor, called out: "William Jones". A man entered and went into the witness box. I did what I normally did on such occasions, ran through his professional qualifications, prior to asking the first question - something along the lines of: "Mr Jones, you are a professional graphologist of many years experience, who has worked extensively with numerous police forces." He did not say anything, just looked a little bewildered, but I assumed that perhaps he hadn't often actually given evidence in court, and I carried on hurriedly: "Would you be so good as to look at these two documents and say whether in your opinion they were written by the same person?" I passed the will and the letter to the usher, who handed them to the witness. He gazed at the papers for quite a long time, and then said, in a broad west country accent: "Couldn't rightly say. They certainly look the same." I was totally flabbergasted. I said: "But Mr Jones, you have had the opportunity to study these documents at leisure and examine them under magnification, have you not?" "No," he said. "Never seen 'em before."

'Well, you can guess what's coming. This was not my William Jones. This William Jones had been waiting to give evidence as a witness to a traffic accident in another court. It transpired he had been too nervous to correct me when I listed his qualifications, imagining he would be guilty of contempt of court.'

'Oh, that's priceless. I love it. And I suppose at that very moment your Mr Jones was indignantly denying that he'd ever been anywhere near a road accident.' She threw back her head and laughed.

Seeming to find her amusement infectious, Timothy joined in. It was a strange and rarely heard sound, a sort of dry 'hih-hih-hih-hih,' all on the same note.

Standing not more than eight feet away, Penny spun her head and stared at him, an expression of astonishment on her face. She whispered: 'Tommy, Daddy's laughing!'

Tommy had followed her gaze. Penny went on: 'I haven't heard him laugh for years. Not since Mummy died.'

Tommy didn't reply, and Penny plucked at his sleeve. 'Tommy?'

He ignored her, took a few indecisive steps away from her towards Timothy and Stella. For a ghastly moment, Penny thought he was going to ask them not to make so much noise, but then he stopped and came back. He was wearing a strangely blank expression. 'Sorry. You were saying?'

She repeated the words. 'Oh. Well, good. That's fine.' He seemed as surprised as she was.

Chapter Seventeen

At about twenty past ten, Dorothy slipped from the room, whispering to Lady Burford that she was going to say goodnight to her mother. She returned in about ten minutes and drew the Countess aside.

'Could — could I ask you a very big favour?'

'Of course, my dear.'

'Would you be very kind and look in on Mother? She really does want to apologise to you personally, but she's very anxious to avoid seeing anyone else, and wants to leave early in the morning. It would so ease her mind.'

About to remark that she felt no obligation to go out of her way to ease Clara's mind, Lady Burford took in Dorothy's wan and quite haggard face and relented. 'Very well. I'll go up now.'

'Oh, thank you so much.' Her gratitude was almost pitiable.

Lady Burford left the room. She came back in about seven or eight minutes. Dorothy immediately hurried across to her. 'Well?'

'We've talked quite freely. Your stepmother did say some highly insulting things about members of George's - and your - family, and made some actual threats, which I told her frankly that I considered indefensible. She would not, however, apologise for that, and I believe she is truly convinced that some of them conspired against her. However, she has apologised handsomely for embarrassing George and me and Geraldine, as well as for any aspersions she seemed to have cast on us. I have accepted that apology and we left on relatively good terms.'

Dorothy gave a big sigh of relief. 'Oh, I'm so glad. Thank you.'

'I asked her if she wanted any refreshments and she requested a cup of cocoa and a couple of digestive biscuits, which I have arranged to be taken to her.'

'You're really so kind. I'm sure she'll sleep better now - oh, I don't mean because of the cocoa, but having spoken to you.'

The Countess smiled. 'You're a very loyal and dutiful daughter.'

* * *

It was shortly after this that the Earl made a short speech - one that he had delivered on a number of other occasions. 'Just a word about our burglar alarm. It's unique and we think foolproof. The one drawback is that while nobody can get in, no one can get out either, without setting it off. You'll find your bedroom windows will only open six inches. If you force them more than that - and, of course, you can do that quite easily in the event of a fire or some other emergency - or break the window or force an outside door, you'll trigger it. It can't be switched off but turns itself off automatically at six-thirty.'

It had been a long, tiring day for all of those present, and a stressful one for some, and few felt like staying up late that night. By eleven o'clock only the younger people were still downstairs. They chatted for another quarter of an hour, before Tommy, Stella and Penny all went upstairs together, the girls leaving him at the top of the staircase and making their way together to their rooms in the west corridor. Gerry, who of course, still felt wide awake, and Dorothy were left in sole possession of the drawing-room.

'Well,' Gerry asked, 'what's it feel like to be an heiress?'

'Wonderful — I think. I mean, I haven't really taken it in properly yet.'

Gerry stood up. 'Want a drink?'

'Oh, no thank you. I don't really drink alcohol very much.'

'Hot drink? Coffee, tea?'

'A cup of tea would be lovely.'

Gerry rang the bell, poured herself a glass of wine and sat down again.

Dorothy said: 'You're not going to bed yet?'

'No, it's much too early for me. I'm a real night owl.'

'Oh, good. I'm usually tucked up by this time, but I'm sure I couldn't sleep tonight.'

'I'm not surprised. It's been quite a day.'

A footman entered at that moment and Gerry ordered a pot of tea.

When he had departed, Gerry said: 'You phoned Agatha, I suppose?'

'No. I meant to immediately after the reading, but then that trouble with Mother put it right out of my head. By the time I remembered, it was too late, because she was going out for the whole evening, until quite late. I might phone her last thing, if that's all right.'

'Of course. She'll be over the moon, won't she?'

'I expect so. I mean, we were pretty sure we were going to get something, but nothing like this.'

'Got any plans?'

'Not really. It'll depend on what Mother says.'

Gerry felt a surge of exasperation. 'It's your money, Dorry - yours and Agatha's.'

'Oh, Aggie will probably be full of plans, when I tell her. She might even want to move into Grandmother's house. She'd like to be out of town, nearer the country. But I'm sure Mother wouldn't let me go with her, and she wouldn't want to move out of London. So I suppose I'll be staying in Hampstead.'

'You must tell her what you want to do, and then just do it.'

Dorothy looked doubtful. 'I don't know if I could.'

The tea arrived a few moments later. When she was sipping a very sweet and milky cup, Dorothy said shyly: 'Do you still feel like telling me about the murders?'

'Yes, of course, if you really want to hear it.'

'Oh, yes please!' She kicked off her shoes and tucked her feet up under her. 'This is such fun.'

It was amazing, Gerry thought, how much happier and more relaxed she was now Clara was not around.

'It's difficult to know where to start,' she said. 'You probably know most of the facts, from the papers. So why don't you just ask me questions?'

'All right.' Dorothy was eager. 'One thing I didn't understand is what made you decide, that first night, to go on watch in the corridor after everybody supposedly had gone to bed?'

'Just a general uneasiness. As you know, we had two foreign diplomats here, an American millionaire, his wife and her fabulous diamond necklace, a notorious jewel thief was active, and we had one guest who had virtually gate-crashed under very suspicious circumstances. I was sure something fishy was going on, and I just had to try and find out . . .'