The Captive (44 page)

I was horrified now. I wanted to get out of this place as quickly as I could.

“You’re making a mistake,” I said.

“I… I just came to enquire about a friend of mine.”

“A friend? What friend?”

“I believe she came here. It was some time ago … I have lost touch with her and I wondered if you could help me. She was Mrs. Blanchard

”

“Mrs. Blanchard?” She stared at me blankly.

I thought she would surely remember. Anyone would remember Mirabel.

Her unusual beauty would make that inevitable.

A sudden thought came to me. On the spur of the moment I said: “Or perhaps she came as Mrs. Parry …”

As soon as I had spoken, I wondered what I was thinking of. It was just that the thought had flashed into my mind that her visit here would be of a secret nature and she might not have used the name of Blanchard. There had always been a faint suspicion in my mind that she was in fact the wife of the sailor whose grave Kate visited . that she was in truth at that time Mrs. Parry.

I was losing my head. I just wanted to get away.

I said: “I thought if you could give me her address.”

“I must tell you right away that we never divulge the addresses of our patients.”

“Well, I thought you might not. Thank you very much. I’m sorry to have taken up your time.”

“What is your name?”

“Oh, that’s not important. I was just passing and I thought…”

Just passing! In a cab which brought me here specially! I was making a mess of. this

“You are not the Press, are you?” she asked rather threateningly.

“No … no, no, I assure you. I was just thinking about my friend and wondering whether you could help me find her. I am so sorry to have bothered you. I shouldn’t have come in if …”

“If I hadn’t come along just at that moment. Are you sure you are not in need of our services?”

“I’m quite sure. If you’ll excuse me. I’m so sorry to have troubled you … Goodbye, and thank you.”

I made for the door while she watched me through narrowed eyes.

I was trembling. There was something about the woman, about the place, which made me very apprehensive.

It was with great relief that I came out into the street. What a disaster! How was I to know I should encounter the proprietress! What bad luck that she should have come along at that precise moment. And I had been quite unprepared. I was hopeless in the role I had set for myself. Because I had managed rather well as a governess, I fancied myself as a detective. I felt humiliated and shaken; and my desire was to get away as quickly as possible.

It was a lesson to me. My methods of investigation were both crude and amateur.

I ran round the corner to where the cab was waiting.

“That was quick,” said the cabdriver.

“Oh yes.”

“Everything all right?”

“Oh, yes … yes.”

I knew he was thinking: A girl in trouble going to one of those places. Maternity Home, yes-but not averse to helping a girl in trouble.

I sat back, thinking of it all, going over every excruciating minute.

Why had I mentioned Mrs. Parry! It had just come into my head that she might have gone there under that name. How foolish of me! One thing I did know, and that was that Mirabel must have been pregnant when she went there and not so when she came out. What could it mean? Whose child was it? Cosmo’s? She was going to marry Cosmo at that time. Or Tristan’s?

Was this an important piece of evidence?

It seemed to me that the chain of events was becoming more complicated and I was no nearer to the solution.

When I reached our house I was still shaken from the encounter.

The next day I went to see Lucas. When I knocked at his door it was opened by him. He stood standing there.

“Lucas!” I cried.

“Look at me.” He took a few steps and I could see the difference.

“It’s worked!” I cried.

He nodded, smiling triumphantly.

“Oh, Lucas … it’s wonderful.”

I threw myself at him and he held me close.

“You’ve helped a lot,” he said.

“I?”

“Coming every day. Caring.”

“Of course I came. Of course I cared. Tell me all about it.”

“Well, I’m still something of a poor thing.”

“You don’t look it.”

“This business has worked, they tell me. I’ve got to do exercises and such like. But I’m better. I feel better. I feel lighter. Less like an old hulk.”

“Wonderful! It was all worthwhile.”

“I have to be here for another week or two, while they

put me through my paces. I have to learn to walk again . like a baby. “

I could only smile at him. I felt near to tears. I was so happy because the operation had been a success.

“You’ll be here for a while?”

“Yes. I shall come and see you every day and watch for improvements.”

“There are quite a few needed.”

“But it’s better, Lucas.”

“I shall still be a bit of a cripple. There are things they can’t put right. But they have done a great deal. This man is something of a genius. I think I was a bit of a guinea-pig;

but he’s pleased with me . though not half as pleased as he is with himself. “

“Don’t let’s grudge him his glory, Lucas. I’m so happy …”

“I haven’t felt like this for a long time.”

“I’m glad … so glad.”

On the way out I was waylaid by the surgeon. His delight was obvious.

“Mr. Lorimer was such a good patient,” he said.

“He was determined and that is a great help.”

“We don’t know how to thank you enough.”

“My reward is the success of the operation.”

When I went home and told them, my father said how gratifying it was that modern medical science had advanced so far; Aunt Maud showed her pleasure in a manner which told me she was speculating on the possibility of a match between Lucas and me; but it was in the kitchen that I was able to celebrate with abandon.

Mr. Dolland, wise as ever, leaned his elbows on the table and talked about the wonders of medicine today with far more enthusiasm than my father had done; and Mrs. Harlow sighed romantically, so I knew her thoughts were on the same lines as those of Aunt Maud, but it did not irritate me as Aunt Maud’s speculation had done.

Then Mrs. Harlow told of her cousin’s operation for appendicitis and how she had come near to death under the surgeon’s knife. Mr. Dolland remembered a play in which a man was supposed to be a cripple unable to move from his chair when all the time he could walk with ease and was the murderer.

It was like old times and I was happier than I had been for a long time.

It was not until a day or so later that I told Lucas about my unpleasant experience at the Maternity Home.

“But at least,” I said, “I did find out that Mirabel was going to have a baby before Cosmo was killed and evidently she went to that place for an abortion.”

“What an extraordinary turn of events! What bearing do you think this has on the murder?”

“I can’t think.”

“If it were Cosmo’s child they could let it be thought that it was a premature birth … unless it was too late for that.”

“Sir Edward wouldn’t have approved, of course.”

“But he was on his deathbed.”

“It could have been Tristan’s and when she thought she was going to marry Cosmo she had to do something about it.”

“That seems likely. It’s all very complicated. There is a possibility that you didn’t go to the right place. After all, you only had the address … and verbally at that… from Maria.”

“Well, I’m afraid it hasn’t got us very far. There was something rather sinister about the place and this Mrs. Campden was really very put out when she thought I was making enquiries.”

“Well, I suppose she would be. She thought she had a client.”

“She looked a little alarmed when she thought I might be from the Press.”

“Which suggests she might be in fear of them, as what she is doing is illegal. Listen to me, Rosetta. I suggest you drop this sleuthing.”

“I must find out, Lucas.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

“But what of Simon?”

“Simon should come home and work out his own problems.”

“How could he? He’d be arrested.”

“I have a feeling that this is becoming more than a little unpleasant for you,” “I don’t mind a bit if it’s unpleasant.”

“Moreover, you could be dealing with dangerous people. After all, it is a murder you are investigating, and if you believe Simon wasn’t the murderer, then someone here probably is. How do you think the guilty person would feel about your probing?”

“That person would not know I am doing it.”

“What about that woman? She didn’t seem to be very pleased. And if she is dealing in abortions … at a good price, I imagine … she could be in trouble.”

“She had a board outside. It was a maternity home. That is legal.”

“It might be a cover. I have a feeling that you ought to stop it… keep out of it.”

“I have to clear Simon.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“All right,” he said.

“But keep me informed.”

“I will do that, Lucas.”

The next day Felicity arrived in London. I was overjoyed to see her.

“I had to come up to see Lucas,” she said.

“And I guessed that you might be here, too. How is he?”

“Coming along very well. The operation was a success. He’ll be delighted to see you, as I am.”

“I came straight from the station,” she went on.

“I thought I’d get the news of Lucas and see you at the same time.”

Aunt Maud came in and greeted Felicity warmly.

“I’ll see that a room is made ready for you right away,” she said.

Felicity replied that she had been thinking of staying at an hotel.

“Nonsense,” said Aunt Maud.

“You must stay here. And if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and see about it right away.”

Felicity smiled at me.

“Still the efficient Aunt Maud.”

“Oh yes. Mrs. Harlow says the household runs like clockwork.”

“And what is all this about becoming a governess … following in my footsteps?”

“You could say that.”

She looked puzzled.

“We have such a lot to talk about.”

“Let’s get you settled in first.”

We went up. Meg was putting the final touches to the room. Felicity exchanged a few pleasantries with her and then we were alone. I sat on the bed while she put the few things she had brought with her into drawers and cupboards.

“Tell me honestly. Is Lucas really improved?”

“Oh yes. There’s no doubt of that.”

“I’m glad you came up from Cornwall.”

“I just had to.”

She nodded.

“Tell me all about this idea of being a governess.”

“Well, there was this girl. No one could manage her. It was a sort of challenge.”

She looked at me disbelievingly. And then suddenly it dawned on me that I might have confided in Felicity long ago. I could trust her completely; she was resourceful. Nanny Crockett and Lucas already knew; and I could not keep it from Felicity any longer.

So, having extracted a promise of absolute secrecy, I told her everything.

She listened incredulously.

“I thought your stay in the seraglio was fantastic,” she said.

“And now, this …”

“People have been sold into harems before,” I said.

“It happened to Nicole. It’s just that it is more rare than it used to be …”

“But this Simon … he really is Simon Perrivale?”

“Do you remember the case?”

“Vaguely. It raised quite a storm at the time, didn’t it, and then it dropped out of the news. And you are convinced of his innocence.”

“Yes, I am. You would be. Felicity … if you could have known him.”

“And you were alone on this island …”

“Lucas was with us … but he couldn’t walk. He just lay in the boat and kept a lookout for a sail.”

“It sounds like Robinson Crusoe.”

“Well, all those who are shipwrecked and cast up on an island are like that.”

“Are you … in love with this … Simon?”

“There was a very strong … bond between us.”

“Did you discuss your feelings for each other?”

I shook my head.

“No … not really. It was just there. We were all so intent on survival. When we were on the island we thought we were doomed. There wasn’t enough to eat or drink … and then we were picked up and there was no opportunity.”

“He left you at the Embassy and then you came home and he stayed behind.”

“He would have been arrested if he had come back.”

“Yes, of course. And Lucas shared in all this … to a certain extent.”

I nodded.

“I’ve always been fond of Lucas,” she mused.

“It was very distressing to see him when he came back. He had always

been so full of vitality. James is fond of him, too. James said he had a flair for living. I think Lucas loves you, Rosetta. “

“Yes.”

“Has he asked you to marry him?”

“Yes … but not very seriously … really … rather flippantly.”

“I think he might be inclined to flippancy where his feelings are most concerned. You could do a lot for him and, I think, he for you. Oh, I know you think you don’t need him … as he needs you … but you do, Rosetta. All that you went through … well, my dear, you couldn’t really endure all that and remain as you were before.”

“No, I couldn’t.”

“Lucas was there part of the time. There is so much he would understand.”

I was silent and she went on: “You’re thinking Simon was there, too.

And there was this special bond between you and him. “

“It started before … when he was cleaning the decks.”

“I know. You told me. And now you are dedicated to proving his innocence.”

“I must. Felicity.”

“If he came back … if you saw him with Lucas … you might decide.

Lucas is really a wonderful person. “

“I know. Felicity. I’ve learned that. This operation … when there was just a slight fear that he might not come through … I realized how important his friendship was to me. I have confessed to him what I am trying to do. Felicity, and he is helping me. He has sent Dick Duvane out to see if he can find Simon. He was going to bring him back if he could … he thought they might take a ransom for him as they did for Lucas himself. That was before he knew that Simon couldn’t come back.”