The Changeling (46 page)

We came into the street and were soon driving along.

“I am afraid you are a little disappointed in me,” he said. “How I should love to be of use.”

“I believe you would if you could,” I told him.

“Then you don’t think I am such a villain after all?”

“No.”

“Blackmail? Seeking betterment in shady ways …”

“I have discovered that many people who may be a little unscrupulous in some ways can be very good in others.”

“What a lovely view of human nature! I should hate to change it.”

We drove in silence for some little way then he went on: “Ah, here is your destination. I will remain in the cab. I think there is just a possibility that you may not wish me to be seen.”

“It is just that …”

He raised a hand. “I understand … perfectly. I’ll make sure that you are safely in the house, then we shall trot discreetly away.”

“You are so kind and thoughtful.”

He took my hand and kissed it. “
Au revoir,
sweet Rebecca.”

I went into the house.

Two days later I received a note from him. It came by hand and was dropped through the letter box. I was glad that I was alone and no explanation was needed as to who my correspondent was.

He was asking me to meet him at three o’clock that afternoon at The Devil’s Crown.

I was taken aback by the proposed venue, but I subdued my uneasiness, as the prospect of hearing something about Celeste.

I arrived there on time.

I was apprehensive as I stood before the building. It was not very far from The Yellow Canary and The Green Light and bore a resemblance to them … a tall, shabby building on the wall of which was the sign, the Devil with cloven feet and horns, and a crown on his head.

I noticed the big brass knocker with a decoration at the top of it. When I looked closer I saw that it was a crowned devil’s head.

I knocked and in a few moments the door was opened by Oliver Gerson.

“I knew you’d be here promptly,” he said. “Come in.”

I stepped into a small room which was empty of furniture. He opened the door and led the way into another room. Like the first it was empty. I was beginning to feel apprehensive. He realized this and said: “I have a reason for bringing you here. I’m sorry. It is not very attractive, is it? It’s empty actually. We have only recently acquired the premises. Plans are in progress for redesigning the whole place.”

“Why did you ask me to come here?”

“I can explain to you here. I can see you are uneasy. Don’t be. You are perfectly safe with me and I think you are going to be glad I brought you here.”

“It’s … a very strange place.”

“Are you thinking of the devil at the door? That is meant to give people a little shiver as they enter.”

He laid a hand on my arm. Instinctively I drew back. I could not help being reminded of Jean Pascal and wondering if I had been foolish enough to wander into another such trap.

“Could we go somewhere to talk?” I suggested. “That tea-shop?”

He shook his head. “It was necessary that you should come here. You must not be afraid of me. I know I am all sorts of a rogue and an adventurer in a way. I climbed to the position I hold now … and not always by the straight and narrow path. Benedict’s grandfather was interested in me. He recognized my talents and said he would exploit them. I had a position of some responsibility in his day and of course continued in it when Benedict took over.”

“I know all this … and that you jeopardized that position. That was unwise surely.”

“Ah, but he couldn’t turn me out. I was too well entrenched. However, that’s neither here nor there. He’s finished with us now and I am still here. But I am wasting time, aren’t I? You want to know why I brought you here.”

“You are going to tell me something about Celeste, I hope.”

“I want to prepare you … gently. I don’t want to give you too much of a shock. You saw us at The Hanging Judge. Yes, I was meeting her. No … not what you are thinking. It was not a love affair. I was sorry for her. I’m not so bad really. There is a little good in the worst of us, you know. I am capable of feeling sorry for someone in distress, and she was certainly that. She confided in me. She wanted to talk to someone who was sympathetic … and worldly enough to understand the situation. So we talked … and then we used to meet occasionally. Then … Benedict threatened to ruin everything for me. I was furious with him. He would not find it easy to be rid of me. There were others concerned and they knew my value. I recalled that other affair of his … his first election when he lost through the scandal about his wife. I was furious. I wanted above all to make him pay. It became an obsession.”

“Go on.”

“I thought I would spoil his chances. I knew how much he wanted that Cabinet post, and I thought, as it happened before through wife number one, why not do it again through wife number three?”

“So you arranged that …”

“She was to disappear. Not run away openly. That might not have had the desired effect. But suppose she disappeared … taking nothing with her? Suppose it could look like murder?”

I stared at him incredulously.

“You … you’ve hidden her. You know where she is. She’s alive.”

He nodded.

“Where is she?”

“You’ll know soon.”

“What a wicked thing to do!”

“Has he not been wicked? Did he not make his first wife unhappy? He has not cared for his daughter. He has made a little monster of that child. And was he a kind stepfather to you … for all those years?”

“It was largely my fault. He might have been different if I had let him.”

“I can see you are determined to make excuses for him. He should be made to see that there are others in the world beside himself. Oh, I know he has turned over a new leaf. Well, he has been punished. You think he has been punished enough. Perhaps you are right.”

“I wish you would tell me everything … now.”

“You have come at the right moment, Rebecca. You know how fond I am of you. The partnership was not the only reason. I wanted you … and I want to do something for you now. I want to make you happy. I hope your lover comes back to you. I hope you set up that harmonious family atmosphere in Manorleigh and in London. I hope you are able to console your stepfather for the loss of his post. I’ve had my revenge on him, so that score is settled. It was a good one. It harmed him as he tried to harm me. Now I am ready to finish with the business, and you are going to help us out of a rather difficult situation. Celeste is here.”

“Here? In this place?”

He nodded. “She has been here all the time. It was most convenient. You see, the place is empty. At the top is a flat … with kitchen and facilities. It was here when the club was running and was for the manager’s use at those times when he wanted to remain on the premises. It was just what we needed. Celeste had the notion that if she went away … disappeared for a while … Benedict might want her back. She thought it might revive some affection for her. The idea became an obsession. I helped her …”

“Persuaded her to put it into action, I suspect. It suited your plans for revenge.”

“How well you understand! Yes, naturally I was intrigued by the idea.”

“So you helped her make up her mind. You showed her how it could be done.”

He lifted his shoulders. “She fervently believed … at the start … that it would change his feelings towards her. It was what she wanted more than anything. She was ready to go to any lengths to reach that end. I suggested this as a place of refuge … She was enthusiastic about the idea. She smuggled a few essential clothes out of the house. I brought them here. She told her maid she was giving them away to some cottagers. I made this place habitable for her.”

“What a terrible thing to do!”

“Yes. Quite ingeniously worked out, though. But it’s over, and we have to get her out of here. We have to have a plausible story. Not easy … but if you will help, we could achieve that. I know I can trust your discretion. I have thought of a plan and when you see the wisdom of it, you will agree to it, I am sure. We have to think of the press who will be avid for the story. She can’t stay here as the work is to start on the building very soon.”

“When can I see her?”

“When I have told you the plan. You are staying with the Cartwrights. Go back to Benedict’s house and stay a night there. Say you had something to do in your room there … some things you want to sort out … something like that. In the morning, Celeste will return there. She will be dazed and uncertain. She will not know what has happened to her because she has lost her memory. She walked out of the house on that night but she did not know where to. She must have had money in her pocket … enough to enable her to buy a rail ticket to London. She got into conversation with someone on the train … a woman who by chance had a boarding house. She told her she could not remember where she was going. The woman befriended her and she stayed with her some time … she cannot remember how long. She was obviously of good family and the woman believed that in time she would be rewarded—in fact, Celeste had told her this would be so. She merely wanted a temporary refuge while she was trying to remember who she was. She used to walk round the streets looking for her home. She knew she had one … somewhere. Then suddenly, passing Benedict’s town house she recognized it and some memory came back to her. So she presented herself and you happened to be there. You are overcome with joy. You get her to bed. You send for the doctor. As you talk to her some memory comes back and she knows you, of course. You send for Benedict. He comes. Happy reunion. Celeste is back in the family circle and this damning mystery is over.”

I listened with incredulity to all and said: “It is very wild. No one will believe it.”

“You can make it plausible enough.”

“Surely …”

“It is the only way, Rebecca. Imagine the press getting their hands on this. Do not bring more scandal on Benedict. Lost memory is the only answer. Play it carefully as you go along. She has been ill. They’ll probably say it was through his neglect of her, but that will pass, when he shows himself to be the devoted husband. It’s easily done. Loving looks in public … a little pressure of the hands …”

“Take me to her.”

“Follow me.”

He led the way to the stairs and we started to climb. It was a long way up. Right at the top of the tall building we came to a landing. He went to a door and knocked. It was opened immediately and there stood Celeste. She looked pale, thin and very distressed.

She flew at me and we were in each other’s arms.

“Oh, Celeste,” I cried. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“Rebecca … it’s been so terrible. I should never have done it.”

“Never mind,” I said. “It’s over. Oliver has been explaining tome.”

He stood by watching us.

“Now we must be practical,” he said. He turned to Celeste. “Rebecca has agreed to help us.”

Celeste smiled at me pathetically and I felt great sympathy for her. I wanted so much to make her life a happy one. I wondered if she and Benedict would be able to forget all that had gone before. I did not know whether that was possible, but at least we could hope.

“Oliver has been telling me how and why you left. We’ve got to forget that, Celeste. You’ve got to come back. Dreadful things have been said in the papers.”

Oliver broke in: “Now we are going to work this out so that our plan is perfect. It must sound right.”

He produced a bottle from his pocket. “There are glasses here,” he said. He went to a cupboard and brought out three. “A little sip of brandy is what we need. Yes, even you, Rebecca. You have had a shock.”

We sat at a table and he poured a little of the spirit into each glass.

He gave me his tender smile. “Celeste,” he said. “Rebecca is going to help us sort this out. I aim for you to get back to your husband’s roof, and there will be a happy reunion. Rebecca wants you all to be as one happy family and as we are fond of Rebecca we must give her what she wants if that is possible. Now listen closely. Rebecca is going back to your husband’s house. Tomorrow I shall take you out in a cab and drop you two streets away. You will then walk to the house and ring the doorbell. Rebecca will let the maid answer it but she will be close at hand. She will show great amazement at the sight of you. She will be a little tearful and very emotional … and certainly bewildered. The house was familiar to you … you were trying to remember … you began to recognize it as your home …”

“I hope this will work,” I said. “It does not sound natural to me.”

“We will make it work. They are not difficult roles to play. It is very important that this should work out. If the press got hold of the truth there would be the most horrific scandal … and great trouble.”

“Trouble for you?” I suggested. “Goodness knows what the penalty would be for hiding someone whom the police are trying to find.”

“I think I could extricate myself with some plausibility. A lapse of memory leaves everyone innocent. It is the way to get the smallest amount of press coverage.”

“Celeste,” I burst out. “I am so happy to have found you!”

“I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to do it or not,” she said. “Sometimes I hated him. I wanted to have my revenge on him … and then I wished I hadn’t. What did the papers say?”

“The police are looking for you, Celeste.”

She shivered.

“Yes,” said Oliver. “And on second thoughts I think we had better leave here at dusk. We will not trust to a cab. There would be the driver to consider. He might remember something. I hadn’t thought that we might be seen. I will bring my own carriage and drive it myself. Celeste will arrive at the house just as it is getting dark … this evening. You must go back at once, Rebecca. Tell them you have to stay at Benedict’s house for a night or so and leave as soon as possible. You must be there when Celeste arrives. You have to help her through this. Just get her to bed … send for Benedict … and make sure you stay with her. She’ll show that she wants you there. It is imperative that you play your parts right.”

“Then I must go at once,” I said. “I have to make arrangements to go to the other house and there is not much time if Celeste is coming back this evening.”