The Bloody Tower (Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries #16)

Chapter 1

The Tower of London?” Alec, spreading marmalade on his toast, spoke with a sort of deliberate casualness. “That’s rather a macabre subject to write about.”

“True.”

“Mr. Thorwald says he’s willing to buy a series of three or four articles about the Tower for Abroad magazine.”

“You’ve already written to him?”

“His answer just arrived.” Daisy waved the telegram form from the top of the pile of letters by her plate. “See how keen he is? He telegraphed rather than waiting for a letter to reach me. I got the idea when we took Belinda to see The Yeomen of the Guard at Christmas.”

After a moment’s silence while he swallowed a bite, Alec voiced the question Daisy was expecting.

“What about the twins?”

She had her response ready. “I’ll only be gone for a few hours at a time, as I shan’t have to go out of town. That’s why it’s ideal. Honestly, darling, Nanny’s perfectly competent. In fact, she’s growing downright dictatorial. Since Mother went home to the Dower House—”

“And my mother retreated back to Bournemouth, thank heaven!”

“Exactly. Nanny no longer has their conflicting commands ringing in her ears. Isn’t it odd how both of them insisted that no one on their side of the family ever had twins? As though there were something disgraceful about it,” Daisy said indignantly.

“Yes, I never thought to hear Lady Dalrymple and my mother agree on anything except that we shouldn’t have married each other. But don’t try to change the subject, Daisy.”

“Try! I thought I succeeded nicely.”

“Only briefly. Quite apart from leaving the babies with Nanny—and I expect you’re right about that—are you sure you’re recovered enough from the birth to go exploring the Tower? As I recall, it’s nothing but stairs, stairs, and more stairs, most of them steep and narrow.”

“It’s nearly the end of April already! They’ll be two months old in a couple of days.

I’m perfectly all right, just going quietly mad stuck here in the house with nothing to do but give Oliver or Miranda a bottle now and then, when Nanny deigns to permit.

It was fun when Belinda was at home. She so enjoyed helping with them during the Easter hols.

But now she’s gone back to school . . .” Daisy sighed.

“I’m glad she’s enjoying boarding school, but I do miss her. ”

“So do I. Well, love, I’m not about to come the heavy-handed Victorian paterfamilias—”

“You’d better not try!”

Alec grinned. “No, that’s exactly my feeling. But please don’t traipse off if I have to go out of town, and make sure Nanny knows how to telephone me at the Yard.”

“She can always ring up and ask for me at the Tower.”

“I hardly think the Yeoman Warders will be willing to search that warren for—”

“Oh, but that’s the best thing. That is, not the best but what, added to G & S, confirmed that I’m positively meant to write about the Tower. Mrs. Tebbit and her daughter are living there now, in the King’s House, and they’ve invited me to lunch.”

“Tebbit?”

“Your mother’s friend. At least, one of your mother’s fellow bridge players. The divinely outspoken old lady.”

“With the rather limp daughter? Living in the Tower? Not, I take it, imprisoned for high treason?”

“Darling, as though your mother would be acquainted with anyone who might be suspected of high treason!” Daisy considered.

“Mrs. Tebbit might commit lèse-majesté, perhaps, but one can’t be arrested for that nowadays, can one?

Anyway, it seems the Resident Governor, Major General Carradine, is some sort of cousin, and—”

“Tell me later, Daisy. I must be off.” Alec gulped down the last drops of coffee, folded the News Chronicle and stuck it under his arm, and came around the table for a good-bye kiss.

“Things are slow at present, so I’m hoping to clear up some arrears of paperwork before the Super has me arrested for dereliction of duty. ”

Daisy returned his kiss with verve before saying hopefully, “Does that mean you’ll be home early enough to take me out for some driving practice? With what Mr. Thorwald is going to pay me, I’ll be able to buy a secondhand car!”

Alec groaned. “I’ll do my best. If you must have a car, it’ll be just as well if you learn how to drive it without running over too many bobbies on point duty. We can’t spare the men.”

“Beast!” said Daisy, and pursed her lips for another kiss.

Daisy went up to the nursery. It had been Mrs. Fletcher’s room while she lived with them, and Belinda had moved in when her grandmother moved to Bournemouth. Poor Bel had had to return to her tiny bedroom when the twins were born.

Not that the nursery was exactly large. In fact, it was definitely crowded with Nanny’s bed and two cribs.

A wardrobe, half occupied with shelves, stood against one wall.

There was an armchair on one side of the fireplace and an elderly ottoman on the other, full of clean nappies.

Its padded top was useful for changing wet and dirty ones.

Later it could metamorphose into a toy chest. In the window was a small table with two rush-bottom chairs.

Remembering her own childhood, Daisy guessed that the rush seats wouldn’t last long once the babies were up and about. Pulling bits out of them was irresistible.

Remembering her own childhood—The trouble was that she couldn’t help comparing this nursery with the spacious day-nursery, night-nursery, and schoolroom at Fairacres.

She had chosen to marry a middle-class policeman, chosen a life in a semi-detached house in the suburbs. She was content with her choice, but she had to admit to herself that she had never for a moment considered how it would affect her children.

Knocking softly on the door—after all the nursery was also Nanny’s bedroom—Daisy thought ruefully that she had made her bed and the twins were going to have to lie in it.

Ah well, they didn’t know anything different.

Nanny Gilpin opened the door with a finger to her lips.

Her face was pink beneath iron-grey hair sternly pulled back under a starched cap.

Her plum-coloured dress, mid-calf in length, had starched white collar and cuffs, and over it she wore a spotless starched white apron.

In spite of all the starch, she was a kindly woman.

So, at least, said Daisy’s friend Melanie Germond, who had recommended Mrs. Gilpin. Furthermore, her daughter, Bel’s school-friend Lizzie, was still fond of her old nurse.

But Nanny Gilpin was undeniably old-fashioned. She expected absolute rule over the nursery, with parents admitted by appointment only. As she was, to all appearances, very good with the babies, Daisy was afraid of losing her and so catered to her whims, however reluctantly.

She had told Nanny she was going out to lunch and wanted to see the twins before she left.

“You may come in, Mummy,” Nanny whispered, “but I just put them down for a nap, so not a sound, if you please.”

Daisy tiptoed over to Oliver’s crib. He lay on his back, eyes closed, arms spread wide, hands relaxed. The soft down on his head had a distinct gingerish tone. He might end up a redhead, like his elder sister, but Nanny said it would probably change as he grew older.

He looked so tiny, so delicate. The doctor said twins were always smaller than the average baby, which made sense. Otherwise, how enormous she’d have been! They were both perfectly healthy though, thank heaven, and would catch up in height and weight in due course.

Oliver had kicked off his coverlet. Daisy leant forward to straighten it—then pulled back at a warning cough from Mrs. Gilpin.

“Now, Mummy, we don’t want to wake him, do we?”

Daisy swallowed a sigh. Of course Nanny knew best how to take care of babies, didn’t she?

The baby’s lips pursed in a sucking motion. One hand rose to insert a thumb in his mouth. It didn’t mean he was hungry, she assured herself, as she had been assured.

Nanny moved forward in a purposeful way. Daisy hastily turned to Miranda’s crib.

Miranda lay there quietly, good as gold, but her blue eyes were wide open.

Catching sight of Daisy, she smiled. Daisy cast a quick glance behind her.

Nanny was occupied with tucking in Oliver.

Quick as a wink, Daisy scooped up her daughter in her arms for a quick kiss and cuddle before she was caught.

Miranda chuckled. Enchanted, Daisy kissed the top of her head, revelling in the softness of her dark fluff and sweet, milky smell.

“Now, Mummy—”

“She was awake, Nanny. I didn’t wake her, truly.”

“And how is she ever going to fall asleep if you pick her up?”

This was unanswerable. With an audible sigh, Daisy laid Miranda back in the crib, where she set up an earsplitting screech.

“You see?” asked Nanny accusingly.

Defeated, Daisy retreated.

Melanie Germond had also been invited to lunch with the Tebbits. She called for Daisy and they walked together through an April shower to the tube station.

“It’s so brave of you to carry a red umbrella,” said Melanie with a touch of envy.

“Brave?” Daisy queried, surprised. After her craven surrender to Mrs. Gilpin, she felt anything but brave.

“When practically everyone else’s are black. People look at you.”

“Why shouldn’t they? Anyway, they’re only looking at the umbrella, really, not at me.”

“I suppose it’s your upbringing.” Melanie sighed. “We always had it drummed into us that one should never draw attention to oneself.”

After living for a year and a half in St. John’s Wood, Daisy was still discovering new facets of the difference between the middle classes and her own aristocratic background.

She pondered. “I don’t think we were ever taught anything so specific, certainly not that drawing attention to oneself is a virtue.

I suppose it was sort of taken for granted that people would look at us, just because my father was Viscount Dalrymple.

Unless we were among other people of the same sort, of course.

Oh dear, that does make me sound stuck-up! ”