Chapter 4
This was worse than running back into the blazing fire at the orphanage.
Billy felt himself sweating. Any second now he was bound to be spotted.
From the corner of his eye he could see the security guard pause, looking around.
Swallowing, the boy backed away – unfortunately stepping directly into a row of corsets which promptly fell onto the floor.
With another whimper – this time resembling a strangled cat, Billy bent down and hurriedly began picking the corsets up, piling them up in his arms until they obscured his face.
He stood riveted to the spot, listening to the security guard’s boots thumping up the stairs like a death knell.
Desperately, he stepped behind a row of frilly petticoats.
He knew, just knew, the very moment the guard reached the top of the stairs, but not knowing what else to do, he simply shut his eyes tight, waiting for the pile of corsets to be dragged out of his arms.
‘What on earth do you think you are doing?’ The sudden voice was female and filled with outrage. ‘How dare you accost this poor lady in such a manner, sir.’
What lady? He hadn’t seen a lady. Billy didn’t move.
‘I… I’m… lookin’ for a lad. I reckon he came up this way.’
‘I can assure you, Mr Lovell, there are only two ladies on this floor in addition to myself – and both are in various states of disarray. I simply must ask you to leave immediately, otherwise, I shall be forced to report you to the management.’ Did that mean she worked here?
There was a pause, then all of a sudden Billy heard the swish of curtains. ‘May I have some help with my stays?’ He’d heard that voice before, he was certain it was Muriel Pemberton’s.
The security guard began stuttering and stammering, and within seconds Billy heard the sound of him retreating back down the stairs. However, the boy’s relief was short-lived as the shop assistant spoke again.
‘Most certainly, Madam, I will be with you in just a moment – as soon as I’ve shown this lady to another fitting room.’
By this time, Billy was mere seconds away from tossing the pile of corsets in the air and legging it. Only the dreadful thought of Muriel Pemberton recognising him kept him stationary.
‘Would you like to follow me, Madam?’ The voice was horribly close, and Billy’s heart thudded as he realised with terror that she meant him.
He jumped as a hand was placed on his back.
‘I can assure you that the gentleman has gone,’ the shop assistant murmured.
‘We are all ladies here now.’ The hand guided him forward, while another plucked the top corset from the pile in his arms, adding, ‘I know they are all lovely, but it’s really not necessary to take the entire stock into the changing room at once – I will bring them in for you whenever you are ready.
’ Another corset was whisked away, revealing the top of Billy’s head.
The next one would surely uncover his face. And any second now she’d see his legs…
‘I really must request your immediate assistance,’ came his quarry’s voice again. ‘I have only half an hour before the next train to Torquay.’ The shop assistant paused, and the hand was removed.
Billy took a deep breath, then, using the same crooning whisper he assumed when talking to Aggie, murmured, ‘Please, don’t mind me.’ His heart was banging against his chest, and the wizened carrot was threatening to make an impromptu appearance.
‘That’s incredibly kind of you, Madame.’ To his ears, the shop assistant’s voice definitely sounded suspicious.
‘The fitting room is just ahead of you.’ Feeling her turn away, Billy risked a peep over the top of the corsets.
The fitting room was mere yards away – next to the one Muriel Pemberton was occupying.
However, before he could move, the former clairvoyant actually pulled open the curtains to her fitting room while wearing only a corset and petticoat.
Horrified, Billy shut his eyes tightly for the second time.
If his ma saw him right now, she’d string him up herself.
Quickly he scurried into the other fitting room and dragged the curtains together.
How neither woman hadn’t spotted his trousers was nothing short of a miracle – or possibly the fact that they were both in need of spectacles.
‘Thank you, anyway, God,’ he breathed, dropping what was left of his pile of corsets on the floor.
If ever there was a time to do a runner, it was now.
Heart in his mouth, Billy peeked through the gap in the drapes and was just about to step out when suddenly, the curtains in the fitting room next door were pulled back open.
‘I think if you view yourself in the mirror over there, Madam, you will simply marvel at the way the black fabric changes colour with the light, seemingly almost iridescent.’
Seconds later, Muriel Pemberton stepped out, fortunately fully clothed this time.
He watched through the gap as she walked to a full-length mirror right next to the row of lacy draws.
The stairs were fortunately behind and to the left of them, so if he moved now, they wouldn’t see him through the mirror.
Heart thumping, Billy stepped outside and made to tiptoe towards the stairs.
However, glancing in between the drapes into the now empty fitting room as he passed, he noticed his quarry’s coat and bonnet on a hanger.
He paused. Behind him, the two ladies continued talking.
The voice in his head was yelling at him to get a move on, this was no time for bloody heroics…
Billy took another step then stopped again.
Finally, gritting his teeth, he turned back and slipped through the curtains into the small room.
After glancing behind him to check he was still out of sight, he hurried over to the coat and rummaged around in the right-hand pocket.
Empty, but for a used train ticket. He felt for the left-hand pocket, then froze, holding his breath.
The voices had stopped. He swallowed, his mouth dryer than a stale cracker.
After a few seconds, the murmuring started up again, and realising they were no closer, he quickly shoved his hand in the second pocket.
For a second, he thought it was empty until, unexpectedly, his fingers grasped something folded.
There was no time to see what it was, he simply stuffed it into his own pocket, then, without waiting to see if the coast was clear, he stepped back through the drapes and walked swiftly towards the stairs.
It took Alexandra and Beatrix half an hour to go over the scene of the crime while Arabella interviewed the servants.
For once, Bella found herself struggling to remain focused on her assigned task.
She was entirely baffled by her reaction to Benedict Hartley’s touch.
The shock had reverberated throughout her body.
She’d heard of similar reactions received from the recently discovered electricity but, though she was loath to admit it, this had been almost pleasurable - very different to the reports she’d read about shocks received from electric flows which she understood could quite easily be fatal.
However, after asking the maid, Sally, to repeat herself for the third time, Bella firmly took herself in hand, putting all thoughts of Chief Inspector Hartley to the back of her mind and concentrating on listening.
Once she began to focus her full attention on the maid, Sally’s nervousness became very apparent, and she answered most of the questions in monosyllables without making eye contact.
The girl had apparently been obliged to help both serve and wash up during the evening, which was perfectly usual during one of Madam’s dinner parties.
When asked if she’d ever seen any of the guests before, Sally had simply shrugged, though her eyes remained firmly on the floor.
Realising that she was unlikely to get anything more from the anxious maid, Bella made a note to speak to her again if time allowed.
Next, she questioned Rose – Mrs Pettigrew’s lady’s maid.
Apparently, the servant had noticed a faint smell of lavender while readying her employer’s bedchamber towards the end of the evening, though she was adamant that there was no indication that anyone untoward had entered the room after Mrs Pettigrew had gone downstairs.
She also stated that she saw no jewellery box open on the dressing table.
That only left Mrs Larkin, the cook, and Wilfred, the stable hand. Mrs Larkin insisted she hadn’t left the kitchen all night, and Wilfred spent the entire evening taking care of the guests’ horses.
The stable hand did have one more thing to say. Apparently, one of the guests left the soiree early – asking for his carriage to be brought to the door at around ten thirty.
‘So, it was definitely a man?’ Bella quizzed him.
‘Aye, unless ‘e ‘ad a part-time job as a bearded lady,’ Ted answered with a chuckle.
‘So, there was no lady with him?’
‘Not wot left at the same time. I ain’t sayin’ ‘e arrived on ‘is own, but ‘e wos definitely the only one in ‘is carriage. I watched ‘im leave.’
Reconvening in the drawing room, both Alexandra and Arabella were very conscious of the fact that Chief Inspector Hartley was listening to their accounts carefully.
Alex was the first to speak. Looking down at her notes, she described her findings.
‘There were fresh scratch marks on the windowsill but no sign of forced entry. The jewellery box had been left open on the bedchamber dressing table, possibly deliberately. However, only one item was taken – the ruby necklace - despite the box containing several other valuable pieces.’