Chapter 9 #2
Bella sighed. ‘Perhaps a couple of hours. Unfortunately, my mind refused to rest.’ She sat down and helped herself to tea.
‘And was it the case itself you were thinking about, or the police officer conducting it?’ Arabella’s fiery cheeks told the matron all she needed to know.
Charlotte regarded her narrowly, but all she said was, ‘Be careful of that one. Charming, persuasive, and altogether too handsome for his own good. His older brother is a viscount, but by all accounts, they are estranged…’ She paused and took a sip of her tea before adding carefully, ‘I believe it was something to do with an arranged marriage.’
Arabella felt her heart give a dull thud and gave a nonchalant shrug that didn’t fool either of them.
‘He is pleasant to look upon, certainly, but right now my focus is on this case. I’m afraid my dreams were not of romance but much darker things.
My mind was simply awhirl with images I couldn’t banish. ’
She didn’t elaborate on the fact that the dreams also contained disturbing images of her pursuing Benedict Hartley up and down dark alleyways and never-ending stairs, until she finally woke up, heart pounding, her legs tangled in sweat-soaked sheets
‘In truth, part of me thinks it’s too much,’ Bella went on, holding up her hand and counting off her fingers.
‘We have at least forty-two missing orphans, a dead woman, a murderer who may or may not be our bogus clairvoyant, four young women who appeared to have vanished into thin air, a series of jewellery thefts and somewhere behind them all, a man who might or might not be named Jacob, who might or might not be in London, who we strongly suspect has been orchestrating everything - all with the serene impunity of someone who has never once been close enough to any of it to leave so much as a trace.’ She gritted her teeth and put down her tea, having come close to spilling it in her anger.
Swallowing, she took a deep breath, feeling suddenly overwhelmed and ridiculously close to tears.
‘Do you think we’ll find him?’ she added. ‘Eventually?’
Charlotte sighed, putting down her own cup. ‘I think our priority has to be the children – and now these four… well, doubtless in truth, they are children too. No one else is looking for them, Bella. Whoever this Jacob is, he’s the connection. So yes, we’ll find the bastard…’
Arabella nodded, her aunt’s resolute response quashing her sudden fear.
‘Have you heard how Papa is?’
‘Your father’s still asleep,’ Charlotte responded. ‘Which is, hopefully, a sign that his body’s recovering. I’ve asked Mrs Dobbin to check on him at eight.’
‘Have you sent word to Cliff House?’
‘I’ve sent a note to Mrs Williams that your father and I will be home before lunch. ‘Are you not supposed to be meeting with the Chief Inspector at nine thirty?’
Arabella shrugged. ‘That was before you and father discovered a dead body. I don’t know whether his plans will have changed.’
‘That doesn’t mean yours have to. There is no reason why you cannot go and offer Mrs Thomas your condolences, whether Benedict Hartley is there or not. Now we know about the missing servants, you can make discreet enquiries – both there and at Mrs Pettigrew’s’
Bella nodded. ‘I want to speak with Mrs Pettigrew’s maid, Sally. I’m certain she knows more than she’s letting on. If I can speak with her away from the house…’ She trailed off.
‘And do you propose to simply knock on the back door of Belgrave Road and ask to borrow the housemaid?’
‘I’m certain Bella is much more devious than that.’ Both women looked up as Alexandra came into the room, looking much fresher than her twin. Arabella felt a sudden pang. Perhaps having someone to hold in the darkest hours was the answer to staving off the night terrors.
‘Mrs Dobbin has laid out breakfast so we can help ourselves,’ Alex said, waving her sister and aunt out into the hall.
As the three women walked towards the dining room, Alex spoke again.
‘I actually think what we discovered last night puts a rather different slant on things. The fact that there are four missing servants supposedly employed by all four widows. At this stage, we don’t know whether the ladies themselves are complicit in their disappearance or not. ’
‘It’s difficult to imagine that elderly widows would condone something so cold-blooded,’ Arabella protested.
‘You’re making the assumption that they had a choice,’ Charlotte countered briskly as they entered the dining room.
‘It could well be they did not. But as for your disbelief that sweet little widows could be involved in something so heinous – I refer you back to both Muriel and Violet Pemberton.’ She helped herself to some ham and eggs.
‘I’ll send word to Albert to bring the carriage over to Simla for half-past eight,’ she continued. ‘Once your father is up and about, we’ll walk back to Cliff House. It will do Henry good to get some fresh air while we wait to hear from Chief Inspector Hartley.’
‘In the meantime, Rhys and I will begin cross-referencing the guest lists,’ Alex commented.
‘I suggest we reconvene here this evening. Hopefully, by then, Benedict will have news for us.’ She looked slyly over at her twin, adding, ‘though of course Bella, you might already have been fully briefed by then…’