Chapter Fourteen
FOURTEEN
The walk down the steep drive to Brockdene Quay revived Cedric. He was almost jaunty as he led Alec and Piper across the cobbles to a small fishing dory moored to the wharf.
“A bit primitive,” he apologized, as Alec climbed down into the boat, whose accommodation consisted of two rowing benches.
“Belongs to a man I know. Hope he didn’t want to go fishin’ this mornin’.
I keep a sailin’ dinghy on the river in the summer, but this is actually better for just buzzin’ across now and then. ”
He followed Alec, and held the boat to a ring on the wall with the boathook while Piper cast off and joined them.
Alec and Piper squeezed onto one bench. Cedric sat down facing them on the other and pushed off.
As he fitted his oars into the rowlocks, it crossed Alec’s mind that with one good swipe of an oar in the middle of the river Cedric might be able to dispose of both his captors at once.
Piper had quietly possessed himself of the boathook, Alec noted with approval. He himself watched Cedric’s expression, alert for any sign of increasing tension which might prelude an attack.
The effort of rowing the heavy-laden boat showed, yet the young man’s expression grew more relaxed as they drew out into the stream.
The river was still as brown as when Alec had looked down on it yesterday from the site of the murder, but it was less turbulent.
There was less debris, too, he thought, sparing a mite of his attention from Cedric’s face.
The odd branch still floated by, though, including one large enough and close enough for Piper to shove it away with the boathook.
“Wasn’t it rather dangerous rowing across on your own in the dark last night?” Alec asked.
“This old tub’s strongly built, and for these waters.” Cedric grinned. “But you’re right, I was probably a bally ass to do it so soon after the storm. Still, when a fellow’s keen on a girl, you know…”
“Swimming the Hellespont,” said Piper unexpectedly.
“That’s the ticket,” Cedric agreed with approval, glancing over his shoulder to check his course. “Those old Greeks knew a thing or two. Wasn’t that the one with the hero called Henley?”
“Leander.” Piper sounded uncertain, whether about his facts or about contradicting a gentleman.
“I believe the Henley rowing club was named after him,” Alec put in, fascinated by the contrasting results of Piper’s board school and Cedric’s public school education.
Or was Cedric deliberately trying to appear a fool? “Ah yes, knew it was somethin’ to do with rowin’. So this hero chappy rowed across the Hellespont, whatever that may be but I gather it was a longish trip, to see his girl, who had a funny sort of name, if I’ve got the right one.”
“Hero,” said Piper.
“The hero was Leander; we’ve got that straightened out.”
“And the heroine was Hero,” Piper insisted.
Cedric stared, rowing rhythmically the while. “No, you don’t say so? Dashed funny name for a girl. I expect you know what the Hellespont was, too, eh?”
Piper blushed. “It’s part of the Dardanelles, where we fought the Turks. But Leander didn’t row, he swam across.”
“Well, you jolly well wouldn’t catch me swimmin’ the Tamar in December, even for Miss Norville, especially after a storm.
Come to that, I don’t know that I’d have risked rowin’ it on Christmas Eve, right after the gale, even if I’d been able to get away.
Which I couldn’t, and now I can tell you why, Mr. Fletcher. ”
“Why you couldn’t get away, and why you couldn’t tell me, and why you can tell me now, I trust?” Alec said dryly.
“You can blame that dashed brat, Flick’s sister. Little sneak, always listenin’ at doors, Flick says, and tellin’ tales, too. I dare say that’s how you got onto me, isn’t it? I’d swear Flick never told, even if she is givin’ me the boot.”
“I can’t reveal my sources of information.” An automatic response, not only rather pompous, Alec thought, but in this case futile since Felicity would tell him Jemima had given them away, assuming they got back together. “What did you not care for Jemima to hear?” he asked irritably.
“It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want Jemima to hear, but she was bound to tell Flick and the rest of the family and I didn’t—don’t want them to know. You’ll keep it under your hat, my dear chap, won’t you? Oh, hold on a mo’. Here we are. Grab that rope, would you, old man?”
As he shipped his oars, Piper grabbed the rope.
It was tied to a stake stuck in the river bed on the edge of the reeds.
A narrow channel cut through the shoulder-high reeds, which rustled and creaked in the breeze.
Pulling on the rope, Cedric hauled the boat along the channel until they came to a rickety wooden landing stage.
Cautiously, Alec stepped out and moved quickly onto firm ground. At the end of his patience, he turned and asked, “Just what do you want me to keep under my hat, Mr. Norville?”
“Where I was on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, of course,” said Cedric, surprised. “Where we all were, come to that. All the family. It would hurt Flick to know because she and her family weren’t invited. Never are.”
“Invited where?” Alec bellowed. The sight of Piper suppressing a snicker did not improve his temper.
Piper also whipped out his note-book and one of the well-sharpened pencils always present in his breast pocket. He apparently believed the moment of revelation was at last at hand.
“To Tavy Bridge.” Cedric straightened after securing the painter.
“My uncle’s place. Or, at least, not really my uncle of course.
He’s my second cousin once removed, or somethin’ of the sort, don’t you know.
Lord Westmoor. We go every Christmas, and stay the night on Christmas Eve.
It’s over beyond Tavistock, on the edge of Dartmoor.
Too far to stroll back in the hopes of seein’ Flick, who wasn’t expectin’ me, even if I could have sneaked out amid all the song and dance and general merry-makin’.
Which I couldn’t. And didn’t,” he ended on a triumphant note.
Alec groaned, foreseeing the possibility of having to send someone to Tavy Bridge to check Cedric’s alibi.
“I say, now that I’ve told you, you don’t need to talk to the parents, do you? Never fear, I’ll row you back across.” He crouched to untie the painter again.
“Not so fast! I most certainly must see Mr. and Mrs. Norville, and anyone else who went with you to Lord Westmoor’s.”
“Dash it, can’t you accept a man’s word…? No, I suppose you can’t. But there’s no need to tell them why you’re askin’, is there?”
Alec considered, keeping Cedric on tenterhooks for a change. “No, for my purposes it’s probably better if they don’t know exactly what’s going on. You want to keep them in the dark?”
“No point upsettin’ the old dears over Flick and me if she’s not goin’ to marry me.”
“If I don’t explain why I want to know about your movements, they’ll surely ask you.”
“True,” Cedric said gloomily. “Oh well, I expect I’ll think up something to tell them that doesn’t bring her into it, without actually lyin’, of course.
Righty-ho, let’s get on with it. If ’twere done when ’twere done, then ’twere well ’twere done quickly, or words to that effect.
All those ’tweres, but he had it dead to rights often as not, old Shakespeare, didn’t he? Dashed clever chap. Like the Greeks.”
On that cheerful thought, Cedric set out to conduct Alec and Piper across a soggy meadow towards the lane which led to his home.
He seemed very sure of himself. Alec sighed.
“Too far” was a relative term in these days of motor cars and motor-bicycles.
Proving—or disproving—the young man’s alibi was liable to be a hell of a job.
Leaving Felicity distastefully sipping her now cold tea, Daisy paused on the landing. She wanted to go and look for Sergeant Tring, a great friend of hers. He would tell her not to worry, Alec knew how to look after himself. Or if there really was good reason to worry, he’d do something about it.
No, if there was any danger, Tom wouldn’t have let Alec go off without him.
Besides, he must be in the middle of interviewing the servants; an interruption could throw him off his stride.
What Daisy ought to do next was check the whereabouts of Belinda and Derek.
Obsessed as they were with secret drawers and passages, they might be pestering Godfrey, who had left the breakfast table in no mood to be troubled by children.
Daisy headed for the old house, through the dining room.
Dora had left and Miles had joined his uncle.
The two men were so deep in earnest conversation that they didn’t notice Daisy’s arrival until she shut the door behind her.
Then they looked up, both with glum expressions, and gave her strained smiles.
She wished she’d heard what they were discussing so unhappily.
Or rather, what they were saying about it, for the subject was surely the murder.
“Good morning, Daisy,” said Miles, beginning to stand.
“Good morning. Don’t get up. I’m just passing through, looking for the children. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“Not at all. Won’t you sit down a minute and have another cup of coffee? Uncle Vic says you went to talk to my sister.”
Though she sat down, Daisy said firmly, “I can’t tell you what Felicity said.”
“Of course not, dear lady,” said the captain.
“Wouldn’t dream of asking you. The thing is, with her young man arrested for doing in the Reverend, she’s going to need some distraction.
She has a dull enough time of it down here as it is, poor thing.
It’s all very well for a child, but a young lady needs to see a bit of life. ”
“My uncle has very generously offered to give Flick an allowance to keep her in London for a few months and buy some pretty dresses.”