Chapter 13 #3
Mrs. Mannering, our host’s married daughter, noticed. “Edward,” she said pointedly to the younger brother sitting beside me, “I hear Miss Bainbridge and Miss Fox attended a show at the Piccadilly Playhouse the other night. You have an interest in the theater.”
Edward politely turned to me, even though I suspected he wanted to continue to listen to his father tell Uncle Ronald about the new motoring venture he was considering investing in. “What are they showing at the Playhouse these days?”
“Cat and Mouse.”
“Ah, the doomed production.” He waggled his eyebrows in what he must think was a mysterious manner.
“Why doomed?”
“The lead actress died. Some say it’s now cursed.”
Mrs. Mannering leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I hear her ghost haunts the dress circle.”
Flossy’s eyes widened. “I didn’t see her, and we were in one of the boxes.”
“Those are excellent seats,” Mrs. Mannering said. “Perhaps the ghost avoids the boxes.”
Edward picked up his wine glass. “What did you think of the show, Miss Fox?”
He seemed to be only half listening as I gave him my review so I cut it short. “It was quite good, although I think a ghostly presence will add to it. I’m not sure if the actors would appreciate a phantom’s presence, however.”
“It’ll need something sensational to improve ticket sales. I hear there was a flurry of interest after Miss Westwood died, but that’s dwindling again. It’s a shame. The show’s season will end early.”
“Will they put on something else?” Flossy asked.
“Will they be prepared with something else?” Mrs. Mannering countered. “It can’t be easy having to pivot mid-season.”
Edward sliced into his beef. “They’ll need to do something or risk closing the Playhouse’s doors forever. Or at least until a new financial backer can be found.”
I frowned. I was beginning to suspect his “interest” in the Playhouse, as Mrs. Mannering called it, was a financial one, not artistic. “It’s in trouble?”
He nodded but I had to wait for him to finish chewing before he answered.
“The manager banks with Father. He’s mortgaged to the hilt.
If Cat and Mouse ends early, and he can’t put on something else, he’ll have to walk away, having lost everything.
He can’t afford to stay when the rent is so high and there’s no money coming in. He’ll go bankrupt.”
Poor Mr. Culpepper. It was no wonder Pearl hadn’t asked him for money despite being in a relationship with him. She knew he didn’t have any to spare.
The evening wore on, but it improved after Mrs. Mannering forced her brothers to talk about topics other than finance. Indeed, they proved to be quite good company and we talked about all sorts of things once the men rejoined the women in the drawing room after they’d finished smoking.
The clock on the mantelpiece struck one, just as I laughed at something Edward said.
I caught sight of Uncle Ronald, Sir Lawrence and Lady Caldicott watching me, smiling curiously.
Beside Lady Caldicott sat Aunt Lilian, staring into the middle distance.
With her arms tucked into her sides and her fingers clasped together on her lap, she appeared to be holding herself together.
I sat on her other side. “Are you all right, Aunt?”
She touched her temple. “It’s just one of my headaches.”
I met my uncle’s gaze. “Perhaps we should go.”
“No,” Aunt Lilian said. “You young ones are having such a lovely time. Don’t worry about me. It’s nothing.” She offered a smile, but no one was convinced.
Uncle Ronald rose and put out his hand to his wife to assist her to her feet. “Cleo’s right, we should go.”
Lady Caldicott took my hand, trapping me on the sofa. “You look so much like your aunt when she was younger, although that’s where the resemblance ends. You’re not like her in character. She tells me you’re a lot like your mother though.”
“So I’m told.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Your uncle is very proud of you. He couldn’t stop praising you. Apparently you speak Italian.”
I laughed. “Good lord, no. Not fluently.”
“Edward is going to Italy this year for his Grand Tour. Perhaps you can teach him a few words, and when he comes back, he can tell you all about his adventures.”
Oh dear. The trap was opening up before me and I needed to do a quick sidestep to avoid it. Fortunately, I was saved by Floyd offering me his hand.
“Come along, Cleo.”
In the hall, he assisted me into my cloak. With his hands on my shoulders and his mouth near my ear, I could smell the alcohol on his breath. “You’re welcome,” he whispered.
“I didn’t need saving,” I whispered back.
“Oh? So you’re quite happy to have her as a mother-in-law?”
“I wouldn’t let it get that far.”
“Sweet, na?ve, Cuz. You have no idea how quickly these things can escalate. It begins as an innocent meeting, as a result of politeness to one’s hostess, and ends with a walk down the aisle.
If you’re as determined to avoid the matrimonial noose as you say you are, then you need to be alert when mothers are around. Trust me, I know.”
Edward approached, frowning. “What are you two conspiring about?”
Floyd fussed over my cloak, smoothing his hand over the wrinkles at my shoulder. “I’m just giving Cleo some advice.”
“Financial advice?” Edward took my hand and bowed over it. “Please feel free to come to me at any time if you require advice of that nature, Miss Fox. I’d be happy to guide you.”
“Oh, er, thank you,” I managed to say.
Floyd shook Edward’s hand. “Very good of you to offer. Considering Cleo doesn’t intend to marry, she’ll probably value your advice. A woman alone needs to plan for her future. Isn’t that right?”
Edward was rendered speechless, which I suspected was Floyd’s intention.
My cousin steered me outside after my aunt and uncle. “Aren’t you glad I rescued you now?”
He assisted me into the carriage then helped Flossy in too. Once we were all settled and the carriage on its way, Floyd released a deep sigh. “Thank God they eventually stopped talking about money and investing. I was beginning to think they lived and breathed the bank.”
“Is there something wrong with that?” his father barked. “You could learn a thing or two from the Caldicott boys.”
“Like how to bore a woman in five minutes?” Floyd snorted.
My aunt winced and closed her eyes.
My uncle’s eyes flashed like cold steel in the lamplight. “Like how not to ruin your future.”
Edward Caldicott’s opinion of the Piccadilly Playhouse’s financial predicament was the first thing on my mind when I awoke the following morning.
Even though I’d vowed I was giving up the investigation, it seemed I wanted to continue.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Mr. Culpepper’s situation.
If things were as dire as Edward claimed, then Mr. Culpepper was in no position to assist Pearl if she asked him for money.
Did Pearl know and not bother to ask? Or did she go to her long-time lover first before calling on Lord Wrexham?
But why would she go to Mr. Culpepper first if he wasn’t the father of Millie?
Unless he was.
There was one easy way of finding out.
After breakfast, I asked Frank where the General Register Office was located.
He hailed a cab for me, and I headed to Somerset House on The Strand where the records of the country’s births, deaths and marriages were housed in the imposing building.
After giving one of the many clerks stationed at the counter my request, it took over two hours before I finally got my hands on Millie’s birth certificate.
Pearl was listed as the mother under her real name of Eleanor, as I expected. The father’s name, however, had me re-thinking everything. It wasn’t Lord Wrexham, but Mr. Culpepper, after all.
If Pearl was with both men at the time, she couldn’t have been absolutely sure who’d fathered Millie, but it was telling that she chose to list Culpepper over Wrexham.
The choice she’d made almost four years ago was one thing, but the choice she’d made recently was quite another.
She’d chosen to tell Lord Wrexham that he was Millie’s father in the hope he’d give her money.
But it seemed just as likely that she’d gone to Millie’s father first.
Mr. Culpepper had lied to me. He must have known Millie was his daughter.
If he’d lied about that, what else had he lied about? Pushing Pearl over the balcony after discovering she’d kept Millie from him all these years? Or because he didn’t want to pay her money for supporting the child? Or had he finally snapped out of sheer jealousy over her other lovers?
He had the motive and the opportunity. He’d arrived at the scene of her death quickly. After Pearl’s deathly scream, he’d been seen emerging from the fire exit which gave direct access to the dress circle balcony.
I had to confront him, but I’d be a fool to do it alone.