Chapter 2 Crossed in Love #2
At the sound of a knock, I set down the letter. My butler stood in the doorway to the study. “What is it, Slade?”
“A Mr. Notley is here to see you, sir.” Slade strode to me and handed over a card, which identified the caller as a Bow Street runner. The man must be investigating Mrs. Cooper’s murder.
“Bring him here.”
“Yes, sir.”
My neighbour Mrs. Cooper, a fifty-year-old widow, had been strangled on Thursday evening. The constable, Mr. Clark, had questioned me yesterday in accordance with his official inquiry.
I stood from my desk as Slade announced the runner, a thin, blond man in his fourth decade. My hand lifted towards a chair. “Have a seat, Mr. Notley.” Slade closed the door behind the officer and departed.
“Thank you, Mr. Darcy.” He sat and removed a notebook and pencil from his coat pocket.
When he accepted my offer of brandy, I poured him a glass and took the opportunity to refill my own.
He took a sip of the liquor and opened his notebook to a blank page.
“As you may have surmised, I am investigating the murder of Mrs. Cooper that occurred two nights ago.”
“Yes, Mr. Clark called here yesterday. As I told him, I rarely spoke with Mrs. Cooper and have no idea who may have wanted to harm her.”
“Mr. Clark provided me with his notes from your interview. The coroner completed his exam yesterday. Based upon the ligature marks on Mrs. Cooper’s neck, he believes the killer strangled her with a length of cloth, possibly a cravat.
” He held me in an intent gaze. “Mrs. Cooper has been your nearest neighbour for decades. May I ask why you had such a distant association with her?”
I toyed with the silver buttons on my sleeve. It would not do to disparage the dead, yet I should be honest. “I found Mrs. Cooper to be narrow-minded and spiteful, so I avoided her whenever possible.”
Mr. Notley nodded. “You are not the first to describe her in such terms. There is also the matter of the past accusation of theft levelled against her. Are you familiar with the incident?”
“Yes, the newspapers chronicled the events, including her trial.” Mrs. Cooper had been reported for the theft of a ruby brooch by a jeweller in Piccadilly.
Despite her eventual acquittal, I had found the jeweller’s version of the episode to be more credible than Mrs. Cooper’s testimony, wherein she maintained that she had forgotten to set the brooch down before leaving the shop.
Some years ago, Mrs. Cooper and several other ladies had taken tea at the home of my aunt Lady Matlock.
After the guests had departed, the butler noticed a miniature porcelain figure of a horse had disappeared from the drawing-room.
This preceded the jewellery shop incident, but one of my aunt’s friends had experienced a similar loss after Mrs. Cooper had attended a gathering at her house.
Thereafter, my aunt never again sent an invitation to Mrs. Cooper and suffered no further thefts.
Mr. Notley glanced at his notebook. “According to Mrs. Cooper’s cousin who resides in Chelsea, Mrs. Cooper made a new acquaintance in the month before her death, a gentleman by the name of Mr. James King who owns an estate in Norwich.
Mr. King approached Mrs. Cooper in a shop on Bond Street.
He declared himself to be a friend of her late husband and maintained they had met long ago. ”
He shifted his feet forwards. “Do you have any knowledge of this man?”
“No, I do not, and the name is not familiar.” I drank from my glass.
“That is a pity. Mrs. Cooper’s butler confirmed that Mr. King dined at the house the night of her murder.
She had dismissed most of the servants for the evening, so no one saw him leave before a passing maid discovered her body.
It is imperative that I speak to him, but thus far, he has proved to be difficult to find. ”
It sounded like Mr. King might be the killer. “I hope you are able to question him.”
“That is our intention.”
“Do you know who benefits from Mrs. Cooper’s death?”
“Yes, she has three nephews who will share her estate. The two eldest were out of town on Thursday. The youngest has been described as a ne’er do well. However, a lady friend has provided him with an alibi.”
“Have you any other suspects?”
“Not as yet. We cannot discount the possibility that she encountered a burglar who became violent.”
“Is any property missing from her house?”
“Yes, two items. A valuable porcelain vase in a blue floral pattern from the front sitting-room and the necklace Mrs. Cooper had worn that evening—a jade pendant in the shape of a rose on a gold chain.”
“I see.”
Mr. Notley gulped down the remainder of the brandy and set the glass upon the rosewood table. “Well, I appreciate your cooperation. Depending on what information comes to light between now and the inquest, I may wish to speak with you again.”
“I have no objection, but I shall be in Hertfordshire on the sixth and seventh of September, and afterwards, I shall be staying with a friend near Salisbury in Wiltshire.”
He scribbled in his notebook. “Very well. I shall bear that in mind.”
After Mr. Notley departed, I quit the study and followed the sounds of a sombre sonata to the music-room.
Since our return from Ramsgate in mid-July, my sister, Georgiana, had suffered from depressed spirits.
Despite my best efforts, I had been unable to coax her into a more positive outlook; rather, she tended to avoid me.
I stayed near the doorway and took in the scene before me: Mrs. Annesley, the companion I had hired two weeks before, stood to Georgiana’s right as my sister played. When the lady interrupted my sister to make a correction, I approached them. “Pardon me.”
Whereas Georgiana acknowledged my presence with a nod before lowering her head, Mrs. Annesley started and spun towards me with a smile. “Oh, good day, Mr. Darcy.”
“Good day, Mrs. Annesley. I should like to speak with my sister. Would you mind waiting for her in the library?”
“No, not at all.” The prim, middle-aged lady used a soft tone. She left the room, shutting the door behind her.
“Georgiana, let us sit together.” I gestured to the seating area behind us. Without a glance towards me, she rose and ambled to the sofa. I sat beside her.
How could I ease her pain? She had believed herself to be in love with Wickham.
The wretched reprobate had been my childhood friend until his dishonest nature became clear to me, and after I had covered hundreds of pounds of his debts.
My sister would have eloped with the rogue had I not made a surprise visit to our house in Ramsgate.
Once his plan had been foiled, Wickham had admitted his ruse and spouted a deluge of vitriol, crushing Georgiana’s tender sensibilities and breaking her heart.
My sister had been further betrayed by Mrs. Younge, the conniving companion I had hired.
The woman and Wickham had conspired in this scheme with the object of obtaining Georgiana’s fortune.
Mrs. Younge had been dismissed without reference.
I had threatened to have Wickham thrown in debtors’ prison if he ever crossed my or my sister’s path again.
According to the servant I directed to follow Wickham’s activities, he had found employment assisting a surgeon at a seaside town in Wales.
I adjusted my seat towards her. “What do you think of Mrs. Annesley?”
Her sight remained upon her lap, where she brushed her skirt in a zig-zag motion. “She is kind. I like her.”
“That is good to hear.” I suppressed a sigh. My sister would not so much as look at me. “If you ever have a concern with regard to her, I want you to tell me at once.”
“Yes, I shall.”
“It pains me to see you so down, dearest. What may I do to help you?”
Her chin dipped lower. “There is nothing you could do or say to change what happened.”
“Nevertheless, I hope you will rally soon. You have not left the house since we arrived in town. Shall we take the horses to Hyde Park tomorrow morning?”
“No, I…I do not wish to go.”
“Why not?”
“I cannot help but feel that anyone who sees me will know my shame.”
A twinge pierced my chest. “What do you mean? You assured me that Wickham never harmed you.”
“He did nothing beyond kisses, yet I had become devoted to him. I should have agreed to anything he asked of me. Mrs. Younge left us alone for hours at a time. If he had wanted to take my virginity…if he had asked me to agree, I should have done so. He could have ruined me.” Sobs interrupted her speech.
“I am tainted. I am no better than a harlot!”
“That is not true.” I gathered her in my arms. She stiffened at first, then melted against me.
“No honourable gentleman will ever want me now.”
“Hush, my dear. You are human, that is all, and you never should have been left in Mrs. Younge’s care. That woman fooled me, and to my regret, you paid the price for my mistake.”
“I knew better than to agree to an elopement. But Mrs. Younge and Mr. Wickham made the plan sound so romantic. I did not want to disappoint them.”
“They are both despicable. In any case, I have no doubt you will make a fine match one day, but I hope that will not happen for many years. It will be a difficult day for me when you leave.”
Her head lifted from my shoulder. “But…I must have made you ashamed. Are you not eager to be rid of me?”
“No! How could you think that? You are the most important person in my life.”
My sister snuffled. “I am sorry for causing you so much trouble.”
“You have no need to apologise.” With a final pat on her back, I released her.
“I suppose Mrs. Younge fooled us both.”
“Yes, she did. Wickham, too, deceived me many times before I broke ties with him. He would apologise and tell me he had changed, and I wanted to believe him. He is a gifted liar. I understand why you accepted his words as truth.”
“You need not be concerned about Mrs. Annesley. She is the opposite of Mrs. Younge in every way.”