Chapter 11
Dorothy opened her newspaper and turned straight to the crossword, her hand poised, pen clutched, ready to storm the first clue. She read it once, twice and then a third time before she folded the paper back and laid the pen down on top. She reached for her library book and read four pages, not really taking in a word before she closed that too and leaned back in her chair. She was thinking about Gina.
She sensed that Gina was holding on to some deep-rooted pain that went further than an imminent divorce. Dorothy was trying to convince herself that by asking Gina to find the painting, she was giving her some sort of validation of her stronger self, but really, she knew she was using her and it wasn’t sitting very well this morning. The trouble was, this meant so much to Dorothy, she was probably going to keep persuading her regardless. What she needed to do was find a way to help the woman and that had to go further than payment for a week of companionship. She liked her, she liked her a lot, and she’d like her even more if she could find that blessed painting.
There was a knock at the door then and Gina appeared with a tray of breakfast things.
‘Morning,’ Gina said brightly.
This surprised Dorothy because if she wasn’t mistaken Gina had been a bit drunk the night before. She walked across the room and Dorothy moved the newspaper and library book so that Gina could lay the tray on the table.
‘You don’t look well at all,’ Dorothy told her as Gina sat down heavily in the chair opposite.
‘I’m not feeling that wonderful to be honest. Whatever was in that drink hit me quite hard. I should never have drunk it. It was very unprofessional of me. God knows what your family thought of the help getting tipsy.’
Dorothy laughed and began pouring the tea from the pot into the two cups. Then she added a lump of sugar to Gina’s and handed it to her.
‘Who cares what they think; in fact, it’s genius really. You said that Leonard thinks you’re an idiot, well, now he thinks you’re a lush too.’
Gina did not return Dorothy’s laughter; instead she buried her face into her hands.
‘Mine wasn’t strong at all,’ Dorothy continued. ‘I had three and I feel fine.’
‘I don’t really remember getting back to the house. Did I see you upstairs?’ said Gina.
‘Yes, but you weren’t making an awful lot of sense and you did stumble outside on the steps.’
‘There’s a huge blank space between the dinner in the maze and me waking up this morning. I think that I must have been topped up and hadn’t realised,’ Gina said. ‘I’m not a big drinker.’
‘Neither am I. It’s very odd,’ Dorothy said, narrowing her eyes.
Gina drank some of her tea and grimaced at the sugar.
‘You may not usually take your tea sweet, but I think this morning should be an exception.’
Gina nodded and drained her sugary drink, then sat staring into the bottom of the cup.
‘I’ve just remembered that Harry was watching me as I went into my bedroom last night,’ she said.
‘Perhaps he was concerned that you were wobbly and decided to make sure you got back to your room safely.’
‘I might have thought the same, except he’d been the one pouring the drinks,’ Gina said.
‘Did you see him when you got the breakfast tray?’ Dorothy asked, lifting the lid on her bacon and eggs and offering it over to Gina, while she started on the yogurt and fruit.
‘No, it was just there in the kitchen with your name next to it. I think I must have just missed him because it was still hot. Perhaps he was coming back to bring it up to you, but I got there first,’ Gina said and then her phone began ringing in her pocket.
‘Douglas again,’ she said, but she didn’t answer it.
‘I was thinking, what you said about your husband last night and what he wrote in his letter. I was rather quick to dismiss him as another flaky man keen to revisit his youth and abandon his responsibilities, but you said he’d needed to find himself and that he wondered what was the point. Do you think he could be having some sort of breakdown?’
Dorothy watched Gina as her expression changed from one of surprise to one of contemplation.
‘I don’t honestly know. I haven’t really had much of a conversation with him since he packed up and went on his retreat. He popped in to get some of his things and left before I’d plucked up the courage to ask questions.’
‘You needed to pluck up the courage to ask why your marriage was over?’ Dorothy asked in surprise and Gina shrugged, looking a little embarrassed.
‘He’s left a message,’ Gina said glancing down at her phone and then she pressed play, seemingly not bothered that Dorothy could hear it too because the sound of a man’s voice suddenly filled the room.
‘Georgina, it’s me. I realised I don’t know where you are. You didn’t actually say; I’m not sure why. You need to phone me to let me know. There might also be some news on the house. So, I’ll speak to you soon then.’
‘Perhaps he’s bored of Little Miss Maidenhead already,’ Gina said quietly, turning the phone over in her hand.
‘Sorry?’ Dorothy said, amused and confused.
‘Oh, it doesn’t matter. I’m just being silly, probably. I should phone him back and let him know where I am. He doesn’t like being in the dark about things.’
‘Did he let you know where he was going when he went off to his spa thingy?’ Dorothy asked, suddenly feeling a little less generous towards the man.
‘Well, no he didn’t but…’
‘We should probably get ready for the day, don’t you think? I’m not horse riding – I can tell you that for nothing. You won’t get this nearly-ninety-year-old carcass up onto a horse,’ Dorothy said, looking pointedly at Gina until she slid her phone back into her pocket.
‘I did wonder,’ Gina said, ‘if we could both get out of it and with Leonard out of the house, I could have a little search?’
‘That, my dear,’ Dorothy said, ‘is music to my ears.’
Dorothy wasn’t at all surprised to learn that Leonard had stables in the grounds of Walstone Hall. It wouldn’t have come as a huge shock to find he had a theme park hiding in a grove somewhere too. He had everything, it seemed, but not a special person to share it with. Dorothy wondered about that as she and Gina took a slow walk through the kitchen garden towards the stables.
‘He’s never been married, you know,’ Dorothy said, nodding towards Leonard who was striding ahead of them with the others scurrying in his wake.
‘He’d have to find someone to tolerate him, perhaps he hasn’t yet,’ Gina said.
‘I can see you’re on board with my way of thinking; good girl,’ Dorothy said, with a grin. ‘The thing is he can be quite charming when you first meet him. Philip was very taken with him at the start. You might not think so now with all his showboating and bluster, but when he was younger, or even now, when you take away all of this, he can capture you. I’ve fallen for it in the past, I don’t mind saying.’
‘Dorothy, you’re very close to complimenting him,’ Gina said.
‘Please don’t misunderstand – the fault lies with me for being taken in and anyway, it’s been many years now that I’ve considered him the most deceitful man I’ve ever met.’
‘How did Caroline and Toby meet?’ Gina asked.
‘At a party, at my house, actually,’ Dorothy said. ‘It was our sixty-fifth wedding anniversary, a couple of years ago, and Philip arranged a group of our friends and family to come. We had a lovely time, with wonderful food, music and were able to spread out into the garden, the weather was so nice.’
‘Your house would be a fabulous place for a party,’ Gina agreed.
‘We have had many parties over the years; we’ve been very lucky,’ Dorothy said as they turned onto a lane leading to the stables. Even though the others were out of sight now, the distinctive scent of hay, leather and manure reached her and told her they were heading in the right direction. ‘Leonard turned up out of the blue with Caroline. We thought we’d finally shaken him off, but he arrived uninvited with his niece in tow and a magnum of the finest champagne in his hand. He said he was passing and wanted to congratulate us both, that Caroline was staying with him for a week and she wanted to accompany him.’
‘So, an unlikely Norfolk to Hampton drive-by?’ Gina said.
‘Yes, exactly. Philip and I hadn’t discussed with anyone how irritating Leonard had become at that point. I think Philip was a bit embarrassed to have lost a couple of art pieces at auction to Leonard’s outbidding and didn’t want to talk about it, so everyone still thought of him as Philip’s old mentee, his trusted ex-partner. Well, Toby and Caroline hit it off and became inseparable, pretty much straight away. Then it was only a month after, that the art competition started. I did wonder if someone at that party mentioned it to Leonard and once he knew Philip was involved, he decided to enter it himself. It does seem such a shame that Caroline was with him that day. I can’t see another time when Toby would have met her. I mean, she is lovely and they are so well suited, but we will forever have to be associated with Leonard Price.’
‘Have you thought about the repercussions of him being found guilty, the ripples through the family?’ Gina said, her voice suddenly so low and controlled that Dorothy turned to her in surprise. ‘It can have devastating consequences.’
‘Are you saying that I should let a criminal go unchecked so we can all continue to play happy families?’
‘Absolutely not. I’m just saying, prepare yourself for the inevitable fallout.’
Gina looked so stony-faced all of a sudden that Dorothy wanted to find out what was behind that expression and what had motivated her to ask the question, but they were at the stables and in earshot of the others, so she stored it away to ask later.
‘Ready to saddle up, ladies?’ Leonard asked in a bright and cheerful voice, which made Dorothy grind her teeth.
‘Dorothy isn’t riding and as her companion I will stay with her, and I think we’re going to take a walk in your lovely garden,’ Gina said.
‘Well, you’re missing out,’ he said, bluntly.
‘Our loss, then,’ Gina replied and walked past him into the stables.
Leonard was standing with Paul and they began discussing who was to have which horse. Paul was dressed simply in jeans and a navy T-shirt with a pair of old trainers on his feet, but Leonard had full-on riding gear. He looked like someone who was about to go on a hunt with white riding jodhpurs and a long-tailed red jacket. Dorothy wondered if he knew he looked ridiculous, but judging by the way he conducted himself, she imagined he was actually very happy with his appearance. She bit down on her tongue to stop herself from telling him and followed Gina.
The smell of hay and hoof oil, of leather and horses hit her more intensely as she walked inside the stables. The building was huge with space for several horses, but most of the animals were tied up outside their stalls while stable hands tacked them up. Gina had walked across to a chestnut mare and asked if it was okay to stroke it. The young lad looked up at her from where he was buckling up the saddle.
‘Yeah, she’s very friendly,’ he said and Dorothy watched as Gina extended her arm cautiously until she made contact with the horse’s soft nose.
‘Such beautiful, gentle creatures,’ she said and the stable lad laughed.
‘She is gentle, but she’s called Lawnmower.’
‘Lawnmower?’ Dorothy said, thinking that this horse deserved a more fitting name for her majestic frame.
‘Yeah, because with the wrong rider, she’ll spend the whole time with her head down munching the grass.’
‘Ah, she needs a firm hand then. Maybe Juliet could handle her,’ Gina said, as Juliet herself walked their way. ‘Think we may have the horse for you.’
Juliet ran her hand along Lawnmower’s side and then patted her.
‘I think we’ll get along fine,’ she said.
‘Do you know much about horses?’ Dorothy asked Gina as they stood together watching as riders were allocated animals and the group organised themselves.
‘I used to ride with my brother. Our neighbour had two horses and we would help look after them and in turn were allowed to take them out. It was a great arrangement for us all.’
‘Does your brother live near you?’
‘No,’ Gina said, seemingly surprised by the question. ‘He still lives in America. I don’t see him very much.’
‘Oh, you lived in the States?’ Dorothy said.
‘After we left Bushy Park, we moved to Seattle when I was nine until I was fifteen. My father was American.’
‘How interesting. What made you move back?’
‘I moved back with my mother only. My brother was older and wanted to stay. It’s a bit complicated and I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind,’ Gina said, quietly.
‘Of course, I don’t mind at all,’ said Dorothy, who minded very much indeed.
Dorothy followed Gina back outside and then noticed that Harry was with Leonard while he prepared himself to ride. She was sure he hadn’t been walking with the group. He was saying something to Leonard, which made the man raise his eyebrows in response.
‘Harry turning up when you least expect him again,’ Dorothy said quietly in Gina’s ear. ‘I’ve never seen a chef so often out of the kitchen.’
The horses looked a little restless by the time they were all ready and then they were off in convoy. Dorothy saw that Leonard looked back at them a couple of times before the group rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight. His expression was dark.
‘Can I offer you both a lift back to the house?’ Harry said, walking over to them.
Dorothy opened her mouth to say that they would be fine to walk, but Gina got in there first.
‘That would be kind,’ she said. ‘I have an awful headache.’
They didn’t talk in the car even though Dorothy kept forming questions in her head that she wanted to ask Harry. He was the closest person to Leonard, it seemed, and would perhaps know a lot about the goings-on in Walstone Hall. The trouble was, all of her questions seemed too obvious and she could hardly ask him straight out where the painting was. Then they were back at the house anyway and the opportunity was gone. Harry dropped them off at the side door and both women thanked him before climbing out and watching him drive away. Dorothy turned to Gina, her eyes alight.
‘Right,’ she said. ‘I think we have a good couple of hours, so let’s get to it.’
‘Do you really think this is a good idea? I think I’ve lost my nerve,’ Gina said, and it wasn’t lost on Dorothy that she looked a bit pale.
‘If I could do it myself, I promise you, I would, but your mind is sharper. It won’t seem odd that you’re scurrying around on errands for me and to be honest, the stairs are a bugger. We may not get another opportunity like this. He’s out, everyone is out and it’s a great chance to have a look in his bedroom.’
Dorothy suppressed a shudder at that thought. She didn’t want Gina to know how abhorrent the idea of being in Leonard’s bedroom was to her. Hopefully it would be hanging directly above his bed and Gina could just hook it off the wall, job done.
‘His bedroom! You didn’t say anything about his bedroom. I’m not going in there.’
‘You only have to pop your head around the door. He won’t be in there. Please, Gina. You can be in and out in seconds. We may not get another opportunity.’
She watched as Gina mentally tried to talk herself into it and recognised the moment she succeeded when her face hardened. At that point, Dorothy knew how much she was asking of this quiet woman and felt another stab of guilt.
‘Right, well, I think that I’d prefer it if you positioned yourself somewhere with a good view for anyone coming back early and with a fully charged phone this time.’ Gina looked at her pointedly.
‘You’re right – we don’t need a repeat of last time,’ Dorothy said, smiling gratefully.
‘Perhaps if you sit in the drawing room, you’ll be able to see across the kitchen gardens, towards the stables. This is assuming they’ll all take the same route back. I’ll start upstairs and have a poke about, then I’ll come and check in with you. Hopefully the staff will be thin on the ground this morning, but I’ll have to come up with a convincing story if I come across anyone. Harry seems to get about the house quite a bit and the grounds too. Not quite sure why that would be.’
‘I think that Leonard has a team working for him and I don’t just mean to run this house. I think that he has a team supporting all of his criminal endeavours,’ Dorothy said.
‘Do you think that he’s committed more than the crime against your husband?’
‘I think he’s a criminal mastermind,’ Dorothy said.
‘I’d not stretch to mastermind, personally, but like you said, he’s not to be underestimated,’ Gina said. ‘What’s the expression? Believe someone the first time they reveal themselves to you. The first time I saw Leonard, I have to be honest, I felt quite a chill with just one of his looks.’
‘Exactly! Keep hold of that thought.’
‘Keep hold of that thought while I’m going through his bedroom?’
‘Yes,’ Dorothy said uncertainly as they made their way to the drawing room.
‘I do know this is a lot to ask,’ she said as she settled herself into the window seat. She could see out across the kitchen gardens, along the sheds and greenhouses, where they’d not long ago walked.
‘As I said before, I’ll do this as long as I feel comfortable, but if that changes then I’ll have to stop.’
‘Absolutely,’ Dorothy said and watched as Gina took a long breath in and then left the room. She took her phone out of her handbag, checked it was on and that it had some life in it and then left it on the seat next to her where she took furtive glances at it before settling to her post as lookout. She crossed her fingers that Gina would be successful.