A Fatal Freedom (50 page)

As she climbed the stairs to the
Maison Rose
’s salon, Ursula mulled over the details Jackman had given her the previous Wednesday.

After he had enquired if she had recovered from Mrs Bruton’s attack, he gave her the news that the woman had been arrested and charged. ‘Confronted with the certificate of her marriage to Joshua Peters, she collapsed and confessed all,’ he told Ursula. ‘She is apparently now a broken woman.’

Then he had taken some highly coloured brochures out of an inside pocket. ‘When I went down to Peters’ study the evening we were looking for the key to his safe, I remembered seeing these in the front drawer the first time I searched the desk.’ He handed Ursula the leaflets. ‘They are sales pitches for what looks like some highly desirable yachts. And in the top corner there’s a scribbled name: Meyer-something-or-other. At the time it seemed irrelevant; I had never heard of your count. However, now it seems obvious that the name is Meyerhoff. I went back to the shipping office and spoke to Martin Roberts, Peters’ partner.’

‘A yacht,’ murmured Ursula. ‘Why should he want a yacht? Austria is land-locked.’

‘Roberts told me Meyerhoff used their company to ship ingredients for his beauty salon’s preparations. And that he bought a yacht through them. He also told me that the count had taken possession of it but owes them a considerable amount of money on the deal. As to why he might want a sailing boat, wasn’t it you who suggested he might be a spy? If he is, maybe he needs a quick escape route. Roberts would dearly like to know where it is currently berthed. He wants to serve a possession notice on it.’

‘So Albert could have been dunning the count for what was owing, rather than blackmailing him,’ said Ursula.

‘We don’t know,’ said Jackman. ‘You’ve been involved with the salon accounts, any clue there as to how much money is around?’

‘The beauty side of the business is quite successful but weighed down with all the personal expenses the Count and Madame Rose charge to it.’ She thought for a moment. ‘There has been talk of patrons investing money in the business but I have not seen an account for such capital sums.’

Mrs Bruton had not invested in the beauty salon but there would be others who had taken a financial interest.

Hilda Ferguson opened the door to her. ‘Oh, Miss Grandison! Come in. We are in a bit of a state, I’m afraid. Madame Rose, look who is here.’

The beautician was seated at the little table where she examined clients, a large notebook in front of her, her hands folded on top of it, her face a mask.

‘I know it is not one of my days,’ Ursula said hastily. ‘I wanted to apologise for not being able to come last week.’

She might not have spoken.

‘He’s gone,’ said Madame Rose.

Hilda Ferguson slipped her arm round the beautician. ‘We will survive,’ she said stoutly.

Madame buried her face in her hands. ‘He’s taken everything.’

Ursula wondered if she had heard aright. ‘You mean Count Meyerhoff has gone? Disappeared?’

Madame Rose dropped her hands. ‘He had hoped Madame Bruton would invest. Then your letter came and told she is in prison. He said that was that and there were no more possibilities for investors.’

‘But to disappear!’ Ursula could not make sense of this – unless: ‘Is it because he’s a spy and been discovered?’

‘A spy? How can you think that? A spy – who for?’

‘For Germany?’ suggested Ursula weakly. ‘I know he went to the naval dockyards at Chat-ham.’ She broke the name into two, the way she had heard the count do. ‘The English think Germany wants to invade.’

‘Julius went to see an investor who lived at Chat-ham. My heavens, Julius a spy!’ She broke into a coarse laugh. ‘All Julius cares for is money. Not Austria, not Germany, not me! Not us!’

‘We have been to see the bank manager,’ said Hilda, sinking into the chair opposite Madame Rose. ‘He has taken everything …’

Ursula brought over another chair and joined the two women. ‘Please, you must tell me everything.’ Gradually she managed to piece the story together.

The count had left the previous Wednesday. At first Madame had had no suspicions. Then, on the Thursday they discovered all his things had gone, together with his personal servant. That was when Madame Rose had gone to the bank. There she discovered that both
Maison Rose
accounts, the day-to-day one for cheques and expenses and a special one for capital sums from investors, had been closed.

‘He asked for bankers’ drafts,’ said Hilda bitterly.

Not only that, but Madame had found that all the cheques Ursula had drawn up to pay their bills had been converted by the count into his own name and paid into his personal account. Ursula remembered that though she had inserted all the payment cheques into their envelopes, the routine had been for them to be placed on a table in the office for a servant to take to the post.

‘Everything we have worked for has gone!’ said Hilda.

‘Do you have any idea where the count would disappear to?’

Madame sighed bitterly. ‘Once, we discuss plans for expanding, opening a new salon, Julius said he dreamed of sailing across the Atlantic in his own boat and building an empire in America. He said that that was where the money was and we should look in that direction.’

‘I wonder he didn’t start there,’ said Ursula.

‘He said London was where he had contacts. Rich society ladies he had met in Vienna and other capital cities.’

Ursula wondered if there was any chance of intercepting the count’s yacht before it reached America. Then realised that would be a hopeless task. He had a wide choice of possible American cities to aim for.

‘You have built a fine reputation here in a very short time,’ said Ursula. ‘Could you not continue? Put all your investors in the picture and say you will work to build up enough money to make their investment pay? You make a very good team.’ She looked from Madame to Hilda Ferguson.

Then she took out the letter they had found in Joshua Peters’ safe and placed it on the table. ‘Nobody knows who wrote this,’ she said to Madame. ‘Nobody can use it against you.’

The beautician looked inside the blank envelope and for a moment closed her eyes. Then she said, ‘Thank you, Miss Grandison.’

Before she left
Maison Rose
, Ursula agreed to continue organising the accounts while Madame explored the possibility of continuing with the beauty salon.

By the time Ursula reached Montagu Place, it was late morning. Sarah answered the door. ‘Mrs Peters is not at home,’ she said.

Ursula took out a card and scribbled a note on the reverse. ‘Perhaps you would be good enough to give her this,’ she said.

The maid left Ursula in the hall and a moment later Alice appeared and embraced her. ‘I am about to have a light luncheon, you must join me.’

It had taken a little time for Mrs Bruton to be charged with the two murders and for Alice to be released. Immediately she had written to Ursula thanking her for all her help.

‘Oh, it is wonderful to see you again,’ she said and sat Ursula in a chair next to hers. She was still far too thin but her eyes were shining and her face had colour. ‘I had begun to despair of ever escaping from my prison cell.’

‘How is Daniel?’ Ursula looked around the room, half expecting the young man to be there as well.

‘He is fine! He has been commissioned to write an article on Mr Bernard Shaw, the playwright and critic and today he is doing research for it.’

‘That’s wonderful!’

‘He seems to think it could be the first of many such commissions, I do so hope he is right.’

‘Are you still thinking of leaving the country, Alice?’

She nodded. ‘I have to sell this house. Joshua left nothing but debts. Once they and the mortgage have been paid, there will be very little left.’

‘What about your jewellery?’

Alice sighed. ‘I took it to the jewellers, Garrard’s, on Friday. They almost laughed. Apparently they are all paste copies – and they had supplied them! Joshua’s story was they were for security. He must, though, have sold the originals. Garrard’s were kind, they said their copies did have a certain value but it is not high. Only my dear mother’s locket is real.’ She put a hand to her neck and Ursula recognised the little gold heart-shaped piece Alice had worn while staying at Mrs Maple’s.

‘I may well be delivered of this precious child before everything has been sorted.’ Alice gently touched her swelling womb. ‘Afterwards, when the house has been sold and Joshua’s estate finalised, then Daniel and I will marry and decide where we shall live.’

‘If your destination is to be America, I shall be delighted to give you some addresses. And what about Rachel? Are you pleased with her engagement?’

Alice laughed ruefully. ‘John Pitney is delightful. I only hope he can accept my sister’s managing ways. I dearly love her but there are times …’

Sarah came in to announce that luncheon was on the table.

Over cold meats and fruit, Ursula asked if Alice had taken back Millie as her maid.

Alice shook her head. ‘I could not trust her. I am sorry for we dealt very well together. At the moment Sarah is assisting me to dress and do my hair. I may well take her on as my maid permanently.’

Ursula could not blame her for this decision. ‘Millie is a resourceful girl, I am sure she will manage,’ she said.

‘I have given her a good reference, explaining that I am retiring from social life and have no further need of her.’

‘Forgive me for what I am about to ask but now that your husband’s activities as a blackmailer are known, would you be willing to say how you found out what he was doing? For surely that was why you wrote those things in your diary that meant you were arrested for his murder?’

Alice looked down at the pear she was peeling and for a moment Ursula thought that she would not answer. Then she pushed away the plate.

‘I think you deserve to know. It is a very, very sad story. I had a close friend, Irene. Her husband was a fine man but dull. Even I, who had known him from childhood, had to concede that. They had a daughter, a darling girl. When she was about five, Irene fell in love and began an affair with another man, one who was handsome and charming. They met at his rooms. In between times, they wrote each other passionate letters.’

Alice rose, walked over to the window and looked at the last few roses in the little garden. ‘She told me all about it one day, said she had to tell someone. When I expressed my horror at what she was doing, she said I did not understand and tried to tell me about all the excitement of her meetings with Rupert, her lover. She said she wouldn’t dream of leaving George, she was very fond of him and he was the father of her daughter, but that I had to agree that he was not a charismatic man. She brought out a bunch of letters she had received from Rupert and said I must read them. I looked at one but it seemed an invasion of privacy, there was such passion! I had to say I was deeply shocked.’ She laughed ruefully. ‘How could I have known that later I would find myself in love with a man who was not my husband? I told Irene that George was a good man and deserved a faithful wife. That upset her. She was so upset she dropped the letters; they went all over the floor. I helped her pick them up. Then she left and cut off contact with me.

‘Several months later I received the dreadful news that she had passed away. I immediately went round to express my condolences to George. He was … ravaged was the only word I can think of to describe him. Did I tell you he was a very old friend? Well, he poured his heart out to me. Irene had taken an overdose of laudanum.’ Silence followed this.

‘Was it suspected to be deliberate?’ Ursula asked gently.

Alice came back to the table, sat down and started fiddling with the cutlery. ‘George said that for a number of months Irene had been in an increasingly nervous state. He became very worried about her. Finally she came to him and confessed that she had had an affair and said that she was being blackmailed. Someone had got hold of one of Rupert’s letters to her and was threatening to send it to her husband unless she paid him for its return. Irene told George she had sent him the money that had been asked for but that her letter had not been returned. Instead, she received another demand for money.’ Alice paused again. ‘I suppose that is the way of blackmailers.’

‘So I understand. How long did she continue to pay him?’

‘Until she ran out of funds. That’s when she went and confessed everything to George. When he told me this, he broke down and sobbed as he said how devastated he’d been with what Irene had told him, so devastated that he’d lost his temper and told her that their marriage was at an end and she was no fit mother for their child. Then he’d gone to his club for the night. The next day he’d been horrified at what he’d said and had dashed back home to tell Irene he still loved her and they would rebuild their marriage, only to find she had taken the laudanum and passed away in the night.’

‘That’s the most terrible story.’

Alice nodded. ‘George showed me one of the blackmailer’s demands. For a moment I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The writing was all in small capitals, as though the blackmailer wanted to disguise it. But all the ‘R’s were back to front. It was an idiosyncrasy of Joshua’s, he never seemed to know he was doing it. I tried to tell myself there must be someone else with such a habit but I couldn’t help remembering Irene dropping all those letters on the floor. One could easily have ended up beneath the settee. Albert was sometimes called upon to help move heavy furniture so the maids could brush the carpet underneath.’ Alice had no need to say more.

Ursula caught her hand in hers. ‘My poor friend, what a burden you have had to bear.’

‘I thought I could do my duty, stand by my husband no matter what he had done, but the knowledge of what Irene had gone through troubled me more and more. Then I met Daniel and he taught me what love could be. I had no child, nothing to tie me to a marriage that was more and more hateful. I began to dream of what life could be like if I could be with Daniel, maybe even bring Joshua to justice. But when I knew he had another chance to be a father, I knew I could not deprive him of that privilege or reveal to my unborn child that his father was a criminal.’