Mr Scarletti's Ghost (36 page)

‘I am hoping that Mr Clee's fame in Brighton will be of short duration,' said Mina, and revealed the impending suit of Miss Simmons and her own suspicions that he was secretly married to Miss Eustace.

There was a very marked change in Anna's expression. ‘I have only encountered that young man three times and was not impressed by him,' she said, almost angrily.

‘Three times?' asked Mina. ‘The first was when he visited Eliza, and the second was the séance. What was the third?'

Anna put her cup down very deliberately, and on her pale fawn cheeks there was a glow of red. ‘He came to offer his condolences after Eliza died, and to express the hope that he was in no way to blame. Of course he was, in a way, as he brought the infection to the house, although it was hardly deliberate and he may not have had the first symptoms himself, so I reassured him that we did not hold him responsible. He then—'

Mina waited.

‘He then attempted to woo me.'

Mina hardly knew what to say and decided to remain silent.

‘When I was much younger,' said Anna, after she had taken a moment to calm herself, ‘I did, from time to time receive expressions of admiration and even offers of marriage from gentlemen, and I rejected them all. My life is not destined that way, and never has been. I am now forty-eight years of age and well aware that a man who proposes marriage is interested not in me, but in my private fortune, which is of some value. Daniel and I jointly own this property, and any husband I chose would at once acquire half the business as well as all my funds. I have no doubt that Mr Clee has been making enquiries about this and therefore has a proper understanding of my worth.'

‘What did you say to him?' asked Mina.

‘I told him very plainly that I knew what he was up to and wished never to see him again. I thought it as well to be blunt, and he removed himself at once.'

‘I am quite sure,' said Mina, secretly wishing that she had been present at that scene, ‘that he had no intention of marrying Miss Simmons and wooed her only in order to gain a confederate. The wealthy great-aunt whose heir he was supposed to be would have been a long time dying. I am only wondering if he was being truthful when he said that he was engaged to another. How many victims can this man have?'

‘There are too many adventurers of his kind,' said Anna, bitterly. ‘They assume that all a woman wants is marriage, and they seek out the vulnerable: women who they assume have little or no chance of marriage because they are plain or middle-aged, and then they marry them and take all their property and neglect or even abuse them.'

‘Well, let us hope that Miss Simmons will stop his game for a while,' said Mina. ‘I wish I could prove what I suspect to be the case about Miss Eustace. If she and her acolyte and Mr Bradley could all be drummed out of Brighton I would be very much happier.'

‘I do not like Mr Bradley,' said Anna. ‘He sometimes comes to inhale the vapours but spends most of his time lounging in the gentlemen's salon reading the newspapers and telling our other customers how important he is. I don't believe he is here for his own health at all, but to drum up custom from among our clients for his own healing circle. After all, if one wants to find people who might seek his services then where better to go? They are all here in one place. For all I know he goes to Brill's Baths as well.'

‘Mr Bradley started by offering his services gratis, but now he charges for tickets to the larger meetings,' said Mina. ‘He says it is only to pay for the hire of the room, and he takes nothing for himself, but I don't know how true that is.'

‘I suspect it is untrue,' said Anna. ‘The gentleman whose rooms he uses is a customer here and he is a profound believer in Mr Bradley's healing abilities. I would not be surprised if Mr Bradley used the rooms for nothing and makes a tidy income, while his friend also profits by selling refreshments.'

Mina could only feel grateful that Mr Bradley showed no inclination to woo her mother, although she had an unpleasant suspicion that if he were to do so, he might prove successful.

Richard came to see his mother again, a trying visit, since her sole subject of conversation was the terrible betrayal she had suffered at the hands of Miss Simmons. Louisa Scarletti now spent much of her day reclining in her parlour being fetched morsels of food by Rose. Richard smiled a great deal and patted his unhappy parent's hand, and agreed with everything she said, before she declared herself exhausted and retired to her bed.

‘I suppose it is still all my fault,' said Mina, when he came to her room. She was at her desk, where Mr Inskip was busily decomposing. She had not yet decided how to end the story, as it was contrary to popular expectation for a murderer to escape conviction.

‘And will be until the end of time,' said Richard. ‘We must be content with that, I am afraid. Still, she does admit, albeit reluctantly, to feeling a little better; has the wondrous Mr Bradley been here working his magic?'

‘It would appear so. Really I would prefer him not to enter the house at all if it was not for the fact that Mother has taken to him, and seems to improve after his visits. He has not been courting her, has he? She has said nothing to make you think that?'

‘No, never a suggestion of it.'

‘Well, that is something. And how is Miss Gilden?'

Richard, who usually looked cheery every time his beautiful inamorata was mentioned, appeared instead to be slightly discomfited. ‘She is very well, and even now is being fitted for a new gown, something I have been assured will take a whole day. Why do fashions have to change once a week?' he said petulantly. ‘I am sure it is only to give ladies something to talk about.'

‘Has she been to see Miss Eustace?'

Richard threw himself down on Mina's bed. She wondered what he might say if he saw her dumb-bells packed away in a box at the bottom of her wardrobe, although the exercise staff might easily be mistaken for a walking cane.

‘She has indeed, and with an interesting result. Miss Eustace was, of course, astonished to receive a visitor, but as you correctly anticipated was willing to admit a titled lady. Miss Eustace occupies an apartment on the second floor of the house, which seems to comprise only two rooms, and received Lady Finsbury in a parlour, which did not contain anything exceptional. Lady Finsbury explained that the ghost of her beloved great-uncle Sir Mortimer Portland had appeared before her, and implored her most earnestly with tears in his diaphanous eyes to see Miss Eustace without delay. Sir Mortimer, said Lady Finsbury, was reputed to have hidden a fortune in jewels in his mansion, Great Portland Hall, which was about to be torn down, and she thought that he was afraid it would be stolen or destroyed before his great-niece, who is his only heir, could take possession of it. The ghost was struggling to describe where the fortune could be found, and finally it gasped that only Miss Eustace of Bloomsbury Place could enable him to materialise sufficiently to draw the treasure map. Miss Eustace, on being assured by Lady Finsbury that any failure to produce her uncle's spirit would be regarded as evidence only of the natural capriciousness of the etheric force, and that she would be paid generously whatever the result, agreed to make the attempt. Nellie showed Miss Eustace Rolly's character portrait, which she asked to retain, saying that it would help her to concentrate on her task. There the matter was left.'

‘You said there was an interesting result,' said Mina.

He sat up. ‘Yes, two of them, in fact. When Nellie was shown into the parlour, Miss Eustace was closing the door to the adjoining room, but Nellie was able to catch a brief glimpse inside, and saw several large trunks, the kind theatrical people use to transport costumes and properties. Then part-way through the interview, there was a sound in the next room, and Nellie felt sure that there was another person in there. It was too loud to ignore, and so she commented that there must be a spirit in the house. Miss Eustace agreed, and said that spirits often visited her with messages, but sometimes they were just playful and made noises to say that they wanted company. Nellie decided not to press the matter, or it might arouse suspicion, and it was not thereafter alluded to.'

He patted his pockets for a cigar, but desisted at a look from Mina. ‘Are we thinking the same thing?' he said.

‘I believe so,' said Mina. ‘We need to find out what is inside those trunks, but I cannot imagine how that might be done.'

‘I agree.' He adopted the attitude of a consultant, and gave the matter his earnest consideration. ‘I am reluctant to engage a burglar to carry out the plan—'

‘I am most relieved to hear it,' Mina exclaimed.

‘They can be expensive, I understand and not necessarily reliable. And much the same can be said of bribing the maid. After all, we have no intention of taking anything; all we want to do is observe what may be there. A common thief or a maid that will take bribes may not be able to resist helping themselves, and where would we be then?'

‘Under arrest as accomplices to a robbery I believe,' said Mina.

‘Precisely. So I shall do it myself.'

‘Richard! You cannot mean that!' she said, horrified. ‘Please tell me this is one of your jokes.'

‘No, I have thought it all through,' he said calmly. ‘I will find some means of entering Miss Eustace's apartments while she is absent, and simply look for the evidence we need, but take away nothing. Can that be against the law?'

‘If you force an entry into the house it is,' said Mina. ‘And if you were caught, you would never be able to prove that you were not there to steal. Please, Richard, this is a very foolhardy scheme. You must think of something else.'

‘If I am caught, I will just say that I am a devoted admirer of the lady and am there to present her with a gift,' he said, with an easy shrug. ‘Perhaps I shall take a little nosegay or sweetmeats or my portrait. I shall appear romantically reckless, perhaps, but that is all. But I shall not be caught, and it will be an adventure.'

‘Richard, I would very much rather you did not attempt this,' urged Mina. ‘You must find some other method. After all, Lady Finsbury managed to gain entry without committing a crime.'

‘And having done so I think Miss Eustace will now be doubly suspicious of a new unexpected visitor,' said Richard. ‘Oh, I could try to woo the lady, I suppose, but she is reputedly impervious to any such attempts, so it might take me a week or even a fortnight to win her over. No, my plan is by far the best.'

‘I cannot condone this,' said Mina. ‘How would you even achieve it? You can hardly slip into the house through either door without being seen by the servants.'

‘Oh, it's perfectly simple,' he assured her. ‘There is a balcony below the windows on the first floor; I can easily climb up and then get a foothold up to the next one. It shouldn't be hard to get in. Nellie says she thought the window was unlocked, so I shall just prise it open and slip inside. The important thing is to work under cover of darkness, and choose a time when Miss Eustace and her friend or husband, or whatever he might be, are away, and to have the means to depart quickly. Nellie will hire a cab and wait for me nearby, and when I am done, I will just jump aboard and fly away in moments.'

‘But if you are seen!' Mina exclaimed.

‘Did you see me on stage, when I carried the airy sprite about on my shoulders?' he said with a knowing smile. ‘Black velvet, Mina, a wondrous material that can deceive the eye. I will be quite invisible!'

All Mina's entreaties were in vain, and Richard pulled a cigar from his pocket and swaggered away to make the arrangements.

M
ina was so preoccupied by this new development that she did not pay great attention when first Mr Bradley then Miss Whinstone and Mrs Bettinson called later that day to commiserate with her mother. She was only thankful that her mother had suitable company and demanded little of her, since she needed to retreat into her own thoughts. Mrs Bettinson was looking remarkably satisfied that the new flourishing Louisa, who had no longer needed her, had been replaced with the invalid she had always known her to be, and was busily buttering her charge with sympathy. Miss Whinstone, who was looking faded and unhappy, even in her green gown with its extra flounces, could only speak of the cost of maintaining the two children she had adopted, and the constant demands by their school for the payment of ‘extras'.

Mina had no information concerning when Richard might make his foolish attempt at housebreaking, and was half-expecting to hear that he was coming up before the magistrates and needing to be bailed, but the next morning he arrived in a rush.

‘Mina dear, I have come to entreat your help,' he exclaimed.

‘If you have escaped from the police cells I will not shelter you,' she said severely. ‘I must take you straight back there.'

‘Oh, it is nothing of the sort, and in any case I have not attempted the enterprise yet, but it must be tonight. Miss Eustace is engaged for a séance at Professor Gaskin's and will be from home, and I have everything I need, but Nellie cannot help me with the cab, so you must do it.'