03 - Murder at Sedgwick Court (11 page)

The
housekeeper had asked Eliza Denning, who was acting as lady’s maid to Emmeline
for the duration of her stay, to look through the girl’s wardrobe and ascertain
if any items of clothing were missing. As far as Eliza could tell, not being
overly familiar with the girl’s clothing, her blue serge coat with its silver
fox fur collar and matching hat were missing but nothing else, except perhaps a
tweed skirt and angora jumper, although she could not be quite certain about
these items. But it did indicate, if nothing else, that Emmeline was not in the
house and had ventured out. This theory was further substantiated by Manning
advising that one of the French windows had been discovered unbolted, when he
himself was sure that he had bolted it last night.

Rose
noticed that for the first time Lavinia looked worried; she herself was
seriously concerned. Emmeline had been missing for at least three hours and
probably a lot longer. Where had the girl gone and what had happened to her? She
was suddenly aware that Lavinia had clutched her hand as if instinctively,
unconscious of what she was doing.

If
Lavinia had said to Jemima that they had indeed found Emmeline Montacute in a
compromising position in one of the gentlemen’s bedrooms, the effect could not
have been more devastating. For Rose thought for all the world that Jemima Wentmore
was about to become hysterical.

‘Why
didn’t you tell me as soon as you were aware that she was missing?’ Jemima had
demanded furiously. Her face, Rose noticed, was quite ashen, as if she herself had
experienced a sleepless night.   

‘Pah! And
have you run off to her father as soon as you were back home to tell him what
his daughter had been up to?’ retorted Lavinia, equally angrily.

‘But
isn’t it obvious that she’s been kidnapped?’ Jemima sobbed.

The tears
that had been all the while threatening to fall did so freely now, unchecked.
Rose was pleased that they had had the foresight to take Jemima aside to tell
her the news away from the others. The three of them were, in point of fact, in
Lavinia’s exquisitely, and expensively, furnished boudoir.

‘Nonsense!
You know as well as I do that it’s far more likely that she went off to keep some
sort of romantic assignation,’ Lavinia retorted. ‘And now that all the men have
been accounted for, unless of course she’s formed an attachment to one of our
footmen and is stuck in one of those stark little bedrooms in the servants’
quarters, we must suppose that she arranged to meet the man in question
somewhere in the grounds. And for some reason, which I have to admit escapes me
at present, she has been detained. No doubt she’s in one of the follies,’
Lavinia paused a moment and then added gleefully: ‘I understand our housemaids
use them often as convenient places to meet their sweethearts.’

There was
a certain gleam in Lavinia’s eye which made Rose wonder whether Lavinia herself
might not have done something similar in the past.

‘She must
have fallen asleep, I suppose,’ continued Lavinia. ‘Although how she came to, I
can’t possibly imagine. I mean to say, most of those follies are jolly draughty
places even in summer let alone winter. But, more likely as not, as soon as we
mention to the others that she is missing and propose a search of the grounds,
the man in question will hasten to where she is and bring her to us with some
implausible story that we shall all pretend to swallow. Either that or he will
suggest a likely location where she might be found.’

‘Yes, I
suppose that’s possible,’ said Jemima, sounding less than convinced.

Although
some colour had returned to Jemima’s cheeks, her hands continued to play with
the fabric of her skirt, as if she must pull and clutch at the material to stop
herself from wringing her hands and tearing out her hair.

She
thinks we are clutching at straws, Rose thought, as do I. We’re all clinging to
the notion that everything will be all right, even though in our hearts we know
it won’t be.

The
atmosphere of anxiety was further heightened once the men had been informed
that Emmeline was missing. Rose was to remember the expression on Cedric’s face
long afterwards, a mixture of anger at not having been told earlier, and
concern at what they might find. He had drawn Rose aside so that he could speak
to her for a moment without being overheard by the others.

‘I’m
worried, darling. It was particularly cold last night. Do you think Emmeline
went out in the night or sometime early this morning? If it was last night, I’m
jolly afraid she may have died of hypothermia or exposure by now.’

‘Ssh!’
said Rose, quickly, because she had just noticed that Jemima was standing not
so very far from them and that she was looking at them intently, as if she had
heard Cedric’s whispered words. Certainly she looked close to tears. Rose took
Cedric’s arm and led him further away.

‘Apparently
her bed had been slept in, so the maid thinks. Hopefully that means she went
out this morning rather than last night. She was also wearing a hat and coat,
so perhaps she hasn’t got so very cold. Poor Jemima’s convinced that she’s been
kidnapped, but Lavinia and I think it’s far more likely that she arranged some clandestine
assignation. Although why she hasn’t returned by now I can’t imagine,
particularly as all the men are present. But that was why we didn’t say
anything earlier. We were worried about the damage it might do to her
reputation.’

‘If
that’s the case then hopefully Harrison or that count fellow will come forward
and suggest where she might be found.’ Cedric only looked slightly more relieved.
‘Why did the fellow leave her to return alone, that’s what I can’t understand?’

‘Well
they are sure to have taken particular care that they were not spotted
returning to the house together, just in case someone happened to be up and
about or looking out of their window. Tell me, if you were to arrange to meet
someone secretly as Sedgwick, where would you choose to meet?’

‘You’ve
said that the servants have searched all the rooms, including even the lumber
rooms and attics, while we were all at breakfast? Well then, if not in the
house itself, I imagine one or other of the follies that are dotted around the
estate. And of course there is always the boatshed down by the lake.’ Cedric
gripped her arm suddenly, so hard that she was obliged to stifle a cry. ‘Oh my
god, Rose, you don’t think that she went out on the lake do you? You don’t
think we are going to find her drowned?’

‘No, I
don’t,’ said Rose quickly, although a vision of Emmeline in a white gown drifting
like the drowned Ophelia, her dark hair spread out and tangled, interwoven with
river weeds and bedecked with flowers, came unbidden before her eyes.

A search
party was hastily established, made up of Cedric, his sister, their guests and
servants. Rose overheard Vera making her excuses to Lavinia for not being one
of the party, claiming a headache and the beginning of a cold. Rose saw her try
to make eye contact with Theo before she departed to her room. But the man gave
her no second glance, his mind apparently fully preoccupied with recovering the
missing girl. His face was an unbecoming shade of grey, and there was almost a
wild look to his eyes. It was all Cedric could do to stop the doctor from
running off to try and find Emmeline by himself. But the Sedgwick estate was
large, and Cedric sensibly argued that members of the search party be given
specific areas to explore to ensure that as much ground be covered as quickly
as possible.

In the
back of all their minds was the possibility that the girl might be found in a
compromising situation. With this in mind, it was decided that Cedric and his
guests should be given the task of searching the nearest follies and the
boatshed. The servants were despatched to search the lake, the woods, and the
follies located furthest from the house. Rose and Lavinia were assigned the
formal gardens to search, and a time agreed when they should all meet. Each
group of searchers was given a hunting horn to blow to let the others know if
they discovered Emmeline. Although no one alluded to it, Rose thought that it
was probably a relief to them all to have a medical man among them.

Armed
with blankets and flasks of coffee and brandy, the search party set off. Just
as they were leaving, Rose happened to look up and caught a glimpse of Vera
looking out at them from one of the windows. On realising that she had been
spotted, she had quickly stepped back out of sight, but not before Rose had
seen a look of apprehension on her face. 

The
search party was in a focused mood, with words exchanged regarding the firming
up of plans in respect of the various search areas. Cedric, as the young earl
and host, was very much in command of the expedition while, every now and then,
being obliged to digress from his plans to rein in Theo who, pulling at the
bit, was desperate to set off as soon as possible. This would of course have
been permitted if there had been any indication that he had any idea where the
girl might be found. It soon became clear, however, that he was as much in the
dark as the others. The fact that none of the men seemed to have any idea, or even
offer any suggestions, where Emmeline might be found weighed heavily on Rose.
If they really did not know then the possibility of a clandestine assignation
faded and the possibility of a kidnapping became more credible.        

Rose
looked over at Jemima. It was clear that the same thought had crossed her mind.
She seemed to be all but shaking and had given up any attempt not to cry.
Felix, obviously concerned, was fussing over her, whispering positive words of
encouragement, while at the same time trying to persuade her to return to the
house, which she resolutely refused to do.

The party
made a sombre procession across the estate, every now and then losing a couple
or so of its members to search a particular area. When they had first started
off there had been some chatter, but this had soon died down and all but
fizzled out as the members of the party faced the reality of the situation.
While a feeble sunlight fought its way through, it was a bitterly cold day, and
few thought it likely that anyone could have survived long outside without warm
clothes. Rose had caught snatches of the servants’ conversation before it too
had faded. She heard them saying that the temperatures at night had been
freezing and that a heavy frost had covered the estate at dawn.

It was a
relief to Rose that she and Lavinia were among the first to break off from the
main party to search the formal gardens. It was good to have something to do,
even if the task seemed fruitless, for Rose thought it highly unlikely that
Emmeline would have come to harm so near to the house, unless she had stumbled
and hit her head and lay unconscious on one of the paths. This did not appear
to be the case. The gardens were quite deserted and when Rose looked up to
scour the horizon to try and judge the progress of the others, the trees looked
sadly naked and forlorn, stripped as they were of their autumn leaves.

After an
hour or so, Rose and Lavinia gave up searching and went to wait for the others,
straining their ears to hear the welcome sound of someone blowing a hunting
horn. But no such sound was forthcoming. Lavinia kicked at the gravel path and
looked close to tears. Not only was Emmeline her friend, but as hostess she had
an additional responsibility for her, particularly as she was aware that the
girl had defied her father and left the safety of her Highland home. Awful as
it was, it seemed that the most likely explanation for Emmeline’s disappearance
was that, as Jemima had dreaded, she had indeed been kidnapped.

‘Rose,
Rose!’

Rose was
awakened abruptly from her musings by the sound of Lavinia’s excited voice.

Gone was
Lavinia’s listless manner of a few moments ago. Instead she was pulling at the
sleeve of her friend’s coat for all she was worth.

‘The maze!
No one’s looking in the maze! Don’t you remember Ceddie going on and on about
it last night? We were going to make a game of it today, don’t you remember,
see which one of you could get to the middle first?’

‘I do,’
said Rose, ‘but surely you’re not suggesting that Emmeline might be there?
Whatever would have made her go there in the dark?’

But even
as she said the words, the memory came back to her of Cedric telling them the
story of the maid who had arranged to meet her lover in the maze. They had all crowded
around him to look at the plan and he had explained how the maze should be navigated.
It was just possible, she supposed, that Emmeline had arranged to meet Theo
there. But why hadn’t she returned? After all, Theo obviously had, for he had come
down for breakfast, and was now engaged in the search for the missing heiress.
If he knew where she was, why had he not suggested that they explore the maze?
Perhaps he had not wanted to let on that they had met there, but there were
ways around that, surely? Far better that Emmeline’s reputation be ruined, than
that she died of hypothermia.

Not one
to be discouraged from doing anything once her mind had been made up, Lavinia
rushed off to the maze leaving Rose to stand around aimlessly, waiting for the
others to arrive. This they did in dribs and drabs, and in answer to
questioning looks, each shook their heads. They had seen no sign of Emmeline.
The news that Lavinia had gone to search the maze, was greeted with an eager
hopefulness and they proceeded to make their way there, following in Lavinia’s hasty
footsteps. 

‘How long
has my sister been gone, Rose?’ enquired Cedric, leading the way.

‘Oh, about
three quarters of an hour or so,’ replied Rose, consulting her wristwatch.

‘That’s
strange. It only takes about a quarter of an hour to get to the centre of the
maze, and I daresay only ten or twelve minutes if one were to run. She should
have been back by now.’

‘Perhaps
she decided to explore the other parts of the maze,’ suggested Felix. ‘If
Emmeline has got lost in it, she more than likely took a wrong turning and has
veered off from the main path.’

‘You may
be right,’ agreed Cedric.

But
Lavinia’s prolonged absence had given an urgency to their steps, so that they
were almost running by the time they came across the maze. Rose realised that
she had already passed it several times during the course of her various walks
in the grounds but that she had mistaken it for a hedge enclosing pasture.

Cedric
took them to the entrance and they peered in. Even in the daylight the maze
looked formidable. For it was impossible to look over the hedges that enclosed
the paths because of their height, or through them due to the density of the
box, and so the effect was one of being confined. The party huddled together
behind Cedric who took the lead and alone looked undaunted.

‘We’ll
make our way to the centre of the maze first,’ Cedric said, ‘and then if we don’t
come across them we’ll spread out and take the other paths. If we have to do
the latter, one or two of you might well become lost, but there’s no need to
worry. Lavinia or I will be able to find you and lead you out.’

‘I
suppose there’s no use in us calling out?’ asked Felix.

‘No, the
hedge is too dense, it muffles out sound. If we call out to Lavinia, she won’t
hear us.’

The
search party followed Cedric, veering off to the right here, going back to the
bottom there, ignoring paths which they felt certain were the ones that should
be taken, but deferring each time to Cedric’s judgement. Rose tried to
visualise the plan of the maze that they had studied the night before, but, for
the life of her, she had no idea where they were or whether they had taken the
right path or not. If Emmeline had indeed undertaken this journey in the dark,
then she might well still be wandering around now in the light.     

When she
studied the plan of the maze afterwards, Rose realised that they had not been
so very far from reaching the centre when they came across Lavinia and
Emmeline. They had been making their way back down so that, as the crow flew,
they were near the start of the maze, although the entrance was obscured from them
by a vast expanse of hedge. They had just turned the corner. If they had
proceeded down the path that stretched out before them, and then turned right at
the end as they had intended, they would very soon have come to the centre of
the maze. But the scene that greeted them as they rounded the corner had the effect
of stopping them in their tracks. Indeed, the leaders halted so abruptly that
those behind Cedric and Felix, who had not had an opportunity to fully take in
the scene, stumbled into them, and there ensued a few moments of confusion.

Lavinia,
oblivious to their presence, with all colour drained from her face so that she
resembled more a ghost than a living being, was standing over what at first
sight looked to be a bundle of clothes strewn out in a heap on the ground. As
they edged nearer, the newcomers saw that the bundle took on a form that
eventually revealed itself to be that of a body. And, as they came closer
still, they recognised it as Emmeline, still and lifeless on the ground, the
side of her head disfigured by a gaping wound, the blood from which was glistening
in the weak sunlight. But more shocking still was the realisation of what Lavinia,
standing there motionless as if in a trance, was holding clenched so tightly in
her hands. A silver candlestick covered with blood.