03 - Murder in Mink (6 page)

Reverend Draper was just getting into his stride as he
reached the part where he turned to the congregation and asked, in his most
dramatic manner for he had once performed in youth theatre, if anyone among the
audience knew of any reason the couple should not be wed?

There was a steady silence, a moment when everyone
glanced at everyone else. A silly anxiety infiltrated Clara and made her wish
that the long pause could be over. She tensed, but no one spoke. Reverend
Draper moved back into action.

“That being the case…”

“Oi! I have a bloody good reason!”

As one the congregation turned to the open church doors.
They looked at the women in red in the doorway as though she were a stray dog
who had accidentally wandered in. But she was no stray and she knew exactly
where she was. She walked forward on black heels, pulling at a mink fur stole
over her shoulders.

“Fine turn out, old Andrew, my boy. Did you miss my
invite?”

Clara was almost alone in taking her eyes off the woman
and looking for Andrew’s reaction. He was stony silent. Impassive. Nothing seemed
to break his façade of calm.

“Excuse me, who are you?” Glorianna, the avenging
Valkyrie, was astride her horse again and galloping into the fray.

Clara had a nasty feeling she wasn’t going to succeed
this time.

“I’m his wife! That’s who I am!” The woman snarled at
her.

“Whose wife?” Glorianna demanded.

“Andrew Campbell’s! That’s why he can’t get married to
this peewit of a thing. He’s already married to me!”

Clara suspected there had been very little in Glorianna’s
life that had ever defeated her, but the presence of the strange woman in red
changed that happy circumstance sharply. Glorianna’s mouth worked, but no words
came out. What was there to say?

“In case you doubt me,” The woman continued, snapping
open a purse, “Here is the marriage certificate.”

She handed it to Glorianna who studied it in a daze.

“No funny business now, they keep copies of those.” The
woman looked delighted with herself.

Laura was half collapsed in her father’s arms, her face
as white as her dress. Hogarth emerged from his pew and carefully took the
certificate from his wife. He studied it for several moments before turning to
his son agog.

“Andrew?”

Andrew was implacable. He moved toward the woman without
a hint of anger, remorse, or grief even. He just took her by the arm and
muttered in her ear.

“All right, I’ll go.” The woman said, snatching back the
marriage certificate, “But I had to show myself, didn’t I? Wouldn’t be right
letting this carry on.”

She stuffed the certificate in her purse as Andrew, still
holding her arm escorted her to the church door.

“Will you come and see me?” Clara heard her say as she
left, what Andrew replied she never heard.

“Ahem, perhaps the bride and groom and the, erm, parents
should come with me into the vestry for a moment and discuss this matter.”
Reverend Draper looked terribly shaken, his face had lost all its colour and
his voice trembled.

“Poor sod’s never had this happen before.” Tommy
whispered to his sister.

“Who has?” Clara returned, shocked herself at the turn
around.

Laura, Andrew and their respective parents retired with
the vicar while everyone else looked around and wondered what had just
occurred.

“Is it true?” Tommy found himself saying.

“She had the certificate and she definitely knew him.”
Clara fixed her eyes on the vestry door, as if she could bore her way in and
find out what was happening. She was worried about Laura, she had looked so…
destroyed, when they had walked away.

“I mean it happens.” Tommy continued, “During the war
there were a lot of lads who married girlfriends quickly in case they never had
the chance again.”

“How many abandoned them to find another wife?”

Tommy gave a shrug.

“All I am saying is this is feasible. Andrew marries the
girl before he goes to the front, a little bit of foolishness and then he comes
back and forgets all about her. Goes on with his life, thinks no one will ever
know.”

“That isn’t terribly honourable.” Clara said.

“War warps your sense of honour. Maybe she was a girl he
wanted in a…” Tommy screwed up his eyes.

“You can be honest with me, Tommy, I am very difficult to
offend these days.”

“Well, say a fellow wants a good time with his girl, but
she refuses without him making her an honest lass. So they pop to a registry
office and deal with the necessities and everyone is happy.”

“She didn’t look like the sort who would care about such
things.” Clara answered darkly, “She looked a tart and by my reckoning several
years older than Andrew.”

Tommy pulled a face.

“That’s not very nice.”

“Perhaps not, but I stand by my statement. Besides,
whether she is a good-time gal or a lady of strong moral-fibre, Andrew
abandoned her, forsook his vows and embroiled Laura into a marriage that would
have been wholly illegal. Whatever he might have thought, it would have come
out eventually.”

“So better now than later. Just as well the woman came.”

Clara harrumphed.

“I’ll tell you this now Tommy, that woman has been here
several days and has been biding her time to reveal her secret at the worst
possible moment for Andrew. She could have quietly gone to the Campbells and
explained the matter before today. Instead she storms in and humiliates poor
Laura who has done nothing to her and is innocent in this matter. That in
itself lowers her in my opinion.”

“How can you be so sure she did not just arrive?”

“Where were her bags? If she had just come off the train
and walked here – it’s a good two miles you know – then why were her shoes
spotless? Did she look like a woman who had just come off a train? Did she look
worn out by her travels? No, she was fresh as a daisy, her hair and make-up
faultless. She has been planning this little scene for a while.”

“I guess she would have seen the marriage announcement in
the papers. Hogarth made sure it featured in most of the nationals.”

“The real question is why now? Why not sooner? She must
have known how to find him, his name would have been reasonably easy to trace,
especially if she had his service number.”

“Not everyone is you Clara.” Tommy smiled at her, “Some
people don’t think like that.”

“So say they don’t, what does she want? Money? Andrew to
return to her? She must realise the latter is impossible!”

“Maybe she teases herself with the hope he just might.”

“She looked a little too experienced to dabble much with
hope.” Clara remarked grimly.

Reverend Draper reappeared. Hogarth was a step behind
him. He walked up to the altar and looked uncomfortably at his guests.

“As you may appreciate there has been a small
complication in the arrangements for the wedding. We are therefore postponing
it until matters are resolved. If you would please head into the village, the
Bon-Bon is hosting the reception and we would not see good food go to waste. So
please, do go and enjoy yourselves. My wife and I will join you shortly.”
Hogarth glanced at his attentive audience, “I’m sure everything will be sorted
out soon. There seems to have been some confusion. I need not add, please do
not spread any rumours about this business abroad, as it really is a very
mundane matter.”

“Mundane!” Clara half-laughed, “I would hate to see what
his definition of a real crisis is.”

Guests began to stand and leave.

“Do you want to go to the reception?” Tommy asked her.

“I would rather go back to the house.”

“You are too curious, Clara.”

“Nothing of the sort! I have merely lost my appetite
after this debacle.”

Tommy gave her a disbelieving look, just as Glorianna
emerged from the vestry. She was clearly flustered as she found Hogarth.

“Laura and her father have gone out a back door. She
could not face walking through these people.” Glorianna swept hair from her
forehead, “Good God, is this really happening.”

She hurried down the aisle, half-chaperoning,
half-chasing the guests to the reception. Soon there was no one inside the
church except Clara and Tommy. Hogarth had wandered away, though it was not
apparent where to. Andrew had vanished like his bride. Reverend Draper started
putting away his Bible. His hands were still shaking.

“Dreadful thing.” Clara said to him as she negotiated
Tommy into the aisle, “I hope it didn’t affect you too badly?”

The reverend glanced up, he looked almost gaunt with
shock.

“Strangest thing. I never expected that. To see her walk
in like that!” The reverend shook his head, “Strangest thing.”

“There’s a man heading for a nervous breakdown.” Tommy
said quietly as they left the church, “He really got himself worked up over the
matter.”

“It no doubt shook him deeply. It must be awful to think
of someone breaking vows you, yourself hold sacred, so easily.”

“Most of the vicars I knew at the front were made of
sterner stuff.”

“Well yes! They had to be, to be there.”

They rumbled down the hill towards the Campbell
residence, ignoring the lonely wedding car still parked in the lane.

“I hope Laura’s all right.” Clara repeated.

“People bounce back quite well.” Tommy reassured her, “And
she is still young.”

That didn’t seem entirely comforting to Clara, what did
youth have to do with the way one experienced devastating news?

It was just over a mile from the church to the Campbell
house and they spoke little on the way. Tommy kept insisting on wheeling
himself and making Clara let go of the handles of his chair. The hill gave him
extra speed and Clara had to run to keep up, clutching onto her hat and
grabbing at the wheelchair when it threatened to run into a wall. By the time
they were approaching the drive of the house both were out of breath from their
antics.

“I feel quite guilty being so jolly after what has gone
on.” Clara said as she fought with Tommy’s chair to get him up the drive.

“Don’t be wet. If everyone was sad when everyone else was
sad, because they thought they should be, no one would ever be happy!”

Clara took a moment to drag the logic from that fuzzy
statement.

“Probably you are right.”

“I am always right, it is a gift.”

“Pish! You keep fooling yourself into believing that!”

They were in high spirits as they reached the front door,
but that soon changed as they spotted Peg.

“Is Glory with you? No, no, of course not, she is
attending that damn reception. Damn! Damn!” Peg had lit a cigarette and was
puffing away feverishly, “It’s all so ridiculous. Andrew has vanished, just
vanished. Probably tinkering with that car of his. I don’t know what Laura is
thinking right now, did you see her as you left the church?”

Clara answered in the negative.

“Damn again!” Peg finished her cigarette and started a
new one, “What a state she must be in? And I get home and Susan is not in her
room, talk about having a fit, I had kittens
and
puppies. I raced
downstairs thinking the worst when she saunters in the French windows with a
bunch of flowers in her hand. Had been out to get some fresh air. After I near
enough squealed at her in righteous fury, I had to reveal why I was home so
soon and the disaster of the wedding. She wanted to go to Laura at once, but I
insisted she go back to bed. Honestly, this family is a wreck! What do you make
of it all Clara? Tell me?”

“Quite frankly I’m as baffled and stunned as you. I
hardly expected what occurred in the church.” Clara picked up Peg’s discarded
fag end which was beginning to singe a hole in the hall rug; they didn’t need a
fire to complicate matters further.

“So what now? I ask myself.” Peg blew out a cloud of
smoke and sank back against the wall, “Is it true? I mean, could Andrew really
have married
that
woman?”

“Bit of a pain he isn’t here to ask.” Tommy remarked.

“If you could get any answer out of him.” Peg grunted,
“Andrew, you may have noticed, is hardly the forthcoming type. He was bad
enough before the war, you could never get anything out of him, it would make
you scream.”

“I’m sure this will all be resolved. The woman may be a
fraud, just trying to stir trouble and get some money.” Clara suggested lamely.

“She had the certificate, I saw Glory and father look at
it. It seemed genuine enough to them. Glory might have been fooled, but my father
is a wily man and he knows what a legal document should look like.”

“Peg, try to calm down. We have to take this matter
step-by-step, and if it is true, well there are ways and means of solving that
as well. It will be Andrew’s decision, depending, of course, on whether Laura
still wants to marry him.”

“Gads, I wouldn’t want to.” Peg reached the end of another
cigarette, “After such nonsense, I mean the shame of it! Poor girl. Poor, poor
girl.”

“Well, you can’t do much until Andrew decides to
reappear, so I suggest trying to put it out of your mind for the moment.” Clara
collected the second cigarette butt as it tumbled to the floor.

“I suppose I could make father some tea.” Peg wandered
off abruptly, looking half-dazed, “And I could get out of this damn dress.”

Clara let out a small sigh of relief as Peg disappeared.

“Right mess, isn’t it?”

Tommy and Clara both looked left to see uncle Eustace
hovering in the drawing room doorway.

“It’s flared up my indigestion no end.” He rubbed at his
chest again, pulled a face and then exited to the drinks cabinet.

“Right, how fast can we be packed and off home?” Tommy
asked his sister hopefully.

Clara wasn’t listening. Her mind was caught up with all
the small dramas around her that had culminated in one huge disaster. She was
wondering if they should track down Andrew, or even visit Laura. But in the end
she knew they would do neither. They would keep their heads down and watch
things develop until either Clara was asked to help or asked to leave. In the
meantime she thought it advisable to keep out of the way of the family.

“Why do I have the feeling this is going to get worse
before it gets better?” She murmured.

“That’s because you are a pessimist.” Tommy said, “I, on
the other hand, am an optimist. For instance I am optimistic we can pack and be
on the next train home to Brighton in a few hours.”

He watched his sister.

“Except we’re not going home, are we?” He added
miserably.

“Not yet, it would be like abandoning a sinking ship.
We’ll hang on until tomorrow, that’s all. Anyway, you have those race tickets.”

“Think Andrew will be brazen enough to still take part?”

“Oh, who knows? He is mad enough on his cars to postpone
his honeymoon! Anything is possible.”

“That’s what worries me.” Tommy shook his head, “Well,
don’t come running to me when you wish you had gone home on the first train.”

“I won’t.” Clara assured him, “Besides, we are family!”