A Woman of Influence (9 page)

Taken aback by the question, Alice seemed very upset. She had sworn never to reveal any names, because she did not want any trouble, she declared, her eyes filling with tears.

But Becky persisted, arguing that it was probably the only chance she would have of tracing her child's father.

"For the boy's sake, Alice, if not your own, it would be best if he can be found. Do you not wish to see him again?" she asked.

The girl bit her lip and nodded.

"Well, then? Why do you not tell me his name? Mr Bingley, who is a kind and honourable gentleman, has offered to make some enquiries. We could discover if he is still in England," Becky said.

Still she got no response, other than tears. It was clear to Becky the girl was apprehensive because she feared those who had brought the complaint against her husband.

Two days before the Bingleys were due to leave for Standish Park, where they were visiting Jonathan's sister Emma and her husband, James Wilson, Becky had left Edgewater and was walking through the grounds of Rosings Park to the Dower House, where she hoped to meet and consult with her sister Catherine. She was in a dilemma with regard to Alice Grey.

Should she leave well alone as she had at first felt inclined to do? The girl seemed to be settling in well at Edgewater; she could foresee no problems.

Or was it her duty to try to discover the truth about the whereabouts of her husband and Tom's father, if only for the sake of the child?

She had not walked far when Catherine came into view, walking towards her. The sisters greeted one another warmly.

"Why, Cathy, were you coming to visit us?" Becky asked, and Catherine replied, "Indeed I was, I have a message for you."

Becky was curious, and as they walked on, Catherine explained that she had had a visit that morning from Mr Jamison.

"He said he had received some information that had to be passed on to you at the earliest opportunity. He has had to go to officiate at a funeral in the parish of Lower Apsley and could not come himself; however, he thought you ought to have this material as quickly as possible, which is why I was coming to Edgewater."

At this, she took from her bag a packet and handed it to Becky, adding, "I believe it concerns the girl Alice Grey."

Becky was excited and impatient to open the packet of papers. Instead of walking back to Edgewater, which lay some fifteen minutes away, she suggested they stop at the parish school.

"I would rather know what he has uncovered before I see Jonathan and Anna," she explained, "in case it is bad news. I cannot help feeling that Anna disapproves just a little of my taking Alice and Tom into my house, without any prior knowledge of their background or family--indeed we do not even know whether she is who says she is. But, Cathy, I had to do something. I could see she was not a tramp or a thief. She must be a decent young woman fallen on hard times, and then there was the boy; I could not turn them out, I had to help them. Do you not agree?"

Catherine, who was somewhat more circumspect than her sister, did agree, but was at pains to point out that since they knew so little about the young woman, they were entitled to be cautious, and Anna was probably just exercising some of her usually excellent judgment.

Becky went on, "I believe Anna feels I am taking a risk, but, Cathy, I could not have sent her back to work in the hop fields by day and sleep in empty barns by night and with the child as well? I should not have slept a wink myself for worrying about them. Why, Alice cannot be much older than my Josie was when she was married to Julian Darcy."

Catherine agreed that something had to be done.

"Well, let us hope Mr Jamison's papers contain good news, or at the very least, not bad news!" she said as they reached the empty school house and went within.

There were three or four sheets of paper in the packet: a letter to Mr Jamison from a fellow parish priest, a Reverend Higgins, whose parish included the village of Blessington; and two hand-copied entries from the parish register; as well as two old newspaper-cuttings from a local paper of some years back.

Before reading the letter, Becky looked quickly at the extracts from the parish register. The first was a copy of the registration of the marriage of one Annabel Grey, spinster, daughter of Mr Edward Grey and Mrs Grey of Maidstone, to a William Rickman, bachelor, of Ramsgate. The second entry, dated some twelve months later, was the registration of the birth and christening of their son, Thomas William.

The cuttings from the newspapers reported the arrest upon information laid, of William (alias Bill) Rickman, a stock clerk in a local brewery, for theft from his employer and of his being produced before a magistrate at Ramsgate.

As she read and passed them over to Catherine, Becky exclaimed, "I knew it, she was from a good family; she must be the daughter of a gentleman--Mr Edward Grey of Maidstone. It will not be difficult to discover his whereabouts. No doubt she was disowned or disinherited for marrying this man--William Rickman. But, Cathy, if she is Annabel Grey, why does she call herself Alice? And since she was quite clearly married to Rickman, why should she continue to use her maiden name? Why does she not say she is Mrs Rickman?"

"Could it be, Becky, that she did not wish it to be known that she was the wife of a convicted thief? It would not have been easy for her to get employment or lodging in any respectable house, if it was known," Catherine suggested. It was an entirely plausible idea.

"That is possible, of course, but she quite strenuously protests his innocence. I wish I knew more about the circumstances of this case; Jonathan says his son-in-law, Mr Elliott, could make enquiries, but he will need more facts-- names, dates, places--in order to succeed. And there is another matter that puzzles me--why ever did she tell me that she had no family, that her parents had died when she was little?"

Catherine had no explanation and suggested that perhaps if they read the letter from the parish priest, Reverend Higgins, they might find a clue to the mystery. Becky turned eagerly to the two sheets of closely written paper, upon which Mr Higgins had detailed what he knew of the couple.

He remembered well their wedding; they had been married in Blessington because the girl's parents were set against the marriage and did not wish it to be solemnised in their own parish church in Maidstone, nor did either of them attend the wedding.

Mr Higgins recalled that the girl, Annabel Grey, was a devout and regular churchgoer until the arrest of her husband. Thereafter, he wrote, her attendance fell away and she came rarely to church.

Of the young man William Rickman, Mr Higgins said he knew very little, except he was from the North of England and worked at a local brewery. He was thought to be a quiet, industrious fellow, and it was said that information had been maliciously laid against him that he was stealing and selling kegs of beer to an innkeeper, who had a reputation for dubious dealings. Very few people who knew and worked with Rickman had believed the evidence given by the police at his trial, but the informer, being someone with influence with the authorities, had been believed above the accused, who had protested his innocence throughout.

Mr Higgins claimed that he knew only that Bill Rickman was tried and found guilty and his young wife was distraught with grief when he was sent down. She had told anyone who would listen, including Mr Higgins himself, that her husband was innocent and begged for assistance to clear his name. But it had been in vain. As far as Mr Higgins could ascertain, William Rickman had been sent to jail, and his unfortunate wife and son had nowhere to go but the workhouse.

Thereafter, Mr Higgins had been away from Blessington for some time, on account of family matters; but on his return, he had heard that Annabel Rickman had found employment at the manor, where Mrs Bancroft, a lady with a good reputation for charitable work in the parish, had taken pity on her and rescued her and the child from the workhouse. Mr Higgins had assumed then that the girl and her son would be cared for.

Of William Rickman, he said, he had heard nothing more.

Some time later, however, Annabel had disappeared from the village, and

no one could tell him where she had gone. Not even Mrs Bancroft, who had expressed some genuine regret at losing her, but had given him no hint of her present whereabouts. Nor had he heard from the girl's parents, who appeared to have cut themselves off from their daughter completely.

Mr Higgins said he knew no more, beyond the information he had provided, but he hoped very much it would be of some assistance in tracing the couple and their son, whom he personally recalled with a good deal of affection, he concluded.

Despite the inconclusive nature of the information it contained, Becky was delighted with Mr Higgins' letter.

"Well done, Mr Jamison and Mr Higgins," she exclaimed, "that is very useful information indeed. Even though there are still some questions for which we needs must find answers, it will give Jonathan and Mr Elliott sufficient material with which to begin their enquiries," she said, adding with a satisfied smile, "Oh, Cathy, I
am pleased, and I must make certain Mr Jamison gets thos
e kneelers before Christmas! He has done very well indeed. Do you not agree?"

Catherine did agree, though she could not quite see the connection with the kneelers; but she knew her sister well enough not to argue. If Becky had promised to provide kneelers for the church, that was what she would do.

By such stratagems, Becky Tate had over many years given and received favours in the community, using her influence and persuasive charm to help many who couldn't help themselves.

Becky's curiosity had been greatly aroused by the riddles posed by the information contained in Mr Jamison's papers. They had opened up new pathways of enquiry, and she was more determined than ever to resolve the mystery of Annabel Grey.

A WOMAN OF INFLUENCE

The not unexpected news of the death of Reverend James Courtney interrupted all Becky's plans and drew her back to Derbyshire.

She was going to be at the side of Emily Courtney, a lifelong and loyal friend. Close enough to be sisters despite the difference in their ages, Emily, the younger daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Gardiner of Oakleigh, and Becky Collins had developed a warm and trusting friendship over many years.

Becky had visited her friend at Oakleigh before leaving Derbyshire for Kent earlier in the year; at that time, although Emily would not admit it, Becky had known Reverend Courtney was dying. Weakened by constant bouts of a persistent and debilitating disease, his condition exacerbated by long periods of arduous parish work, when he had paid scant attention to his own health, James Courtney was close to death. But neither he nor his wife would accept it, nor let other people believe it to be the case.

Emily had continued to run her household as though nothing was wrong and would explain her husband's frequent absence from the dinner table by saying he was tired and had his meals taken to his room. When Becky had asked her directly what the doctors had said of her husband's condition, Emily had been unable to reply, but her tears had given Becky her answer.

Later, Becky had learned from Emily's daughter Jessica, who was very close to being delivered of her first child, that Dr Richard Gardiner had warned them that the end was very near.

Amazingly, James Courtney had rallied in the Spring and appeared to be on the way to recovery, or so Emily had written only a month ago in a letter filled with hope. But then, in the midst of the quickening of new life, almost without warning, Death, like the proverbial thief in the night, had arrived.

An express from Jessica's husband, Julian Darcy, had brought the distressing news, and Becky, leaving her home in the charge of her housekeeper, Mrs Bates, had left with her maid Nelly to attend the funeral and support Emily in any way possible.

Before leaving, she had called on her sister and begged her to keep a watchful eye on Annabel Grey and young Tom.

"I do not expect to be away above a fortnight, Cathy, but I should hate to think that the girl might take fright and decide to leave Edgewater. I have made every effort to avoid alarming her, and to that end, I have given no hint of the information received from Mr Higgins to anyone except Anna and Jonathan Bingley.

"Indeed, I have written to Mr Jamison to thank him for his efforts, but I have urged him to speak of it to no one until I return," she explained.

Catherine agreed.

"You are quite right," she said. "He should avoid speaking of Annabel's presence at Edgewater to anyone who may make enquiries about her whereabouts while you are away. Depend upon it, Becky, I shall ensure that nothing untoward occurs and will speak to Mr Jamison myself, so he understands the need for caution."

Her sister was grateful.

"Thank you, Cathy. Mrs Bates has my instructions to send for you if there is any problem at all. I do hope the circumstances will not arise."

Privately, Catherine hoped so too.

She was not confident that her influence would suffice, in the absence of Becky's authority, to avert any possible calamity. Alice (or Annabel, whoever she was) seemed to be a young woman of some independence, and it was unlikely she would be persuaded by Catherine, if she had a mind to leave Edgewater, for whatever reason.