An Indelicate Situation (The Weymouth Trilogy) (29 page)

She rapped at the
front
door firmly and awaited admission by the butler.

‘I fear that Mrs Wright will be dressing for dinner, ma’am,’ he informed her, politely. ‘Would you like me to notify her that you are here?’

‘No – no thank you
, Mr Rogers
. It is Mrs Staveley whom I have really come to see. I wonder – would it be possible to request a short interview with her
, do you think
?’

The butler bowed, showed Mrs Berkeley into the drawing room, and made his way up to Mrs Stavel
ey’s chamber to enquire
. He was down again in a moment.

‘Mrs Staveley would be delighted to see you, ma’am,’ he informed her. ‘Would you care to follow me?’

Kathryn followed the butler up the stairs – the first flight grand and well carpeted, the second flight much less so – with a
somewhat
nervous flutter in her stomach. Although she had every ri
ght to be there – Mrs Staveley
was perfectly entitled to receive visitors after all – she still felt as if she were trespassing
i
n
a
prohibited area
. She knew that she should feel
most un
comfortable
should she
find herself
caught out. But fortune was to smile on her tonight. The butler was as soft
-
footed as herself. They made their way noiselessly to the front of the house and he opened a door respectfully before making his way down
the
stairs
again
. Indeed, as the nursery was situated on the same upstairs floor, just across the hallway from Mrs Staveley’s room, it would have been highly unlikely for anyone to have heard their progress. It sounded as if a riot was then ensuing from behind the nursery door. Kathryn breathed a little prayer of thanks that her own children were not
at all
l
ike Mrs William’s. Lively
she was happy with, but every
one
had their limits
.

Mrs Staveley was dressed, as usual, in her neat black silk dress and old
-
fashioned, much frayed, mob cap
.
Kathryn did wonder why the old lady had not bought herself a new one
,
and why her hair had not been caught up in it
-
for today it was flowing quite freely down her back.
However,
she had much more important
things to think of just then. She bobbed a little curtsy and crossed the room to take the seat which Mrs Staveley was indicating.
A curled-up piece of bread and meat was sitting on the table in front of her.

Kathryn ignored it determinedly.

‘Oh, what a beautiful view you have, Mrs Staveley. I can well see why you
like
to sit
here rather than venturing down
stairs.’

‘Yes, it is
of
some comfort to me to be sure, Mrs
...
.err
...
.
my dear. I do enjoy looking at the sea and seeing the little children playing on the beach. It half makes up for the lack of company within.’

‘You do not receive many visitors?’

‘Hardly any
, I’m afraid. I agreed to share my niece’s house because I hoped that I should have a little more company. It had been very lonely living in a big house on my own, and one cannot always find the right sort of companion when one has to pay for her. Yes, I had hoped fo
r better things here in
...
.yes
...
.
but sadly it seems that it is just not destined to be
. My son, Frederick, has gone to Town with someone else
and he will doubtless return to sea at some time and leave me quite alone again. I had thought that Miss – oh, what is
her name? – My memory, Mrs
...
.
– my memory is not what it used to be. I was always so good with names. I had hoped that the governess lady would visit me tonight. I was not expecting you at all.’

‘You were expecting to see Miss Owens, Mrs Staveley?’ Kathryn was somewhat taken aback. Surely Mrs William had told her aunt of the governess’ dismissal? ‘Was
...
.is sh
e much in the habit of coming
to see you?’

‘Oh yes. She visits me quite often, you know. A most pleasant,
unaffected,
well behaved girl – quite genteel. It was Frederick’s idea. He thought we may be company for each other. We neither of us have too many friends here at – well, wherever we are.’

Kathryn could not help but smile, despite the seriousness of the situation. So
Mr Staveley
and Miss Owens had not
neglected
each other
after all. She had hoped as much. After all, Freddy had a little of Andrew about him, and Maggie a little of herself. It was only natural that they should get together, if only they could recognise it for themselves.

‘Is no
-
one else much in the habit of visiting you, then, Mrs Staveley? Only I had heard that you had found a few of your things to go missing. I was wondering whether there were any suspects in the house?’

Mrs Staveley shook her head a little vaguely.

‘Missing? Oh, I suppose a few things did
go missing
. Trinkets really, Mrs
...
.err – old things of my mother’s. I liked them for their sentimental value. They made me remember my youth. Poesy rings were quite the rage when I was a girl, you know. They are quite out of fashion
just
now.’

‘Poesy rings?’ Kathryn felt a shock flash
right
through her. ‘Was it a poesy ring that went missing, Mrs Staveley?’

‘Yes, my dear, I believe it was. A poesy ring and – now, whatever else was it? A poesy ring and
...
.err
...
.’

‘
It wouldn’t have been a
pendant – a pendant on a heavy chain, would it?’

‘Aye – yes, you have it. A gold pendant in the shape of a heart. It was a present from papa to mama when she first married him,
’ Mrs Staveley gave a somewhat m
is
t
y smile. ‘It’s a long time ago, you know, my dear. A very long time ago. I am very sorry that it seems to have gone astray.
I was very fond if it, though I did not wear it very much. It was a link to my parents, I suppose. They are long since dead, of course, long since dead
,
but I still miss them.
And now my hair pins have disappeared, too. I cannot think what on earth I have done
with them. My memory is not as good as it used to be,
you know
. I daresay I have put them away and will find them in a drawer
...
.
’

‘So, Drew, what ever do you think we should do?’

Kathryn was sitting with her husband in the
nursery at Belvoir House, a sleeping
Andy on h
er knee. Kate and Rob
were playing quietly
together
in the corner
with Sally, their nurse,
and Andrew was giving his full attention to his wife.
His elbow was resting on the back of the s
ofa
, his hand propping up his head
, his foot under his knee
.
He was looking most concerned.

‘Do we know when Mr Staveley is due back, Kathy? I am wondering whether
h
e ought to
be
consult
ed
on the matter.’

Kathryn nodded.

‘Yes, I think h
e should. It is very much in his interest to get things sorted out, after all. And from what his mother told me it appears that Mr and Mrs William are
effectively
robbing him as well as her
. A
fter all, she had intended to leave everything to her son – she has nobody else, other than Georgiana, and I
get the impression that she
’
s none too pleased with
her
. It would make a big difference to his prospects
if he were
to inherit some money.
Mrs Staveley’s own house apparently raised over eight hundred pounds and she
thought that she took
an income from
some investments
,
though she could not say how much
.
There will be nothing left if Georgiana has her way.
Mr Wright
– and hence Georgiana
-
has taken full control of everything. They even interrogate her before they will give her any pin money.
’

‘And in the meantime we still have no idea where Miss Owens may have gone?’

‘None. Mrs Staveley did not even know that she had gone. She was most upset when I broke the news to her. She refused to believe that there was any harm in the girl at all – and, indeed, I must say I agree with her.’

‘So you think the
s
e new
item
s
– the
pins
that went missing more recently – ha
ve
gone the way of the others?’

‘I expect so. There is nothing to point any differently
anyway
.’

‘Well.’ Andrew took a deep breath and sighed. ‘Unless anything happens to change our minds I suggest that we await Mr Staveley’s return and then discuss with him exactly what to do. In the meantime, if we get any news of Miss Owens’ whereabouts perhaps we should seek her out and offer her a roof here for a while. At least she should not starve!’

Kathryn smiled
gratefully at her
ever-
thoughtful
husband
.

‘Yes – thank you, Drew. It’s just what I would wish for myself.
And
I daresay she might w
ant
to make herself usefu
l whilst she’s with us.
I’m sure that Sally would welcome a little help
, especially once the new baby has arrived
.’

She shuffled a little
on the sofa
and Andy opened his eyes
sleepily
. He saw his papa, gave him a sweet smile and
a little chortle and
immediately stretched out his arms
towards him
. Kathryn laughed ruefully.

‘Oh, go on, then, you little traitor,’ she said to him, handing him
over
reluctantly
to
her husband
. ‘
Choose him instead of me, why don’t you?
But I know it’s only cupboard love
,
when all
’
s said and done
-
I daresay your papa provides
you with
far more
commod
ious
accommodation
than I
could hope to
do!’

Not quite knowing exactly how she had got there, the object of Mr and Mrs Berkeley’s discussion was sitting despairingly amidst the contents of a half
-
emptied trunk in a small, unkempt, dingy upstairs room
at the rear of Maiden Street,
which enjoyed the distinctive
but singularly unpleasant and pungent
aroma of fish. Her first reaction on being given Mrs William’s ultimatum had been – well, no reaction at all. The communication, and the contents of the communication, and the sheer vindictiveness of the way in which the communication had been delivered, had so taken her by surprise that for several minutes she was totally unable to
marshal
any thoughts at all. She had mounted the stairs mechanically
, removed her possessions from the
shelf
and
added them to the folded
clothes
that were already
in
her
trunk. She had labelled the trunk – where should she send it?
-
post restant at the post office
, of course – and fastened it down
without putting any thought
into anything that she was doing
at all
. And then she had gone down the stairs, opened the front door, and walked out into the drizzly st
r
eet without having the faintest idea of what she was doing or where she should go to next.