03 - Murder at Sedgwick Court (3 page)

‘Lavinia
– ’

‘I could
sob for England, I can tell you; really I could. But what’s the point?
Besides,’ Lavinia smiled suddenly as if she were trying to force herself to be
bright, ‘I already look a perfect fright after all this travelling. Even the
servants think so. Travelling and crying and sleepless nights. The effects of
which are really dreadfully awful for one’s complexion.’ She gave a little
laugh and proceeded to powder her face. ‘That’s better, my nose doesn’t look
quite so shiny. I don’t look as if I’m coming down with a cold or anything
horrid like that. Now, you wouldn’t be a dear, would you, and brush my hair for
me? Eliza usually does it, but she’s probably regaling the servants with exaggerated
descriptions of our travels.’

So that
was how Lavinia wished to play it, was it? Rose could hardly blame the girl and
if she were truthful, it was a relief. She picked up the hairbrush and began
addressing Lavinia’s luxurious locks, marvelling as always at her beauty which
always seemed exaggerated in comparison with the ordinariness of her own looks.

A
comfortable silence followed, interrupted only by the sound of hair being
brushed. Rose was pleased to have some occupation, even if she did feel a bit
like a servant. And all the while Lavinia concentrated on repairing her face.

‘I must
say, I was rather surprised when Torridge informed me you were staying at
Sedgwick,’ Lavinia said, seemingly carelessly, but looking at Rose’s reflection
in the mirror out of the corner of her eye all the same. ‘What with it being
almost Christmas and all that. I’m surprised Madame Renard could spare you. It
must be one of her busiest times of year.’ The hand applying the powder
suddenly stopped in mid-air as if a thought had just occurred to Lavinia. ‘I
say, Rose, you haven’t been staying here with Ceddie by yourself, have you? There’ll
have been dreadful gossip in the village if you have.’

Rose
wanted to laugh, inappropriate though it would have been under the current
strained circumstances. It was, however, on the tip of her tongue to ask how
she could possibly be considered to be alone here with Cedric when there must
be upwards of a dozen servants residing within the house itself, to say nothing
of the estate staff who tended to the grounds. Instead she said: ‘No, of course
not. Vera Brewster’s here and so is Theo Harrison. They arrived a day or so
before I did.’

‘Vera
Brewster!’ Lavinia made a face in the mirror. ‘How ghastly for you, you poor
thing. You must have been bored stiff. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever met a duller
woman. Oh, I know,’ she added quickly, seeing that Rose was about to protest.
‘One would have to say she’s awfully nice and pleasant and all that, but all
the same dreadfully dull. You know, she’s only a few years older than us, can’t
be more than twenty-eight or twenty-nine, but all she can think about is church
bazaars and organising the rota for doing the flowers in the church, or
overseeing a beetle drive to raise money for widows and orphans. Very worthy
and all that, but I ask you, how very dreary. I suppose it’s having a clergyman
for a father and having to step up to the mark with her mother dying so young.
Still, I’m sure that she’ll make Theo a wonderful doctor’s wife. They’ve been
engaged for absolutely years, you know.’

‘Well, I
think she’s rather nice,’ said Rose, abandoning the hair brushing and sinking onto
Lavinia’s bed.

‘Yes, well
you would,’ said Lavinia, not unkindly, as she played with a wayward curl, ‘but
then you do tend to see the best in everyone, Rose, even me. But you have to
admit that Vera doesn’t make much of an effort to be interesting, even in her
appearance. I mean, she’s probably got a good figure under all those
unflattering clothes she insists on wearing, but one would never know it. Of
course, there is nothing wrong with wearing tweed in the country, but why choose
such nondescript shades of grey or brown? And if one must, at least make sure
that the cloth isn’t sagging and the hems aren’t coming down. Really, she ought
to make an effort. I know Theo’s only a country doctor and all that, but he’s
frightfully ambitious and rather handsome in a country doctor sort of way,
don’t you think? All the old biddies love him, can’t get enough of his bedside
manner. If Vera’s not careful, one of them will leave him a fortune in her will
and he’ll up and open a practice in Harley Street and leave her behind.’

‘Really,
Lavinia, you do talk a lot of old rot,’ retorted Rose, relieved that Lavinia
seemed to be her old self again. ‘I happen to think they’re very fond of each
other, and just because you’re obsessed by clothes and your appearance doesn’t
mean every woman has to be.’

‘Good old
Rose,’ said Lavinia smiling. ‘Putting me in my place. I’ve missed you, you know,
I really have. We had some fun times together in that dress shop, didn’t we? I
would never have been able to have stuck it out for as long as I did if you
hadn’t been there. Are those two awful girls still there? Now, what were their
names … let me think … Oh yes, Sylvia and Mary, such horrid girls.  Anyway, enough
of reminiscing, I’m rather more interested in hearing about what you’ve been up
to lately. I read about all that dreadful business at Dareswick Hall. It had me
enthralled, of course, but the poor Athertons. I say, Rose, murder and death
and all that do seem to follow you around, don’t they?’

‘Or
Cedric,’ put in Rose. ‘He was there too, you know.’

‘I do. You’ve
been seeing rather a lot of my brother recently, haven’t you?’ Lavinia said
suddenly, catching Rose off guard. ‘Awfully good of you to be there for him
when I wasn’t, but really I’m back now.’

Rose felt
herself blush, but Lavinia was still smiling sweetly, as she adjusted her hair.

‘Do you wish
me to leave, Lavinia?’ Rose said somewhat coldly, feeling nevertheless obliged
to offer to go given the circumstances, even though it was the last thing in
the world she wanted to do. To leave Cedric now, when she had only just arrived
at Sedgwick, it was almost more than she could bear … She took a deep breath
and tried to ensure that her voice remained steady. ‘Really, I would understand
it if you did, Lavinia. I can quite see how you might just want to have a quiet
Christmas this year here with your brother.’

‘And
leave me with Vera and her beau?’ Lavinia gave a look of disdain.

‘I’m sure
they’d leave too. They wouldn’t think you rude if you were to ask them to. Why,
I think Vera’s likely to suggest it given everything.’

‘Yes, I
suppose she might. It would be just like her. She’d consider it the right thing
to do and then no doubt complain about me to Theo all the way home. But no, I
don’t want any of you to go. Really, there’s no need. I was dreading this first
Christmas, you know, Cedric and me alone in this vast place, rattling around.
So I did something about it. I’ve invited some friends I made on the Continent
to come and stay. Actually they should all be arriving tomorrow.’ Lavinia
turned in her seat so she could face Rose. ‘So you see, we’ll be quite a house-party.
It will be great fun, see if it isn’t.’ She smiled sweetly.

Somewhat apprehensively
Rose returned her smile. While her heart leapt at the prospect of not having to
leave Cedric, she could not rid herself of a somewhat irrational feeling that
the next few days were likely to be anything but fun. She acknowledged also that
the sense of foreboding that she had experienced earlier had returned, only now
it was more intense.

On
leaving Lavinia to finish her ablutions, Rose came across Vera Brewster in the
hall. She happened to look over the great oak banister and glimpse her from the
staircase before she herself was observed by Vera. To her surprise the young
woman was pacing the black and white tessellated floor below in a seemingly agitated
manner, which immediately awakened Rose’s curiosity. From what little she had
seen of Vera, Rose had taken her to be a calm and collected sort of person. Her
interest was further piqued as it became clear that Vera had been waiting for her.
The woman’s face adopted an eager but anxious expression as soon as she spotted
Rose, and she stopped her pacing abruptly, as if she had been caught doing
something of which she was ashamed.

‘Oh,
there you are, Rose,’ the woman began, wringing her hands. ‘Tell me. Is it
true? Has Lavinia really returned?’

Rose
nodded. The woman’s manner was definitely restive and now that she was standing
up close to her Rose thought her forehead looked moist and clammy. As if
suddenly aware of her appearance, Vera put a handkerchief to her brow, but if
anything it seemed to make matters worse. Yes, she was definitely on edge which
seemed, from Rose’s limited knowledge of her, out of character. Try as she
might, she found it difficult not to think of Lavinia’s less than flattering
description of the girl, which was still ringing in her ears.   

‘Of
course I always supposed she must one day, it’s just that …’

‘Yes?’ Rose
said encouragingly, intrigued by the woman’s manner. Cedric had indicated that
Vera Brewster was a longstanding friend of both himself and his sister. And yet
Lavinia had spoken disparagingly of her and Vera in turn seemed on edge about
Lavinia’s return.

‘It’s
just that I happened to pass the housekeeper just now,’ Vera was saying. ‘She
was muttering angrily to herself under her breath. From what little I could
make out it was something about more guests and heiresses at that. I just
wondered what it all meant, that’s all. Did Lavinia say anything to you about it?’

‘No,’
Rose said carefully, watching the woman’s expression closely, ‘not exactly. She
did mention she’d invited some acquaintances to stay, some new friends she’d
made on the Continent, but she didn’t say who they were. I suppose one or two
of them might be wealthy. After all, only the rich seem to be in a positon to
travel for pleasure these days. But all she actually said was that it was going
to be something of a house-party.’

‘Oh, so I
didn’t mishear. I hoped I had.’ Vera’s voice had fallen to little more than a
whisper and the colour had quite drained from her face.

To Rose’s
eye Vera looked distraught, as if her greatest fears had just been realised,
which seemed ridiculous in the extreme. All her reactions appeared to Rose wholly
disproportionate and she could not help feeling some resentment towards her.
Sedgwick was Lavinia’s home after all. Why shouldn’t she invite guests to stay
if she wished? Why should Vera be so crestfallen? To make matters worse, she
could not help but notice that the hem of Vera’s skirt was indeed coming down
in one place, and the jumper she was wearing was both shapeless and a
particularly unpleasing shade of brown. She fought the urge to try and persuade
her to change her jumper for a fitted blouse, and to offer to mend her skirt before
Lavinia caught sight of her.

‘Oh, it’s
nothing, really it isn’t.’ Vera spoke hurriedly, as if she had become aware
that Rose might think she was behaving rather oddly. ‘It’s just that I was so
hoping that it would be a small house-party, well hardly a house-party at all given
that it was just to be the four of us. I’m not very good at dealing with lots
of people. I never know what to say. I’m always putting my foot in it or else I
get nervous and say the most boring, inane things, one wouldn’t believe.’

Rose
nodded sympathetically although she was not convinced by Vera’s explanation for
her agitated manner. It seemed to her that a woman in Vera’s position, heavily
involved in arranging church events and good causes as she was, would be well
versed in dealing with large gatherings to say nothing of handling the members of
the nobility who were persuaded to open her father’s church fetes and bazaars.

‘Oh, I
know I’m not explaining myself very well. And you probably think I am being
very unreasonable. Why shouldn’t Lavinia come home and bring any number of
friends with her? It’s just …’ Vera faltered and looked away into the distance
apparently lost in her own thoughts.

Rose was
just wondering whether Vera had forgotten she was there when the woman turned
to her, her face now flushed.

‘Tell me,
Rose, have you ever been in love, really in love, I mean? So much so that you
feel you would die if it wasn’t returned?’

Rose,
taken aback, was for a moment lost for words. Whatever she had expected Vera to
say, it was not this. Perhaps it had been a rhetorical question, for Vera did
not wait for an answer, did not seem to expect one even, but ploughed on.

‘I was
wondering whether you and Cedric felt that way about each other. Oh, I know
it’s none of my business, but it’s always so hard to analyse other people’s
relationships, isn’t it?’

‘I
suppose it is.’

‘From a
distance the people concerned might appear quite contented, but scratch the surface
and one might find all sorts of things wrong. I’m so afraid that we might be
like that, Theo and me, I mean. I know that if one were to scratch away at our
surface, I’d be perfectly happy underneath, just as happy as I am above. But
it’s Theo I’m concerned about. I’m so desperately afraid that he might be
unhappy with his lot. With his current life as much as with me. We’re not
enough for him you see, even if he’s not aware of it yet.’ Vera smiled sadly.
‘It would be just like him not to know. He’s so wrapped up in his work, you
see, that he might not feel anything yet, not see the wood for the trees.’     

Rose certainly
did not see. What was more, she was startled that Vera should see fit to
confide in her, a relative stranger. Should she apologise to Vera and say that
she didn’t quite understand what she was saying? But she would feel uncomfortable
doing so, afraid that to be voicing such a sentiment would awaken Vera to the
fact that she had made Rose privy to her most intimate thoughts. Sooner or
later she felt sure Vera would come to her senses and bitterly regret confiding
her inner most fears. But what to do now? Rose looked around the vast hall helplessly,
seeking a chance of escape or a diversion of some sort. But the hall was
strangely empty of everyone, even the servants, and her mind had gone
unhelpfully blank of ideas.

‘Don’t
you think I’m right?’ continued Vera, apparently oblivious to Rose’s
discomfort. ‘I suppose I’m rambling on a bit, but I thought it all made perfect
sense, at least to me it does. But, no, I suppose for you it’s different. And I
don’t suppose for a moment that it would matter so very much to Theo and me if
it wasn’t for
her
.’   

‘Whom?’
Rose could not help herself from asking, despite her good intentions not to
become involved in what appeared to her essentially a private matter.

‘Why, the
heiress, of course,’ answered Vera, as if that explained everything.

‘Oh,
there you are, Cedric,’ Rose said, coming across him at last in the formal
gardens giving some instruction or other to the head-gardener. ‘I wondered
where you were.’

‘Torridge
wanted to talk to me about the arrangements for Lavinia’s guests, you know,
whether they were bringing their own maids and manservants and that sort of
thing. Couldn’t help him one jot, of course. Mrs Farrier really needs to talk
to Lavinia about it, but my sister was far too busy talking to you. I say, how
is she?’’

‘She
seems quite well. Almost back to her old self, I’d say.’

‘I’m
awfully glad she’s returned and all that,’ said Cedric, ‘but it’s a pity she
saw the need to bring a lot of friends with her. She’s only just made their
acquaintance, hasn’t she? I hope they won’t be too frightful.’

‘I was
one of her friends, in case you’d forgotten,’ teased Rose. ‘If she hadn’t seen
fit to bring me on a visit to your aunt’s, we’d never have met.’

‘True.
And she’s almost her old self, you say?’

‘She
appears to be on good form. Prepared to let bygones be bygones, I think, but she
doesn’t want to talk about what happened at Ashgrove. So I wouldn’t mention it
if I were you, not yet. I’m sure in time she’ll want to talk to
you
about
it all, but for the moment she’d rather not go over it. I don’t believe she
thinks it would do any good.’

‘Righto.
It’s just good to have her back.’

‘I also wouldn’t
mention what happened at Dareswick. She’s read about it, of course. She seems
to be under the impression that I attract murder wherever I go. ’

‘What absolute
rot,’ said Cedric, tucking her arm through his, as they set off idly back
towards the house. ‘She could just as easily say that about me. But I’m awfully
glad to hear that she’s all right. I was afraid that she might never come back,
you know, make her home on the Continent or in America. I was afraid that
Sedgwick might hold too many sad memories for her.’

‘I think
it has something to do with the time of year,’ Rose said, ‘you know, with
Christmas approaching. It made her think of family and so, of course, you.’

‘Well,
whatever Lavinia’s reasons for coming back, I’m just jolly pleased she’s here.
And if she doesn’t want to talk about what happened at Ashgrove, well, that’s
fine by me. Let’s concentrate on the here and now, shall we? Did she happen to
mention who her new friends were whom she’d invited to come and stay? Torridge
mumbled something about her mentioning to him a foreign count of some sort.’

‘Vera
said that the housekeeper was grumbling about an heiress. I say, Cedric,’ Rose
stopped walking and clutched at his arm, ‘Vera was behaving very oddly just
now. She seemed jolly put out that Lavinia had returned and that she had
invited some guests to stay.’

‘Vera has
always been rather jealous of Lavinia and very possessive of that doctor of
hers. For all I know she might have good reason, but I don’t know how Theo puts
up with it sometimes. Usually she’s fine but – ’

‘She kept
going on about unrequited love and how she loves Theo more than he does her.’

‘Did she?
Oh dear, that must mean that she’s … I thought she’d stopped all that.’

‘All
what?’ But before Cedric had a chance to answer, Lavinia was upon them, her
hair expertly arranged, her face exquisitely powdered.

‘Oh do
come inside, you two. It’s cold as anything out here. And I want you to see my
new dress, Rose. It’s from one of those famous houses in Paris. I forget which
one, because I visited quite a few while I was there and bought ever so many
gowns. I want you to see the one I’m going to wear to dinner tonight.’

‘I’d like
to see it,’ said Rose.

‘It was
frightfully expensive,’ continued Lavinia, ‘but absolutely divine. Oh, don’t
look at me like that, Ceddie. You don’t understand how important fine gowns are
to a girl like me. You might like going around in faded tweeds or plus fours or
whatnot, and I daresay it’s very different for a man, but I’d simply die if I
had to go around in the sort of get-up Vera wears. How she expects to keep a
man like Theo interested in her, I can’t imagine ...’

Too late
Rose and Cedric became aware of Vera Brewster emerging from behind a rosebush a
few feet from Lavinia. There must have been something in the expression on
their faces, for it caused Lavinia to stop her incessant chattering
mid-sentence. She looked behind her, turning around as she did so. At once she spotted
Vera and moved a step or two backwards towards her brother as if seeking out
his protection. There was a silence relieved only by the faint sound of digging,
by one of the under-gardeners, in a far distant part of the gardens. The three
stood there staring, wondering how much of Lavinia’s speech Vera had actually heard.
It was possible, Rose thought, that she might have caught none of it, or just
the odd word, although the look of mortification on Vera’s face indicated that
if nothing else she had caught the general gist of what Lavinia had been saying.

But
before Lavinia could even attempt an apology of sorts, Vera had turned on her
heel and was half running, half stumbling, back to the house. There was nothing
any one of them could do but look on in horrified silence at the retreating
figure, with its shapeless jumper and sagging skirt, moving further and further
away from them as if in flight.