03 - Murder at Sedgwick Court (7 page)

‘He’s
hoping that she’ll help further his career, that’s all. I won’t say I like it.
I want us to stay here in Sedgwick, but you know what Theo’s like. He has ideas
of becoming a fashionable doctor. But he wouldn’t like it, not really, I know
he wouldn’t.’

Vera’s
voice to Rose’s ears sounded strained, as if the woman were trying to convince
herself of the truthfulness of her words. Rose felt desperately sorry for her
and rather angry towards Lavinia for upsetting her so. Yes, she admitted rather
grudgingly to herself, Lavinia was just saying what everyone else secretly
thought, but really, there were ways to go about it and this was not one of
them.

‘Come on,
we’d better go down,’ Rose said, to put an end to the conversation. ‘They’ll
probably all be waiting on us, wondering where we are. I’m sure that we’ll be
dreadfully late.’

Lavinia
was through the door even before Vera had risen to her feet. Rose stayed back
and took Vera’s hand in hers, squeezing it for a moment.

‘It’ll be
all right, see if it isn’t. You mustn’t take any notice of Lavinia, I know I don’t.’

Vera
nodded and gave a feeble smile that did not reach her eyes. Somewhat miserably
she followed Rose downstairs. But, even as Rose made her way down the grand oak
staircase to the black and white tiled hall below, she knew with almost certainty
that everything would not be all right, for she felt it in the air.

‘We’ll
be late. Do hurry. Everyone will be waiting for us, or should I say
you
,’
Jemima said, staring at Emmeline’s reflection in the dressing table mirror.

Emmeline
did not turn around, but instead studied herself critically in the mirror. 

‘I’m
certain they won’t mind waiting a moment or two for us. There’s something
missing, don’t you think? I need some sort of necklace or trinket to set off
this frock. Lavinia always seems to be absolutely draped in diamonds.’ She
opened her jewel box and toyed with the jewellery inside, letting the necklaces
and bracelets fall through her fingers, pausing every now and then to hold up
one or two of the most eye-catching pieces so that they caught the light.

‘Lavinia
wears far too much jewellery,’ Jemima said. ‘It’s as if she were going to a
ball. I daresay she’s trying to impress you,’ she paused, ‘or Count Fernand.’

‘You’re
no doubt right. But I am rather tired of wearing this string of pearls. Of
course,’ Emmeline added hurriedly, ‘they’re very fine and understated and all
that. I daresay they show breeding, but … well, they’re something a maiden aunt
might wear. I’d like to wear something different tonight, something that will
make even Lavinia gasp.’

She shut
the jewel box and waited for Jemima to respond. There was an awkward pause, and
she thought for an awful moment that Jemima wouldn’t say anything, wouldn’t
make it easy for her, and that she would be forced to ask outright.

‘You mean
…’ Jemima said at last, and then stopped.

‘Yes, oh,
yes!’ Emmeline said excitedly, swinging around on the stool. ‘Couldn’t I, just
this evening? Just this once? Surely it isn’t too much to ask?’

‘They’re
too precious, too valuable. We should have asked Cedric to lock them in his
safe.’

‘We can
do that tomorrow. I’ll wear them tonight, and then you can do with them as you
will tomorrow.’

‘I still
– ’

‘Oh,
please don’t let us argue about it,’ implored Emmeline. ‘Surely it’s not too
much to ask, is it? Why, I’ll only be wearing them for a few hours at most, and
then I’ll hand them over to you to look after and lock away in Cedric’s safe as
you see fit. And I promise I won’t make a fuss about wearing the pearls after
that.’

‘Oh …
very well,’ said Jemima, resigned but still full of misgivings, ‘wear the
diamonds tonight if you must.’

Vera, Rose
noticed, watched Theo and Emmeline closely over dinner. For once, however, they
appeared to have little to say to each other, so that Emmeline’s usual giggling
chatter was directed to those around the table as a whole, rather than to the
doctor exclusively. Rose silently breathed a sigh of relief. If Vera’s suspicions
had been aroused by Lavinia’s words, then there was nothing in Theo and
Emmeline’s behaviour to prove them founded. She wondered idly whether the two
had had some form of a disagreement, or perhaps conversely they had decided
only to be more discreet in their conduct.

Whatever
the position, the dinner passed pleasantly enough and, when the gentlemen
joined the ladies later in the drawing room after their cigars and port,
agreeable conversation flowed. Any lingering tension in the atmosphere thawed.
A fire crackled and burned brightly in the grate, and the various jewels worn
by Lavinia and Emmeline sparkled every now and then in the light from the chandeliers.

And yet
there was still something about Emmeline Montacute that seemed to mesmerise
them all. Even those outside her immediate circle of Theo, Lavinia and Count
Fernand, felt drawn to watching her. The onlookers, feeling excluded and yet
equally intrigued, were silent for a time, busying themselves with sipping
their drinks or lighting, and puffing at, cigarettes to give themselves
something to do before they turned their gaze from her and entered into their
own conversations.

Rose had
just come to the conclusion that the evening was going to pass off without
incident, when Vera, who had been particularly quiet all evening, opened her
mouth and spoke in an unnecessarily high voice, the effect of which was to cut,
like a knife, through the various conversations going on in the room.

‘It must
have been awful for you, being kidnapped, I mean.’ Vera’s words were directed
towards Emmeline who immediately paled. She attempted to stutter a reply and
then gave Jemima a look of such distress that Rose feared she might be going to
faint. Theo, obviously of the same opinion, leapt to her side, clutched her
hand and put an arm around her to support her and thus prevent her from
falling.

‘Vera!
Really how could you?’

Theo
almost spat out the words over his shoulder and that, together with the
accompanying look of fury on his face, saw his fiancée visibly retreat to the
corner of the room, reeling from the hatred and emotion expressed in those few
words. Jemima meanwhile was grim faced and was clutching at the back of the
armchair she happened to be standing behind. She had remained where she was
during the outburst, and only now did she venture forward to go and stand
before Vera, her eyes blazing with barely concealed emotion.

‘How dare
you! How could you be so unkind as to mention that? What sort of a person are
you?’

Jemima’s
eyes had a wild look about them and she seemed close to tears. Felix went over
to her quickly and showed her to a chair on which she sank down heavily,
sobbing quietly into her handkerchief. Felix knelt down before her, whispering
words of comfort, before bestowing a look on Vera which equalled Theo’s in its
ferocity.

Vera
retreated further to the edges of the room and looked as if she wished to
disappear into the shadows. The others meanwhile had been standing around in amazement,
not quite believing that they were witnessing such a spectacle in the drawing
room of Sedgwick Court. To make matters worse, out of the corner of her eye,
Rose saw one of the footman endeavouring to keep his face expressionless. She had
little doubt that news of the incident would soon be spreading around the
servants’ hall like wild fire. Inwardly she cursed Vera for behaving so rashly
and Lavinia for her meddling, which she felt had made the situation worse, and
which she was far from certain had been well meant.

The outburst
had created an uncomfortable atmosphere among the party which threatened to
spoil the rest of the evening. Certainly everyone appeared at a loss as to what
to say or do to restore the agreeable ambience that had previously prevailed.
Cedric looked particularly ill at ease. No doubt, Rose thought, because he felt
as host it was his responsibility to repair matters. She caught his eye and saw
the look of desperation on his face.

‘Lavinia,’
Rose said quickly, ‘do you remember those silly games that we used to play in
the dress shop when Madame Renard’s back was turned and we had a particularly
difficult customer to deal with?’

‘Y-yes,’
said Lavinia, ‘although I’m not sure that I can remember …’

‘Oh, they
were very silly games,’ Rose said, lightly. ‘But it made me think about parlour
games. Don’t you think it would be awfully fun to play some now?’

‘Oh,
rather,’ Cedric said quickly.

‘You mean
charades or pass the slipper?’ Lavinia said with distaste and frowned. ‘I’ve
always been absolutely hopeless at charades and, really, I’ve never quite seen
the point of pass the slipper.’

‘Parlour
games are for children, I think, are they not?’ said Count Fernand, joining in
the conversation. ‘But I agree with Miss Simpson that games can be fun. You
ladies, you like fine gowns and fine jewels, do you not?’

‘Of
course,’ agreed Lavinia. ‘A woman can never have enough diamonds. I never tire
of looking at my diamonds and seeing how they catch the light. I do think
diamonds look beautiful in candlelight, don’t you?’

‘I do.
You say you like to look at your diamonds, and yet I think you have never
looked at them, not properly.’

‘I can’t
think what you mean by that,’ said Lavinia, ‘I look at mine all the time, don’t
you, Emmeline? Well I would, only Cedric insists that I keep them locked up in
the safe when I’m not wearing them.’

‘Oh,
yes,’ agreed Emmeline, rallying, ‘all the time, don’t I Jemima?’

All eyes
turned to the heiress’s companion, but Jemima said nothing, as if she were
still lost in her own little world of despair.

‘I’m
always opening my jewel box just to look at them,’ Emmeline continued. ‘And
diamonds are my absolute favourites.’ She turned to look at Jemima, who still
appeared absorbed in her own thoughts. There was a moment’s hesitation before
she went on excitedly, but nevertheless almost whispering: ‘Especially the
Montacute Diamonds.’

‘The
Montacute Diamonds?’ exclaimed Lavinia, with equal excitement. ‘Do they really
exist?’

‘I think
I’ve read about them somewhere,’ said Felix, showing some interest in the
conversation for the first time. ‘They’re supposed to be worth a king’s ransom,
aren’t they?’

‘Yes, oh,
yes!’ exclaimed Emmeline, detaching herself from Theo and going over to the count.
The colour had returned to her face and it appeared that she at least had been
quick to regain her composure. She threw a glance at Jemima who had stopped
crying and was now sitting quietly, although she still looked pale and agitated.
‘They are magnificent, aren’t they, Jem?’

Jemima nodded,
but again said nothing. Undeterred, Emmeline went on, obviously determined to
veer the conversation away from talk of the attempted kidnapping.

‘There’s
a necklace, a tiara, two broaches, a ring, some pendant earrings. I’ve probably
missed out one or two other things, but one gets the gist. A complete suite of
jewels, Max. The centrepieces in both the tiara and necklace are frightfully
beautiful. Large, yellow and internally flawless diamonds mounted in platinum
and rose gold and surrounded by ever so many white diamonds.’

‘They
sound magnificent,’ exclaimed Lavinia.

‘They’re awfully
pretty,’ agreed Emmeline, ‘really they are. Of course they’re so frightfully
valuable they’re kept at the bank and only brought out and worn on very special
occasions.’

‘How did
your father come by them?’ enquired Cedric.

To Rose,
he sounded a little bored of the conversation, but determined to play his part.

‘M-my
father didn’t,’ Emmeline hesitated slightly for a moment. ‘My grandfather
acquired them from an Indian prince, I think, and gave them as a present to my
grandmother. I don’t believe the prince really wanted to sell them. The story
goes that he went hunting big game with my grandfather and that they entered
into a wager over who could shoot the most tigers. The prince was very
confident that he would win because he spent nearly all his time shooting big
game. He wagered the diamonds. But Grandfather was a very good shot, even if he
was more used to shooting rabbits and pheasants than he was tigers. He won the
wager much to the consternation of the prince, and brought the diamonds back home
to England with him.’

‘The poor
prince,’ said Lavinia. ‘He can’t have been very popular with his subjects … is
that what you call them in India? Or is it just in England, and then only when
one is referring to a king or queen? No, don’t tell me. I say, though, I wonder
if they are cursed, the diamonds I mean? Perhaps they were cursed on leaving
the shores of India.’

‘Oh don’t
say that,’ Emmeline said, shivering slightly.

‘What
nonsense, Lavinia,’ said Cedric. ‘You do talk absolute rot sometimes.’

‘But it
is such a pity to have to keep such beautiful jewels locked away,’ murmured the
count.  

‘Yes,
isn’t it,’ agreed Emmeline with feeling, ‘frightfully dull and all that.’

A few
moments of silence returned to the room and the uneasy atmosphere that had
lifted temporarily threatened to return. For it seemed that no one else could
think of anything to say, as if their thoughts were with the unfortunate prince
who had behaved so rashly. And for some unaccountable reason, conversations
that had begun before Vera’s outburst could not be continued or sustained, and
no one could think of any new subject to discuss.  

‘Whatever
did you mean just now, Max, when you said that you thought I’d never properly
looked at my diamonds?’ Lavinia persisted, addressing Count Fernand.

‘What I
meant,’ explained the count, ‘is that you girls do not look at them closely
. 
‘No, no, no.’ He held up his hand as Lavinia was about to protest. ‘You
look to see how the diamond looks on your finger, how well the necklace sits on
the nape of your neck and makes your skin glow. You do all this, yes, but you
never really look into the diamond. To do that, you need to use one of these.’
He produced something from the breast pocket of his dinner jacket that looked
like a miniature magnifying glass.

‘Whatever
is that?’ asked Lavinia, intrigued.

‘It is a jeweller’s
loupe,’ replied the count. ‘Fine jewellery is a great fascination of mine, and
diamonds in particular. I regard myself as something of an expert.’ He smiled
and held out the lens to Lavinia. ‘With this little lens, you can see how fine
your diamonds really are. You can see if there are any cracks or chips around
the edges and you can see the diamonds’ many facets. Why, you can even see if any
of them have large inclusions or blemishes. Perhaps you want to examine the
little claw settings. Are they secure and holding your diamonds fast? Or are
they loose? Are you about to lose your beautiful diamonds like this?’ He
snapped his fingers loudly for dramatic effect and Lavinia squealed excitedly.