Death of a Schoolgirl: The Jane Eyre Chronicles (16 page)

“But Jane, it might not be safe! Miss Miller, could you hire another German teacher? Or rearrange the sleeping accommodations so all the girls have protectors?” Lucy spoke with great emotion.

“The layout of the school is such that each of the forms has a separate sleeping room. I watch over the Infants, Miss Parthena Jones is installed with the Juniors, and, thus, the Seniors alone are without supervision. There are too many students to move them all into one room.

“Since everyone is expecting a German teacher, this seemed like a good way to both secure the sleeping quarters and keep an eye on the different age groups,” Miss Miller explained. “I also supposed that Mrs. Rochester’s presence would go a long way toward comforting Adela.”

“That might be the wisest course of action, putting a fox in the henhouse, so to speak, but it is a hasty response to the problem,” said Mr. Douglas.

I wondered aloud, “Why doesn’t Mrs. Thurston sleep in the room with the Senior girls?”

Miss Miller colored slightly. “She is such a sound sleeper that I think it would do no good. Also, I doubt that she could manage the stairs. She is rather stout.”

This explanation strained the seams of credibility, but I let it pass.

“What questions did Waverly ask?” said Mr. Douglas, beginning to pace impatiently. “Pardon my interference, but before Mrs. Rochester puts herself in this situation, I would like to know what Waverly knows. That might shed more light on the dangers.”

“Mr. Waverly wanted a recitation of the events of the morning,” Miss Miller said.

“Review that for us quickly, if you would please.”

“Staff rises at five thirty,” said Miss Miller. “Emma, our maid of all work, rings the bell for the Senior girls at six. Ten minutes later, she knocks on their door. Since the previous
German teacher Fräulein Hertzog left us a month ago, we have had no adult in that dormitory. As a consequence, Mrs. Thurston devised a plan. Each Senior has a partner, who is responsible for seeing that her partner is dressed and ready for breakfast. The head girl oversees two partners.”

“And the age of these girls?” Mr. Douglas asked.

“Adela is the youngest Senior at ten,” Miss Miller said, and quickly explained how Mrs. Thurston thought she might be a bad influence on children her own age. Lucy shook her head in disgust, but Miss Miller continued with, “The rest are age thirteen and older. Many of the girls will stay with us until they make their debut at age sixteen. Selina was the eldest, just sixteen. The idea of partners has worked rather well.”

“What happens if the partner proves incorrigible? A sluggard?” Lucy asked.

“Then they both are punished.” Miss Miller spoke softly. The rest of us shook our heads in disgust. We could well imagine the difficulty for a child with a recalcitrant partner.

Could that have been a motive for murder?
I wondered, but I discounted the idea. How could one schoolgirl kill another? The very thought sent a shiver up my spine.

“I admit that the problem lay chiefly with Selina,” Miss Miller hurried to explain. “She is—was—difficult and did not take well to instruction. The girl was a beauty, had always been, and I believe her father especially was so captivated by her looks that he could not bring himself to discipline her.”

“Would an intruder have had access to the Senior dormitory?” Mr. Douglas wondered. “That scenario—while unlikely—cannot be completely discounted.”

“Yes.” Miss Miller nodded. “It is possible an intruder climbed in through the window. There is a large horse chestnut tree with a branch that abuts the dormitory window.”

“Did Waverly see any signs of forced entry?” Mr. Douglas asked.

“He did not, but he did recommend that, besides adding the chaperone, Mrs. Thurston ought to cut down the offending horse chestnut branch immediately.”

“And her response?” asked Mr. Douglas.

I thought I knew what it would be. I could not imagine Mrs. Thurston accepting direction from anyone, even a Runner from Bow Street.

“She said she would take up the matter with Lady Kingsley. Such decisions about the grounds are beyond Mrs. Thurston’s purview, to be honest.”

Miss Miller colored and looked away. “I must also tell you that Selina liked to sneak out at night. I caught her at it once. I know Miss Jones did, too. Selina was like that. Challenging. Strong willed. Her parents live in Brighton. They are not well-to-do, so they sent her here while they saved up for her debut this spring. Selina was unhappy about the situation, as she expected finer lodgings and a grand staff and told us so at every opportunity. As a consequence, she liked to misbehave. We were quite unsuccessful in taming her.”

“Let us get back to your review of the morning’s schedule,” said Mr. Douglas.

“The girls wash and dress to come downstairs. Prayers are at six thirty. Breakfast is served around seven. But at six twenty, Selina had not moved. Her partner railed at her, rewarding her with a few small shoves to the shoulder. The other girls ignored this. The morning seemed unexceptional, as Selina often refused to get up in a timely manner. Finally, Selina’s partner grew angry. The two had gotten into a brief scuffle a few days ago. There was even some hair pulling. Despite the tussle they had, Selina had succeeded in making her partner late, and both girls were charged with memorizing extra Scripture verses. This morning, Selina’s partner lost all patience. She decided to drag Selina out of bed. Of course, that is when she discovered Selina was dead.”

I could only imagine the scene and how shocked the girls were. Especially the girl who grabbed Selina only to discover she was cold and stiff.

Mr. Douglas’s face was thoughtful when he asked, “What is the name of Selina’s partner?”

Miss Miller cut her eyes at me. “Adela. It was Adela Varens who found Selina dead.”

“No wonder she was hysterical!” I could scarcely contain myself. “How could you not tell me this earlier?”

“I planned to tell you when we met on the morrow. That way I could assure you that Adela was fine. After she’d had a good night’s sleep and I’d had the chance to talk with her.”

“This certainly explains
why
she was distraught!” I spat the words out.

“Mrs. Rochester, I beg you to remember that you were the same age when the nurse at Lowood carried you from the bed of your friend, Helen Burns. Helen’s death did not frighten you overmuch. At least not that I observed.”

“That is true enough, but Helen and I both knew she was dying—and I was taken from the bed before I realized she had died! More importantly, Adèle and I have different sensibilities. She is French and prone to emotions—”

“Whereas you are English through and through,” said Miss Miller. “What upsets one child, another takes in stride. Yes, finding Selina dead did disturb Adela, at least initially, but I
hoped to report to you that she had regained her self-control. She has been working hard to develop that quality over the past two years. I believe she has come a long way.”

Mr. Douglas cleared his throat, bringing us back to the topic at hand. “What else did Mr. Waverly ask?”

“He wanted to know if Selina had made enemies.”

“Had she?” asked Lucy eagerly, leaning forward in her chair.

“Enemies?” said Miss Miller. “I can’t imagine so. But Selina was…provoking. She teased Caje, the young man who works at Alderton House. She flirted with him and mocked him. She bullied our previous German teacher, Fräulein Hertzog, until the young woman packed her bags and left in the night without a character reference. Truthfully, although she matriculated only three months ago, in that short time Selina managed to irk all the teachers, leaving her work undone, causing disruption in the classrooms, and generally being disagreeable.”

“How did she act toward the other students?” I asked.

“Regretfully, I must admit she tormented them. I tried to correct her, but Mrs. Thurston would have none of it. Selina had become her pet.”

“I do not understand,” Lucy said. “You are saying that Mrs. Thurston ignored the girl’s misbehavior? Astonishing. Particularly when you relate that she caused so much havoc.”

Miss Miller nodded. “It is rather confusing. I cannot explain why Mrs. Thurston doted on the girl. In the beginning, Mrs. Thurston and Selina were frequently at odds and even once engaged in a shouting match. Soon after, I noticed Mrs. Thurston’s attitude changed. She chose to ignore the child’s failings.”

“Given the tenor of our meeting today, she did not strike me as being exceptionally sensitive,” I said.

“Our superintendent puts great store by controlling one’s emotions. While her exterior is gruff, Mrs. Thurston can be very kind and compassionate. I know you did not see that side
of her today, Mrs. Rochester, but believe me, it is there,” Miss Miller said.

“That discrepancy, the change in Mrs. Thurston’s behavior toward Selina Biltmore, is certainly a matter that needs to be explored. Meanwhile, let us summarize.” Mr. Douglas steepled his fingertips. “Selina Biltmore was killed in her own bed sometime during the night. She was discovered to be dead when her partner, Adèle Varens, attempted to rouse her for breakfast.”

Miss Miller nodded. “Adela’s screams brought me running. I sent a girl to tell Caje to fetch the doctor. Miss Jones led the students to the dining room, where they stayed until after…after Selina’s body was removed. That is about the time that Mrs. Rochester appeared for her visit.”

“I saw men carrying the stretcher to the hearse. Of course, at the time I did not know it was a hearse, but now I understand the nature of the vehicle that had blocked our way when Williams and I arrived,” I explained.

Mr. Douglas inclined his head and continued his summation: “There is a window leading into the dormitory of the Senior girls, and it is accessible by climbing a horse chestnut tree. There was, and is, no adult available to stand guard over the girls in the Senior dormitory.”

“Waverly did say he would post a man on our street,” Miss Miller said. “A Robin Redbreast.”

“What is that?” I asked.

“One of the Bow Street horse patrols. Their red waistcoats announce their identity from a long way away,” Lucy said.

“The horse patrol might prevent someone from breaking into the school,” Mr. Douglas said, “but such a plan offers no help if there is already a murderer in your midst.”

He paused and added, “There is another way the murder might have occurred. You say that Selina Biltmore often sneaked out, possibly to meet with someone, and the tree offered easy access. Is it possible she let someone in?”

“But the other girls would have overheard an intruder,” I protested.

Mr. Douglas stroked his chin. “That raises the question: Why did none of the girls awaken when Selina Biltmore was struggling? Marcus Piper believes she fought her murderer.”

“Yes, how could the girls have slept through such an event?” Lucy asked.

“They could have been dosed with laudanum!” I spoke so quickly that I surprised myself. “Adèle has been dosed. When I tried to wake her, she barely responded!”

“That could explain the other students’ ignorance of the murder,” said Mr. Douglas. “But it would also mean our villain was someone with access to the girls to dose them. Who could have done so?”

“There is yet another likely scenario. Perhaps the murderer had an accomplice inside the school,” I said.

“Just so,” he said. “Very good, Mrs. Rochester. I can see you are a natural at this! Who would have hated the girl so much?”

“I was sorry to tell Mr. Waverly that almost everyone in the school had reason to dislike Selina.” Miss Miller sighed. “Since she came to Alderton, there have been many tearful scenes. Mrs. Thurston would not allow her to be disciplined, so Selina did whatever she wanted. I did not mind the disruption so much as I hated the way it hurt the other girls.”

She sighed. “But despite all that, I cannot imagine anyone inside the school hurting Selina, much less taking her life.”

“I can,” I said. “And I have proof.”

I withdrew from my pocket the two pieces of paper that had precipitated my visit to London. “This one from Adèle came to us through the mail a few days ago. The smaller paper was tucked inside.”