Decked with Folly (27 page)

Lillian began to whimper, and Cecily pulled her close. “Daisy’s quite right, James. It isn’t nice to be so rough with your sister. Now tell her you’re sorry.”

James kicked the carpet and mumbled, “Sorry.”

“There.” Cecily gave Lillian a little push away from her. “You see? James is sorry.”

For answer, Lillian gave her brother a hefty shove, and received an ear-splitting howl of protest. Heads turned, and Daisy hastily grabbed the hands of her charges. “I think it’s time we got out in the cold fresh air.”

“Good idea.” Cecily hugged each of the children again. “Have a good walk, my dears. You need to be really tired so that you can go to sleep early before Father Christmas comes.”

“
If
he comes,” James muttered.

“He will. I promise.” Cecily watched them leave, thinking wistfully of how magical Christmas was to children. How wonderful it would be if everyone, young or old, could feel that same magic.

It was a little hard, she thought as she climbed the stairs, to keep up the Christmas spirit with so much on her mind. If only she could get everything resolved before the end of the day. That didn’t seem very likely at present.

In fact, she was really beginning to worry about Gertie. If something didn’t turn up in the murder case soon, her chief housemaid might very well find herself escorted down to the police station under suspicion. Somehow she had to find out what happened, before the last hours ran out.

CHAPTER 21

Kept busy with the extra work, the next hour flew by after all for Gertie. After helping Pansy make the beds, she dusted all the rooms while Pansy swept the carpets.

She was in such a rush for the day to go by, she actually finished her chores early, and decided to sneak a few minutes with the twins before she had to start getting everything ready for the midday meal.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, however, Clive ambled toward her, his cap in his hands. “I was hoping to catch you,” he said, as she paused in front of him. “There’s something I’d like to show you, if you have a moment or two.”

Slightly irritated at losing the chance to see her children, she glanced at the clock. “I only have about ten minutes.”

“I’ll be as quick as I can.” He paused, then added, “It’s rather important.”

Curious now, she nodded. “All right. What is it?”

“It’s outside.” He gave her an anxious look. “You’ll need your shawl.”

She shook her head. “Nah, I don’t have time to get it. I’ll be all right. Where outside?”

“I’ll show you.” He led the way to the door, and, thoroughly intrigued, she followed him.

She couldn’t imagine what it was he wanted to show her. It hadn’t snowed in the last four days, so it couldn’t be a snowman. Which was just as well, since she wasn’t too fond of snowmen.

Stepping out onto the porch, she shivered. The wind was blowing directly off the ocean, bringing a salty chill she could feel in her bones. Before she could take another step, she felt a warm weight on her shoulders.

Taken by surprise, she hugged Clive’s jacket to her. It covered her knees, and still held the warmth of his body. “Thank you!” She looked up at him, concerned to see him in shirtsleeves. “But now you’ll be cold.”

“I’m used to it. Come.” He beckoned her to follow him and she obeyed, trudging behind him as he strode ahead around the corner of the building and across the lawns.

He kept up such a pace she was out of breath by the time they reached the edge of the woods. The dark skies made the shadows even deeper among the trees, and a damp mist cloaked the trail.

Gertie had kept expecting Clive to halt long before they reached the woods. Instead, he kept up the steady pace, charging ahead through the trees. She followed more slowly, doubts beginning to creep in. She couldn’t imagine why he’d brought her all this way to show her something. Only then did she remember about Ian.

She remembered Clive that night, skulking across the yard long after he was supposed to have left for home, and soaking wet, like he’d been out in the rain. If Clive had killed Ian, then he had been the one to leave that candlestick under her bed in the hopes she’d be blamed for the crime.

A pang of fear dried her mouth. What if he was going to arrange some kind of accident to get rid of her? Then no one would know for sure that she hadn’t killed Ian, and Clive would be in the clear.

She thought back, trying to remember if anyone saw her leave the building with him. Philip must have been behind the reception desk, but that didn’t mean he’d seen her. It was Christmas. No one was coming or going, and Philip would sit on a chair and read when it was quiet.

Gertie gulped. She’d been pretty stupid to trust Clive so completely. He could have lied about Ian being gone when he got to the coal shed. He could easily have bashed Ian on the head and shoved him in the pond, then brought the key back with no one the wiser.

Heart pounding, Gertie came to a halt. She was too far from the club for anyone to hear her, and she had no doubt that Clive could easily outrun her.

From up ahead Clive’s voice drifted back to her, muffled and strangely high-pitched. “Here it is! Over here!”

Torn with indecision, Gertie hesitated. Clive had protected her so many times. She found it hard to believe he would hurt her now. Then again, if she was wrong about him, she could be making the biggest mistake of her life.

Nevertheless, she felt compelled to find out what it was he was so anxious to show her. Praying that she wasn’t walking into a trap, she started forward to the clearing where Clive waited for her.

 

 

 

Seated in her office, Cecily glanced at the clock. Another two hours before the midday meal would be served. Plenty of time to go into town and back. By now Samuel would have the carriage ready for her. With luck she would be back long before Baxter returned.

Several minutes later she was on her way down the Esplanade. Mabel lived in a boarding house on the edge of town, and Cecily felt a stab of apprehension as Samuel brought the carriage to a halt outside the drab looking house. Until now she hadn’t considered the possibility that Mabel might have an accomplice, in which case, her meeting with the maid might be a little more dangerous than she had anticipated.

“Perhaps you’d better come with me,” she told Samuel, as he opened the door of the carriage. “I think I might need your protection.”

Samuel looked alarmed. “I thought you were just going to visit Mabel.”

Cecily sighed. “I am. I should have told you all this before. There’s a possibility that Mabel has been stealing from the guest rooms and I don’t know if she has an accomplice.”

Samuel’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t you think it might have been better to let the constable handle this?”

“P.C. Northcott isn’t here, Samuel, and I really don’t want to call in the inspector or the Wellercombe police.”

Samuel looked as if he would like to turn the horse around and leave as fast as possible. “Very well, m’m. Lead the way. I’ll be right behind you.”

Cecily smiled. Samuel could always be relied upon to help her in an emergency. “Come, then. I’m sure I’m worrying about nothing, but it doesn’t hurt to lean on the side of prudence.”

The gray-haired woman who greeted them at the door seemed surprised to see them. “Mabel?” she said, when Cecily asked for the maid. “I haven’t seen her this morning. I thought she’d gone to work. She might be up in her room. It’s the first one on the right, at the top of the stairs.”

Thanking her, Cecily hurried over to the stairs and climbed them, grateful for Samuel’s presence behind her. She tapped on the door of Mabel’s room and waited several moments before knocking again, louder this time. “Mabel? Are you there? It’s Mrs. Baxter. I would like to talk to you.”

Still no answer.

“She’s probably scarpered,” Samuel said, looking worried. “Why don’t we let the constable take care of her.”

“I think she’s in there.” Cecily put her ear closer to the door. “I heard movement.” She rapped again. “Mabel? I only want to help you. Let me in and we’ll talk about what happened.”

Another long moment of silence.

“It’s no good, m’m,” Samuel began, but just then a loud click turned both their heads.

Slowly the door opened, and Mabel’s pallid face appeared in the crack.

Cecily smiled. “Are you alone?”

Mabel nodded, and Cecily heard Samuel breathe a sigh of relief. “Will you let us in?”

For another anxious moment or two the maid hesitated, then she stood back and opened the door.

Quickly Cecily slipped inside the room before the girl could change her mind. Samuel stepped in behind her and closed the door.

The room was tiny but cozy, with a small window overlooking the street. Although the furnishings were shabby, everything was neat and tidy—the bed was made and there were no clothes or shoes lying around.

Mabel pointed to the single chair in the room. “Please sit down, m’m.”

She waited for Cecily to sit before seating herself on the edge of the bed. Samuel stood by the door, anxiety still creasing his face.

Cecily came straight to the point, as usual. “Mabel, it has come to my attention that one of our guests is missing some jewelry. I was wondering if you could help me find out where it is.”

A dark flush crept over Mabel’s cheeks. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, and she dashed at them with the back of her hand. “He made me do it,” she whispered.

With a leap of triumph, Cecily leaned forward. “Who made you do what?”

Mabel gulped and rubbed her nose. Samuel stepped forward and gallantly offered her his handkerchief. She took it and blew her nose hard, then crumpled the handkerchief in her hands. “I saw Mrs. Chubb’s ring on the windowsill,” she said, sniffing in between her words. “It looked so pretty. I’ve never seen a ring like that before and I wondered what it would look like on my finger. So I tried it on.” She sniffed harder and more tears ran down her cheeks.

“It’s all right, Mabel.” Cecily reached out and patted her knee. “Just take your time.”

“Well, then Mrs. Chubb came into the kitchen and I was afraid she’d see it so I ran upstairs, but I couldn’t get the ring off and then
he
came along.”

“Who, dear? Who came along?”

Mabel sniffed again. “Sid Barrett. He saw me tugging at the ring and he helped me. It hurt, but he did get it off. He said he’d put the ring back in the kitchen. But then he told me I had to take some jewels from one of the guest rooms to thank him, or he’d tell Mrs. Chubb I stole the ring.”

She started crying in earnest. “I didn’t want to, but he said I would go to p-prison and I got scared so I took them, but then I was afraid to go back there in case he made me do it again.”

“Oh, dear.” Cecily sat back. “Well, Mabel, I think you have been rather foolish. You should have told someone instead of doing what Sidney Barrett asked you to do.”

“I didn’t think anyone would believe me.” Mabel dabbed at her eyes with Samuel’s handkerchief.

Cecily got up from the chair. “I would like you to come back to the Pennyfoot with me now, and we’ll get all this sorted out.”

Mabel looked frightened. “I don’t want to go back. He frightens me.”

Cecily took her arm. “I promise you, he will not bother you again. But I need you to come back with me now so you can tell your story to a gentleman who will take care of Sidney Barrett, and then you will never have to see him again.”

Mabel still hung back, her face drawn with anxiety. “But what about the jewels? Will I have to go to prison?”

“I think we can settle things with Lady Roslyn, once she hears what really happened. As for Mrs. Chubb’s ring, Sidney stole that, not you. The best thing for you to do is come back with me and get all this sorted out.”

Finally the maid nodded.

Cecily waited while she fetched her coat from the wardrobe and then led the way down the stairs to the entrance.

The woman who had let them in came forward as they approached the front door. Apparently noticing the maid’s tear-stained face, she asked anxiously, “Is everything all right, Mabel?”

“Quite all right, Mrs. Thomas. Thank you.” Mabel managed a frail smile. “I’ll be going to work now.”

The woman still looked doubtful, but stood back to let them pass.

Once outside, Cecily felt that she could breathe again. Mabel still looked frightened, and Cecily tried to reassure her as they traveled back along the Esplanade.

“I’m sure Lady Roslyn will be understanding once we explain everything to her.” She tucked her scarf more securely around her neck against the chill wind. “Rest assured I won’t let you go to prison.”

Mabel sat hunched on the seat, and seemed unconvinced by Cecily’s remarks.

She would have to talk to Archie Parker the moment they got back, Cecily told herself. The sooner they got this matter settled, the better.

The walls of the Pennyfoot came into view as they rounded the curve, resplendent in the weak morning sun. The mist was gradually disappearing, allowing a blue sky to emerge above the ocean. It was going to be a lovely evening for the carol singing ceremony. As they approached the country club, Cecily caught sight of two figures leaving through the back gates. She recognized Sid Barrett at once, then smothered a gasp when she saw his companion.

He was leading the young woman by the hand, and as she turned her face to the street Cecily saw her quite clearly. It was Gloria Johnson.

 

 

 

Closer and closer Gertie crept, her gaze firmly fixed on the shadowy figure of the man waiting for her, her muscles tensed to make a dash for it at the slightest hint of danger.

“There it is! What do you think?” Clive pointed up into the branches above his head, but Gertie never took her eyes off him.