03 - Murder at Sedgwick Court Page 6

  ‘How awful. Tell me, how long has Jemima been companion to Emmeline?’ Rose asked intrigued. ‘Presumably she’s living under the same conditions?’

  ‘Only about a year or two, I think,’ replied Lavinia. ‘I think Mr Montacute was afraid his daughter would become bored with her own company when he had to leave Scotland from time to time on business. So he invited Jemima to come and stay and of course she’s frightfully grateful to him. Her family are in rather a poor way.’

  ‘And yet he … Mr Montacute that is, is quite happy for his daughter to go on the Continent and stay here at Sedgwick? I have to say, Lavinia,’ said Rose, ‘I’ve seen no sign of Mr Montacute’s servants manning the doors and windows here or patrolling the grounds. I daresay they do it all very discreetly and with the minimum of fuss, but even so …’

  ‘Ah, well, about that,’ said Lavinia, going very pink and suddenly finding the pattern on the wallpaper surprisingly absorbing, so much so that she was not obliged to look her friend in the eye. ‘As it happens Mr Montacute doesn’t know she’s here.’

  Before Rose could respond in any way to this startling revelation, there was a tap on the door and Vera entered the room, looking somewhat surprised to find Rose already ensconced there.

  ‘Lavinia … Oh, I say, I hope I’m not intruding? I just wondered if I could borrow – ’

  ‘A dress?’ enquired Lavinia rather unkindly. ‘Surely Vera you’re not going to wear that old black frock again? Haven’t you rather done it to death already?’

  ‘Lavinia!’ exclaimed Rose, shocked.

  ‘Oh, don’t worry, Rose’ said Vera, carelessly. ‘You don’t need to protest on my account. I’m quite used to Lavinia’s ways. She doesn’t mean anything by it.’

  ‘Actually, this time I do. Wouldn’t you rather like to borrow one of my dresses, Vera? Eliza could do something with your hair and I could make you up. Oh, do say yes, it would be such great fun, wouldn’t it? Rose?’

  Rose nodded, not knowing quite what to say or what she thought of the proposal. It seemed to her that it would take more than a well-groomed Vera to tear Theo’s eyes away from Emmeline. Perhaps though it was worth a try.

  As it happened, Vera was having none of it.

  ‘I’m not some mannequin or doll for you to dress up, thank you very much,’ Vera said rather crossly. ‘Clothes and make up really are not my thing at all, as you well know, Lavinia. Besides, Theo likes me just the way I am.’

  ‘Are you sure about that?’ Lavinia said rather coldly.

  ‘What exactly do you mean by that?’ cried Vera defensively, a wild gleam appearing in her eye.

  ‘Only that Theo seems to be enjoying the company of Emmeline Montacute rather too much for my liking …’

  Lavinia let the sentence drift off into silence, which for a few moments no one in the room seemed inclined to break. Rose looked desperately first at Lavinia and then at Vera, wondering what to do for the best. Privately she thought Lavinia had gone too far. Vera’s face had become quite ashen and she was clenching and unclenching her hands in an agitated manner. Finally, when the silence became almost too much to bear, Vera sank herself onto the bed beside Rose and said resignedly:

  ‘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.

  Chapter Seven

  ‘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 the
m 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 t
hat.’

  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.