“Where else do I have to wear it?” she said merrily. “And it just gives my obnoxious nephews more reason to see me locked up here.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Four years come September.”
“Why?”
“I became extremely depressed when my daughter died, followed in less than three months by my husband. My husband was in business with his brother. Other than our daughter, Rose, we had no children, so the business went to his brother andhis brother’s sons, Enoch and Jeffrey. I asked to come here. I’d heard about it and at the time I couldn’t stand to be in my home where I’d lost two of my loved ones so close together. It sounded so restful, and it has been, up until now. And now I find I’m done with restful and I’m ready for adventure!” she said, rubbing her gloved hands together, her eyes twinkling.
“So why are your nephews being troublesome now?” Cecilia asked.
Mrs. Vance smiled. “They didn’t know until after their father died how much of the business I own and how much money was left to me. They are my heirs as I have no one else, but they want control of my money now.”
Cecilia nodded. Mrs. Vance must be one of the patients at Camden House who have been in residence since before Mr. Montgomery came. “How well did you know Mr. Montgomery?” she asked.
“Socially here at Camden House. Card playing is a regular activity in the evening in the library and he and I often played partners. Now that I think about it, that was his only social activity. Kept much to himself,” Mrs. Vance said thoughtfully. “He read a lot, was friendly enough when addressed. A quiet man.”
“Did he ever have visitors?” Cecilia asked.
“Not regularly, except for that cousin of his,” she said.
“Mr. Ratcliffe?” Cecilia clarified.
“Him? Nasty man. Not nice at all. Leering. Haughty. Looked down on all of us. I can tell you, Mr. Montgomery certainly did not like him and strived to be least in sight when he came. He’s also the banker for Camden Hall. Imagine a man like him as guardian to sweet Mr. Montgomery. Shameful.—A little over a year ago, shortly after Christmas, a nice Scotsman did come to visit him.”
“Which nice Scotsman?” Cecilia asked. Then she remembered the Scotsman who’d been in London and suddenly left when Mr. Montgomery was pronounced alive. “Mr. Cameron Ramsay?” she asked.
“Yes, that was his name. Mr. Montgomery’s Scottish solicitor, you know.”
Cecilia blinked in surprise. Mr. Ramsay was a solicitor? “No, I didn’t know,” she said. She looked across the wide hall.
How did Mr. Ramsay come to know he was alive? Did Mr. Montgomery send for him? If he knew, who else knew before Mr. Montgomery died? What would his Scottish solicitor be doing visiting him at Camden Hall? Unless?—
Cecilia turned back to look at Mrs. Vance. “Was Mr. Ramsay here to draw up Mr. Montgomery’s will?”
“Oh yes, he was. Did it very legal, too. I was one of the witnesses.”
Cecilia realized how valuable a resource Mrs. Vance could be for her investigation. “You were?” she said. “Who else?”
“Mrs. Worcham and Miss Hammond, who is not here anymore unfortunately. He would have liked Lady Stackpoole to be a witness but she had not yet returned from her yearly holiday visit to her home.”
Her lips twisted into an amused smile. “—Not a gentleman amongst us. Mr. Ramsay said it would still be legal. We all met in the library, back when visitors were allowed in there before Mr. Turnbull-Minchin and his rules,” she said disgustedly. “It was all formal. He also had me, and Mrs. Worcham, read the will. Miss Hammond didn’t read that well, not all that legal stuff, but I did since I helped my husband with his correspondence. I read it aloud for her benefit.”
“Can you tell me about the will?” Cecilia asked, her voice growing rebelliously hoarse again.
Mrs. Vance nodded. “That was the big surprise to all of us. He left everything to his wife with a man named Mr. Sedgewick as the co-executor for his estate with Mr. Ramsay, the solicitor. We had no idea he was married, and we were pledged to secret for that part. We couldn’t even tell Lady Stackpoole, and she was supposed to be one of the signatories. Because she wasn’t here, she couldn’t know.”
“Did you say Sedgewick?” Cecilia squeaked out. She grabbed her handkerchief from where she’d tucked it in her sleeve and tried to clear her throat. “Did you say Sedgewick?” she managed to ask again, before her cough came.
“Yes.” Mrs. Vance tilted her head. “Do you know him? Mr. Montgomery said he was a childhood friend and he trusted him to take care of his family.”
“Yes, yes, I do know him.” Cecilia coughed again, this cough cleared the congestion. “Mr. Sedgewick is the man the magistrate arrested for Mr. Montgomery’s murder.”
“I thought they arrested a peer,” Mrs. Vance said, her brow furrowing with confusion.
Cecilia nodded. “They did. Alastair Sedgewick, Earl of Soothcoor.”
Mrs. Vance’s confusion turned to a frown. “Hmm. He even made a statement in his will hoping this Mr. Sedgewick would marry his wife if he should die. Mrs. Worcham questioned him severely about this. She feared he was planning suicide. He had threatened that before. He laughed and assured her that the ‘others’ wouldn’t let him.”
