Brodie nodded. “It might be useful to speak with Miss Ainsley-Townsend.”
Four
With the necessityof timeliness in the case we had now undertaken, I sent round a message to the Ainsley-Townsend residence as soon as we returned to the office on the Strand.
Brodie had suggested that it might be better received if the message came from me and although I was not personally acquainted with the family, I used my formal title as it was very likely to be acknowledged rather than a request from a former inspector with the Metropolitan Police.
It was a method we had used in the past, and within the hour we had a response from Lady Ainsley-Townsend that she and her daughter were available after luncheon.
We arrived promptly at two o’clock of the afternoon at the townhouse at Waverly Square, the residence of the Ainsley-Townsend family through the holiday season before they left for their country home north of London for the rest of the winter.
I introduced Brodie as a longtime acquaintance of the family; not precisely a lie as he had been acquainted with my aunt ever since the matter of my Greek adventure. I spared them the details which might have been a bit off-putting for members of polite society.
“Your request seemed most urgent, Lady Forsythe,” Beatrice’s mother commented as we awaited the serving of tea that she had requested.
Tea was one of those strange thoroughly English afflictions as Brodie put it. For myself, I much preferred coffee and he was of the same habit. Unless of course there was some of my aunt’s Old Lodge whisky to be added. As a bit of refreshment, of course. However, we both graciously accepted tea in the matter of moving the meeting along to the reason we were there.
During the ride from the Strand I had thought how best to begin the conversation. Death was never easy no matter the circumstances, and by the information we did have, Lady Ainsley-Townsend’s daughter was a very close acquaintance of Amelia Mainwaring. Close enough that it appeared the two may have conspired in some adventure with the cancelled stay-over and that note sent round.
Beatrice had joined us as well. She favored her mother with her dark hair, her features almost an exact copy and most attractive with hazel eyes, no doubt from her father who was not present.
Having thought of several ways to approach the topic, I decided to keep the matter as simple as possible. Tea had been served and I waited until the maid had left the room. I directed our inquiry to Lady Ainsley-Townsend.
“We are here on behalf of Sir John and Lady Mainwaring,” I began. “And their daughter, Amelia.” I caught the slight flicker of response in Beatrice’s eyes.
“It seems that the two young ladies had planned an afternoon of shopping and then a stay-over.”
“That is correct,” Lady Ainsley-Townsend replied. “It was cancelled at the last minute. What has that to do with your request to meet with Beatrice?”
“There has been an… accident,” I explained. It seemed the gentlest way to inform them what had happened.
“What sort of accident?” Beatrice replied.
I thought the meeting might be ended as I explained the few details I had decided to share.
“There has to be some mistake,” Beatrice replied, her face suddenly pale. “I spoke with her only the day before. I cannot believe it. This is impossible.”
Brodie gently assured her there was no mistake. There were quite naturally tears, and her mother, equally upset, immediately insisted that we leave.
“No,” Beatrice spoke up. “If I can help in any way… For Amelia.”
Her voice trembled, but there was a strength there that I much admired.
“She sent you a message, asking that you tell no one. It seems that she had perhaps made other plans,” I suggested.
She looked at me with more than a little surprise.
“What note? What other plans?” Lady Ainsley-Townsend asked. She turned to her daughter. “You said nothing of this.”
“Amelia asked that I not tell anyone…” Beatrice replied. “You must understand, she was my friend. I wanted to help her, as I knew she would help me.”
“You knew of her plans.”
“She was so very happy…”
Difficult as it was, Beatrice told us the reason Amelia Mainwaring had cancelled their planned shopping and stay-over, a ruse for Amelia to leave her parents’ home without suspicion.
Then, the hastily written note Amelia had sent round afterward that Mr. Brimley had been able to retrieve from Amelia’s stationery, and the reason, explained by Beatrice— Captain William Mathison of the Royal Fusiliers.
