He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Any half-trained servant knows how to deal with an enquiry for a young lady who is indisposed or out shopping. I should have been told very calmly that Miss Nicholson was not at home. But instead, the whole house was thrown into a spin, so I knew at once that youhad gone scampering off on one of your mad starts. Miss Bullock is stout of heart, and would not tell me where you truly were, although she went the colour of beetroot when I mentioned Pickering. Where your house is, is it not so, cousin? But you need not worry, I have told no one your little secret. Whatever mischief you were up to, you need not fear that I would betray you.”
On her other side, Eustace leaned towards her. “But I might, now that I too know your little secret, cousin.” He grinned wolfishly.
“I had rather you did not mention Pickering. After all, most of us have secrets we would rather not have revealed, is it not so, cousin?” She smiled at Eustace benignly, and was pleased to see the tiniest frown mar his forehead. That would give him something to think about! She could reveal a thing or two about a certain young lady from a certain house in Pickering, if she chose.
Eustace recovered quickly. “I am only teasing you, cousin. Family secrets stay within the family, is it not so, Kent? I value loyalty above all things.”
Kent looked uncomfortable, and turned away to attend to Emily Atherton on his other side, but Eustace laughed and reached for a dish. “Some more fritters, cousin? They are quite delicious, are they not? Or may I pass something else to you?”
“The fish, if you please,” she said.
As he attended to her request, she glanced at the earl at the foot of the table. Miss Snellgrove was still talking with great enthusiasm, one hand waving a piece of bread for emphasis. The earl’s eyes had glazed over.
It was not until the ladies withdrew, leaving the gentlemen to their port, that the true horror of Miss Snellgrove became apparent. Several of the ladies brought out embroidery to work on, but when Penelope Atherton admired her sister’s work andsaid, “Is it not exquisite, Miss Snellgrove? Emily has such a talent for delicate stitchery, do you not agree?” she sniffed disdainfully.
“It is well done, I suppose, although I have no time for such a pointless occupation. Practical needlework — that I concede is necessary, but ornamental work serves no purpose, and ruins a female’s eyesight for no good reason.”
“You think, then, that a woman should confine her needlework to the mending of shifts and the darning of stockings?” Penelope said.
“If she can find no better occupation, yes.”
Mrs Edgerton looked up with a gentle smile. “What would you regard as a better occupation, Miss Snellgrove?”
“Why reading, of course.”
“There are journals on the table over there,” Olivia put in helpfully. “May I fetch one for you?”
“Journals! Repositories of frivolity and trivia, to corrupt the mind,” she said scornfully.
“Perhaps we might have a little music,” Lady Alice said quickly. “Miss Snellgrove, would you care to—?”
“I do not play! Music can uplift the spirits, if played by a true proficient, but schoolgirl performances are a dull affair, to be endured rather than enjoyed. I have never wanted to add myself to the number of those who play but a little, and that little not well.”
“I am not so nice in my requirements,” Lady Alice said with asperity. “We have a number of ladies here whose performances give me great pleasure. Mrs Edgerton, would you oblige the company? We have so missed your spirited playing. And Miss Snellgrove, perhaps you may care to find a book to read in the library. We have a number of volumes suitable for persons of a serious disposition, not at all frivolous. Olivia will show you the way.”
As soon as they had left, Aunt Jane burst out, “I am so sorry, everyone! What a crashing bore she is. I should never have inflicted her on you if I had known. It is no wonder she is still a spinster at her age. She would drive any rational man to distraction.”
“She would certainly drive Charles to distraction,” Lady Alice said. “He is no intellectual, that much is certain. He is an outdoors sort of man, happy to ride to hounds, to shoot and fish, to play cricket on the lawn with the children. He never picks up a book beyond the Bible or the Book of Common Prayer.”
“Riding…” Aunt Jane said. “Yes, that gives me an idea.”
Just then, Mrs Edgerton began to play a lively tune, and conversation lapsed. Tess took the opportunity to creep out of the room and scurry away. She would find her favourite hiding place where she could be peaceful, free of foolish chatter, and wonder how soon Tom would be released from prison.
***
For two whole days, Tess sat in the former schoolroom with Captain Edgerton, while Mrs Edgerton placidly sewed or read a book as chaperon. The lawyer, Mr Willerton-Forbes was there occasionally, too, and Harold stood guard outside the door, ready to rush in the instant she summoned him. On a shelf sat the axe, a disheartening reminder of their purpose.
The captain wanted to know every little detail that Tess could remember about her father — who his friends were, where he went, even trivia like where he got his clothes and his food preferences.
“So long as there was a decent claret on the table, he never minded what he ate,” she said.
“I know someone like that,” Mrs Edgerton said archly, with a glance at her husband.
“There is nothing wrong with an appreciation of good wine,” said Mr Willerton-Forbes, and they all laughed, even Tess.
By the second day, she found herself drawn almost against her will into a kind of camaraderie with the captain and his friends. He said nothing to distress her, made no accusations against her and was even generous towards Tom, and it was clear that his only objective was to find her father’s murderer.
Since he already knew a great deal about the Pickering house, she found herself telling him everything she knew about the gold bars, explaining how she used to sneak into her father’s study when he was away from home and root around in his papers. It was thus that she discovered the safe, and without much difficulty the key, and saw the pile of gold bars inside.
