There was silence again as they all nodded thoughtfully and looked at their feet. ‘I should thank you for the, er…’ Thea paused, wondering how to phrase it. ‘For the time in the study. Quite the awkward situation.’ She reference the time Miss Bellegard had stopped her being attacked by George.
‘My pleasure.’ Miss Bellegarde sipped her tea. ‘There are limits.’
‘Indeed,’ said Thea.
‘Biscuit?’ asked Joan, trying to find something to do. Thea refused a biscuit but continued addressing Miss Bellegarde.
‘We will make sure you are adequately catered for, of course,’ she said, not sure how to navigate the awkward social situation of remunerating the lady who her husband had kept for sex.
The mistress shook her head. ‘No need, I am comfortable enough and if you would allow me to keep the London house for another month or so I should be able to pick up more work in not so much time.’
Mrs Jenkins accidentally blew bubbles into her tea and Mrs Phibbs glared at her.
‘Is the market buoyant?’ asked Thea, and then wished she hadn’t. Harriet made a face at her from across the circle and Mrs Jenkins used both hands to try to put the teacup and saucer down on the side table next to her, the cup rattling a little as it went.
‘I usually see an upturn with little trouble,’ said Miss Bellegarde. Harriet sputtered out a laugh and even Martha couldn’t hide a smile.
‘Best of luck to you,’ said Harriet, grinning. ‘Now all of you can start to plan your new lives, and take my word for it, being a widow is fabulous.’
Three days later Thea was beginning to consider that this might be the case. The children had barely noticed a difference, the staff were happier, the weight was apparently starting to lift from Martha’s shoulders and Fletcher was in London, arranging the funeral for two days’ time. She almost didn’t dare admit it to herself, but she was more sad about the glasshouse. Despite their efforts to extinguish the fire, everything that had been inside was black and dead. One thing George had managed to do a good job of she mused. Now she watched as Frankie and the estate staff cleared charred beams and picked distorted glass shards from pots and beds.
‘I’ve moved the trays and pots to the frame yard for now,’ said Frankie, standing beside her as they surveyed the damage once more. ‘Some of the cold frames were damaged – including the one Lady Foxmore went over – but we’re finding more that we can save.’
‘So not totally from scratch with the collection?’ asked Thea.
Frankie shrugged. ‘Lucky he did it when he did, I guess. Another couple of weeks and we’d be into October, and I’d be bringing all the tenders inside.’
‘How awfully thoughtful of him,’ said Thea, a hand unconsciously smoothing the skin on her jaw that was still tender. ‘Now will you distract us both and show me the new arboretum?’ she asked, ‘At least that was far enough away for him to miss.’
Frankie gestured for Thea to follow, but before they could go, they heard running footsteps from the house, and both turned to see Sanders. ‘If you please, Your Grace,’ he said, gasping a little for breath. ‘There’s a constable here.’
Thea strode into the parlour where the constable waited, surrounded by Martha, Harriet, Joan, Mrs Phibbs and Mrs Jenkins, Sanders and Doctor Speckle. Frankie had also followed her in, and she hadn’t stopped her. The two figures she was most surprised about, however, were Mr Fletcher and Doctor Herbert.
‘The funeral is arranged, Fletcher?’ she asked, questioning him with her eyes.
He nodded curtly, and strangely, she thought. ‘All in hand, Your Grace,’ he said. ‘Although we have business to attend to in advance.’
‘It seems so,’ she said, now training her eyes on the constable. She really wished she didn’t have to be in charge in situations like this, but drew herself up into her duchess persona. ‘How can we help you, constable?’ She didn’t recognise him as local, so he must be from London, she assumed. He was dressed in a blue jacket that could do with a wash, but otherwise he seemed respectable. Apart from his moustache. She hated moustaches.
He cleared his throat. ‘I have been asked to visit, Your Grace, on account of some reported irregularities.’ She hoped it wasn’t about the inheritance, but he seemed a little nervous in her presence, so that was something.
‘I am sure we will be delighted to address any queries you have,’ she said, wishing he would get to the point.
‘I will need to speak to all parties present over the days between when the Duke of Hartford,’ he cleared his throat again. ‘Between when the duke was taken ill, and when he died.’ Thea saw Martha’s eyebrows raise.
‘You would, of course, be quite welcome constable,’ she said. ‘Although it will take you some time and a little travel. Our staff here in the country numbers above eighty and the dinner party guests from the night of the incident have now returned to their own homes.’
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘For now, I wonder if we could start with the people here with whom the duke had direct contact with post- the injury, or who had access to him on the night he was injured.’
Thea was starting to get a little suspicious. ‘That would be our pleasure I am sure,’ she said as sweetly as she could manage. ‘Sanders will collect Miss Bellegarde, and then I think this is all of us. Apart from the children, I assume you do not wish to speak to them?’ The constable indicated that he did not so she nodded to Sanders, who bowed and left.
There was a silence as the constable shuffled his feet.
‘Perhaps if you told us what you were here for, constable,’ said Martha, keeping her hands clasped at her front, ‘we would be able to help you more swiftly and allow you to be on your way?’
‘Ah, yes,’ said the constable. He fished a handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his brow, then glanced sideways at Doctor Herbert.
‘To put it plainly, Your Grace, Lady Foxmore, and the rest of the gathering,’ said Doctor Herbert with none of the respect his words would be expected to convey. ‘There has been an accusation of foul play in the case of the death of the duke, andthe constable is here to investigate whether charges need to be pressed.’
