02 - Murder at Dareswick Hall (4 page)

‘Oh,
Hallam, I wonder poor Cedric had time to take a bath,’ said Josephine scolding
her brother.

‘Don’t
worry, old thing,’ Cedric assured her. ‘I say, you’re looking jolly marvellous,
Rose. You too, of course, Josephine.’

‘And
what about me, Cedric, can’t you tell I’ve spent hours getting ready? Will I
pass muster?’ laughed Hallam. ‘I don’t see why it should be just the girls who
get all the compliments on their appearance, do you?’

Cedric
thumped him on the back good humouredly. ‘You look jolly spiffing too, Hallam.
Why, I’m surprised you haven’t got women falling at your feet. Now where’s that
other sister of yours, is she going to keep us waiting for dinner? I’ve a good
mind to …’

But whatever
Cedric was about to say remained unspoken. For the door of the drawing room had
opened and a vision of loveliness, or at least that’s how Rose thought of her
then, entered the room. Later she realised that Isabella’s gown had had a lot
to do with the illusion of perfection. Although no one could dispute that Isabella
was beautiful with her slender frame, highly chiselled features and pale
porcelain white skin offset by hair so black it was almost ebony in shade. By
contrast her eyes were the brightest blue Rose had ever seen. But it was the
dress she was wearing that made her stand out. It was of a deep crimson velvet,
with a high waist, ruched sleeves and open back and was decorated with a large
flower appliqué of red and purple petals. The overall effect was breath taking,
not least because it contrasted so strikingly with the blackness of the dress
of the others in the room. Immediately Rose felt plain and dowdy, as if she had
somehow melted into the background with Isabella’s entrance.

Isabella
in turn surveyed them all for a moment before speaking. She smiled, but it
seemed to Rose that the smile was done more to show her amusement at the
reaction her entrance had caused rather than to be a greeting. She glided into
the room, her hand outstretched so that she could clasp Cedric’s arm.

‘Cedric,
how wonderful to see you,’ Her voice had a light musical tone to it which,
while pleasing, Rose thought appeared forced and artificial, as if it were
hiding a sea of emotions. ‘It’s been an age since you were last at Dareswick.
Anyone would think that you’ve been avoiding us and that really will never do.
And this must be Rose.’ Isabella arched an artfully painted eyebrow and gave Rose
a look which she thought to be rather mocking. ‘How do you do, my dear? I
understand that you work in a dress shop. You must know all the tricks of the
trade to dressing well. You’ll have to tell me what’s in fashion next season.’
She turned her attention to Josephine. ‘Now don’t scold me big sister, I know
we’re frightfully late. We were held up leaving London, but really it couldn’t
be helped. But we’re here now and have you ever known me change so quickly for
dinner?  Quite a record even if I say so myself. Now, where’s Papa? Isn’t he
down yet? I thought he’d be dying to eat. I have to say that the journey has
made me feel quite ravenous.’

‘Your
companion insisted on seeing him straightaway,’ replied her sister, somewhat
coldly.  ‘Really, Issy, couldn’t he have waited until after dinner? What can
have been so very important that it couldn’t have waited until then?’

Isabella
said nothing, but Rose noticed that a frown creased her lovely forehead for a
moment before she turned her attention to her brother. ‘Are you going to tell
me off too, little brother?’

‘No,
but I’m awfully keen to know who you’ve brought down with you,’ replied Hallam,
a mischievous grin appearing on his young face.

‘All in
good time,’ said Isabella and it seemed to Rose that she was making an effort
to make light of it, although she was sure she detected a sadness in her eyes.

‘Well,
I really don’t know why you have to be so jolly mysterious,’ retorted
Josephine. ‘The very least you could have done was to have told us whether you
were bringing a girlfriend or a young man. I am sure housekeeping arrangements
never occur to you for one moment, but poor Mrs Hodges has been in quite a
quandary trying to decide which room to get ready for your guest.’

It was
possible that Josephine might have gone on to say more about her sister’s
inconsiderate behaviour, but as it was she did not get the opportunity. For at
that moment the door to the drawing room opened and all eyes were diverted to
study the two gentlemen who entered. The first was a middle-aged, large and heavy
set man with a ruddy complexion and thinning grey hair who appeared to be in highly
jovial spirits. Certainly he was beaming, his smile taking in the whole room
and lighting up his eyes so that they seemed to shine in the light from the
chandelier. But it was not the first man that caught everyone’s attention or
drew a collective gasp from all those present. It was the second. He entered
the room a little behind Baron Atherton, a tall, dark and uncommonly handsome
man, although his eyes betrayed his arrogance.

Rose
found that she was clutching on to the sideboard as if for support; only just
in time did she stop her nails from digging into the polished wood. Of all the
guests that Isabella could have brought with her, it had never occurred to her
that she might be acquainted with the gentleman. And of all the people she
never wished to see again, which admittedly were few, then surely this man
before her must come top of her list. Hands shaking slightly, with an effort
she forced herself to look up and meet the man’s gaze full on. She looked Lord
Sneddon squarely in the eye.

Lord
Sneddon’s entrance had caused a collective gasp; as the moments passed it now
caused complete silence as if each person in the room was unsure how to react to
his sudden appearance. Rose expected Cedric to feel disappointed and agitated.
Indeed, looking across at him she could clearly see the anger etched on his
face. She went to stand next to him to reassure him that, from her perspective
at least, it did not matter even though of course it did. But she had no
intention of letting it spoil their visit. What she had not expected, however,
was that the others would look so distressed at Lord Sneddon’s entrance. She
felt that she and Cedric had good reason to after what had happened at
Ashgrove, but Hallam, if anything, looked more livid than Cedric at the
identity of Isabella’s guest. Josephine had gone quite pale and Rose could not
help but notice how every now and then Hallam glanced over at his sister
anxiously, as if he did not know how Josephine would be taking Sneddon’s
appearance. Indeed, he looked as if he feared that she might faint at any
moment.

The
moment was broken by the baron clearing his throat noisily in preparation for
making an announcement, and by Isabella crossing the room to go over to Sneddon
to take his arm.

‘My
lords, ladies and gentlemen,’ began Baron Atherton pompously, ‘I cannot tell
you all how very honoured I am to make this announcement. This evening my dear
Hugh, Lord Sneddon,’ at this he turned to beam at Sneddon, ‘asked, nay demanded
even, so great was his mission, to see me in my study to ask permission for my
youngest daughter’s hand in marriage, which I gave gladly. Crabtree! Now where
is that man?’ A frown appeared on the baron’s forehead as he surveyed the room
in search of his butler. ‘The man was told to get the champagne on ice and arrange
for it to be brought in. Oh there you are, Crabtree, what kept you? Come on
now, pour.’

There
was a general shuffling of feet and fidgeting as those present waited
restlessly for the butler to pour the champagne and distribute the drinks. Rose
caught Cedric’s eye, and saw the sadness in his face. Meanwhile, Hallam’s face
was getting redder and redder and he was clawing at an occasional table to such
an extent that there was a very distinct possibility that he might upset a
crystal vase of cut flowers.

‘My
lords, ladies and gentlemen. I would like you to raise your glasses and toast –.’

‘No!’
Before anyone could stop him, Hallam sprang forward and tore the champagne
flute from his father’s hand, upsetting the contents and hurling the glass to
the ground where it smashed on the parquet floor into a hundred little pieces.
‘No father, you can’t. You can’t possibly give your consent to such a union.
Not after everything he’s done and everything we’ve been through. I forbid it!
And you,’ he said turning to Isabella, ‘you, darling Issy, you can’t possibly
want to marry him. You know what sort of a man he is.’

‘Quiet!’
bellowed the baron, his face quite purple with rage. ‘That will do, Hallam. How
dare you act so outrageously and discourteously to a guest in my house? If you
can’t be civil and hold your tongue then you can jolly well go up to your room
and have your dinner brought up to you there on a tray.’

‘But....’
But Hallam did not finish his sentence. Cedric had placed a steadying hand on
his arm and had shaken his head slightly to indicate that while he understood
how the young man felt, this conversation should take place outside the drawing
room when no women were present and preferably not just before they were all
due to go into dinner. Hallam looked for a moment as if he would resist these
attempts to curtail his behaviour, but then he sighed, threw up his hands in
desperation and just looked miserable.

There
was a tense, uncomfortable silence in the room as everyone else wondered what
would happen next. Casting a glance at Crabtree, Rose found that even the
butler looked ill at ease. In fact, this very moment in the drawing room he
positively looked quite unwell. She wondered whether it was Hallam’s outburst
that had caused this, by upsetting the decorum of the house, or the unexpected
identity of Isabella’s guest. Certainly the inattentive service of the
servants, first with the cocktails and then with the champagne, appeared out of
character from what Josephine had said. Looking across at the baron, given the
anger on his face and the manner in which he had admonished his son in public,
Rose could not believe that he was a man who would tolerate sloppy, slatternly
service from his servants.

She
looked across at Josephine. The girl, she thought, looked very pale as if she
had suffered something of a shock. Her hand, almost instinctively and
unconsciously it seemed went to touch a spot on her forehead covered by her
hair in very much the same way one might put a hand to one’s mouth or heart to
try to steady oneself from a fright. Rose studied Josephine’s face closely. She
was clearly surprised and distressed by the young man’s unexpected arrival but
there was something else that Rose detected in her face. It seemed to her to
make no sense at all given the circumstances, but she could have sworn that she
detected a look of relief, albeit fleeting, to be replaced almost at once by a
look of apprehension as her eyes darted to her brother. Josephine was very
obviously moved by the state Hallam was in and went to join him where she took
his arm and bent forward to whisper something in his ear. Almost instinctively
Rose moved closer so that she might catch the whispered words.

‘It’s
alright, Hallam. Don’t worry on my account. Really, I am quite over him now; I
really am.’

It was
only now that Rose looked over at Isabella to see her reaction to her siblings’
somewhat negative response to the announcement of her engagement. Her face, to
Rose, looked surprisingly blank and unmoved by the events that had unfolded.
True, she had moved to stand beside her fiancé, but she did not appear
particularly surprised or distressed by Hallam’s outburst or Josephine’s
discomfort. If anything her face looked distinctly devoid of any emotion, as if
while she was there in body, she was not there in spirit. She caught Rose
watching her and met her gaze. The look she gave her was cool and Rose found
herself shrinking back from such a stare, but not before she wondered at Isabella’s
detached reaction to everything. Certainly Isabella did not apparently see the
need to give assurance to Lord Sneddon in the light of the opposition expressed
by her brother to their engagement. It was almost, Rose thought, as if she did
not care how he might be feeling.

Lord
Sneddon himself, she saw, was clearly furious at Hallam’s outburst but trying
very hard not to show it. He was pretending to laugh as if he found the boy’s reaction
rather amusing. Oh, the ideals and emotions of youth, his look seemed to say,
although his smile did not reach his eyes, Rose noticed, and when he thought no
one was looking, she saw him cast Hallam a furious look.

If the
baron felt minded to demand an apology from his son for his behaviour, he
obviously thought better of it, and instead contented himself by leading
everyone into the dining room for dinner, no doubt hopeful that good food and full
stomachs might restore the mood and encourage a feeling of celebration,
although it seemed to Rose that he alone believed there was anything to rejoice
about.

There
was a precedence for dinner, Rose knew, as to which gentlemen should take in
which lady. As the only female guest, the baron as host gave her his arm and
led her in to dinner. She felt that Josephine, acting as hostess, should have
been taken in next by the gentleman of highest rank, which in this case would
have been Lord Sneddon as heir to a dukedom. But it seemed that the baron had
considered it wise to break with precedence on this occasion given the
atmosphere, for he indicated that Sneddon should lead in Isabella. They in turn
were followed by Cedric who led in Josephine and lastly Hallam who brought up
the rear, walking in alone, partnerless and distinctly sulky. Rose reminded
herself that at eighteen he was barely more than a child and that no doubt he
had been spoilt and doted on by his sisters. She pitied him, for he alone had
been prepared to say in public what the others surely felt in private.

Family
and guests filed into the dining room, which had retained its eighteenth
century panelling and had pale scrubbed floorboards, typical Georgian features
of the house. The baron remained standing in order that he could indicate where
each gentleman should sit, the intention being that each lady sit on the right
hand of the gentleman who had taken her into dinner. However, Rose saw that on
reflection the baron obviously felt, in light of what had passed in the drawing
room, that it would be both wise and diplomatic to ensure that Hallam sat
nowhere near to Lord Sneddon and Josephine also be seated away from him.  She
wondered what there had been between Lord Sneddon and Josephine for Hallam to
show such concern as to how she would be taking the news of his engagement to
her sister. Could it be that she had once harboured dreams herself of becoming
his wife?

In the
end the seating arrangements resulted in Hallam sitting at the head of the
table with his father on his right and Josephine on his left. Next to Josephine
sat Cedric, and next to him, on his left, sat Isabella. Opposite her sat
Sneddon who, to Rose’s dismay, was also sitting on her right, while the baron
was on her left.

The
meal started well enough for Rose with the baron engaging her in pleasant small
talk about Dareswick Hall, its history and how long it had been in the
ownership of the Atherton family. For a while she wondered whether the inevitable
would not happen after all, that she would not be forced to engage in
conversation with Lord Sneddon. For it appeared that the baron had no intention
of speaking to his son. Hallam, she noticed out of the corner of her eye,
seemed to barely register the existence of anyone at the table, preferring
instead to study the tablecloth and pick at his napkin, although every now and
then he lifted up his head to scowl at Sneddon, who seemed oblivious to his
action, or to throw the odd glance at Josephine, which she met with a troubled
smile.

‘Mr Crabtree,
if I may disturb you for a moment,’ said Mrs Hodges, coming into the butler’s
pantry and closing the door firmly behind her.

‘What
can I do for you, Mrs Hodges?’ enquired the butler, mopping his brow and hoping
that the housekeeper had not caught sight of the empty whisky glass on the
counter behind him, or indeed seen him gulp down its contents hurriedly before
she entered the room.

‘Pearl
has just told me that Lord Sneddon has brought his own valet with him. Surely
not! No one said anything about getting a servant’s room ready. As if I haven’t
enough to do what with all the bother as to whether to arrange a room for Miss Isabella’s
guest to be got ready in the gentlemen’s corridor or in the ladies’, and then
Miss Josephine deciding after all that we’d better get both ready just to be on
the safe side. And jolly good it is that we did too, otherwise his lordship
would be laying his head down in the Pink Room!’

‘I am
afraid Pearl is correct, Mrs Hodges,’ said Crabtree with a sigh, ‘insofar as
Lord Sneddon has brought
a
servant with him. I was just on my way to
tell you.’

‘Were
you now?’ said Mrs Hodges allowing some scepticism to enter her voice as she
eyed the empty whisky glass suspiciously. ‘And what precisely do you mean by
that, Mr Crabtree?’ She continued getting more and more frustrated by the
situation. ‘Either he’s a valet or he’s not. Can’t think what he can be if he
isn’t, unless his lordship saw fit to bring his chauffeur with him.’

‘No,
indeed,’ agreed the butler. ‘What I meant, Mrs Hodges, is that the man purports
to be Lord Sneddon’s valet but that he bears no resemblance to any valet that I
have ever had the experience of knowing.’

‘Why’s
that, then?’ demanded the housekeeper, interested despite the threat of
additional work for her already overstretched staff. ‘Do you think he’s a footman
acting up to be a valet, or what?’

‘No,
not even that,’ said Crabtree pausing for a moment before continuing so as to create
maximum suspense. ‘I would be very surprised if the man has ever set foot in a
grand house such as this before, let alone ever worked as a servant in one. But
don’t just take my word for it, Mrs Hodges, have a look at the young man
yourself and let me know what you think.’

Feeling
rather apprehensive and curious in equal measure, the housekeeper marched into
the servants’ hall and was brought up short by the scene that unfolded before
her eyes. A young man of dubious appearance was seated on a chair, his tie
askew and his hair sticking up all over the place, with his arm trying to
encircle the waist of Doris, the under housemaid and persuade her to sit on his
knee. Doris in turn was shrieking and giggling for all she was worth as she
dodged his advances.

‘Stop
that at once!’ bellowed Mrs Hodges. ‘You, my girl,’ she said, pointing a finger
at the unfortunate Doris, ‘can get out of here and finish your dusting or
whatever else you’ve got left to do. And as for you,’ the housekeeper turned to
glare at the dishevelled young man, ‘you should know better. Call yourself a
valet. I’d expect better behaviour from the boot boy!’

‘Ah,
come off it, missus,’ protested the young man seemingly unfazed at being
admonished by the housekeeper. ‘We was only having a bit of fun. That don’t
harm anyone, do it? We was just having a laugh, like.’