A Grave Inheritance (30 page)

***

A minute before two o’clock one afternoon, about a week after Lillian started working at Tapscott Manor, she made her way to the drawing room with Sophia in her arms. There had been a commotion in the hall earlier, and leaning over the second floor balcony to listen, Lillian had heard the words “terrible accident”. At lunchtime Dora’s eyes were red as though she’d been crying, but she wouldn’t say what was wrong. Lillian’s curiosity was aroused. The whole household seemed subdued as though in a state of shock. Lillian knocked on the drawing room door and entered.

Mr Leo Deverell stood with his back to the fire and a dark expression passed over his face when Lillian entered. Mrs Deverell lay across a chaise longue, weeping quietly into a lace handkerchief. Lillian stood on the threshold, uncertain whether to enter.

‘Come in, Lillian. We’ve received some bad news that affects you too.’ Leo’s voice sounded different. Sylvia made no attempt to take Sophia from Lillian, and she stood for a moment, unsure what she should do. ‘Put the child down for a moment,’ Leo instructed.

Lillian placed the sleeping child carefully onto a deep armchair and propped cushions each side to hold the baby safe. She stood by the side of the chair with a watchful eye.

Leo picked up a newspaper lying on a small side table. ‘You’d better read this,’ he said, handing it to her.

The newspaper was dated 16th April 1912. Lillian read the headlines with a quick intake of breath then sat down on the edge of the armchair at Sophia’s side.

TERRIBLE DISASTER TO TITANIC

Fear Loss of 1,700 Lives in Mid-Atlantic

655 KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN SAVED

Rush of Ocean Liners to the Rescue

Near midnight on the 14th April the White Star liner Titanic, the largest ship afloat, met with a disaster on her maiden voyage. It is believed the ship collided with an iceberg as a result of which she sank. At midday yesterday a wireless transmission calling for assistance was received, meanwhile the Titanic had been sinking by the head and an anxious night was spent by those on board. Passengers were put off in lifeboats, and fortunately the sea was calm. The liner Carpathia was first on the scene and took up passengers without difficulty. When she left Queenstown the Titanic had on board 2,358 passengers and crew. This is the first disaster of such awful magnitude that has befallen a mammoth liner in the open sea.

Lillian took her time reading the article, and every now and then she glanced up at Leo as if expecting him to say something.

‘It says there are survivors.’ Leo spoke at last.

‘Yes,’ Lillian said and sobbed along with Sylvia.

Lillian put off saying anything to Ellen until they’d had it confirmed Jim had gone down with the Titanic. It came to light there weren’t enough lifeboats and inflatable boats on the ship, and the lifeboats that were installed were used to save the first class passengers. The majority of the servants of the rich, the third class passengers and the crew didn’t stand a chance. Jim’s ticket was third class and he had perished with the hundreds of others on that dreadful day. Sir Edmund Deverell and his wife Martha survived.

Chapter 33

Recovering from her shock, Grace went straight to the telephone to check for a line. Dead. Nathan had cut the wire. She moved to the computer and fax machine. The computer was on wireless broadband and hooked to a separate telephone line. Within minutes Grace had sent an email to the fire station and the police and had requested an ambulance for Leonie. She followed each email with a fax copy and the word HELP in bold black ink.

Amelia watched Grace, admiring her quick thinking, but smoke was edging under the door and Amelia knew that the emergency services weren’t going to get to them on time. She didn’t mention this to Grace. Determined not to be beaten, and without stopping to think, Amelia picked up the office chair, took two steps forward and flung it across the room towards the arched window. It hit the window full on but only grazed the leaded strips. Amelia tried again, giving herself momentum from the back of the room. The glass cracked. The third time she tried, it shattered.

Amelia pushed out the remaining shards and began to climb out of the window.

‘Be careful,’ Grace shouted to her sister, over the crackle of the fire below.

Amelia got a footing on the window ledge and managed to manoeuvre over to the drain pipe. Her shoes scraped the brickwork, but clinging on for her life she half slipped, half fell down to the ground.

Grace called down to her, ‘There’s a ladder by the shed.’

Amelia looked up in surprise. ‘Is there?’

‘I noticed it the night of the barbeque. It’s probably rotten, but it’s worth a try. Don’t just stand there, hurry up.’ Behind Grace, smoke billowed underneath the door.

The ladder, green with moss, was too short and reached just below the window. Amelia tried each rung and made her way to the top. ‘Come on, climb out, I’ll guide you. Pretend you’re coming down from the attic,’ Amelia endeavoured to reassure Grace.

Grace was terrified. Grey smoke almost filled the small room now. Orange flames danced around the door jamb, eating away at the wood. Grace coughed and put her head out of the window for air. She saw Amelia’s expectant face and waved to her. Just as Grace started to climb out of the window she remembered Lillian’s diaries and disappeared back into the burning room.

‘Grace, what are you doing?’ Amelia screamed from below, panicking, and then sighed with relief when Grace’s head reappeared.

Grace wedged the books in the loosened waistband of her jeans and gradually descended the ladder with Amelia below her. In the distance the sounds of a police siren and fire engine could be heard.

‘Grace, the fire brigade is on its way. It’s going to be fine. Come on,’ Amelia encouraged. When Grace finally touched solid ground Amelia led her away from the burning house and began giving her instructions. ‘As soon as the firemen arrive tell them about Leonie and tell the police to find Nathan and Doreen.’

‘What are you going to do?’ Grace said, through a fit of coughing.

‘Don’t worry about me,’ Amelia told her, and before Grace could object, Amelia ran off and disappeared around the side of the cottage. At the kitchen door, without stopping to think, she ran in, then stopped short by the kitchen sink and grabbed a damp tea towel that she held up to her nose and mouth. Thick grey smoke was making it difficult for her to see. The hall was a crimson glare, its door and door jamb black and charred. Small sharp flames danced along the skirting boards, hurrying towards her.

‘Leonie, Leonie,’ Amelia shouted above the roar, gulping in smoke. Her throat burned and she began to cough, but heedless of the danger she was in, she dropped to her knees and peered under the table to the spot where she’d seen Leonie fall. The kitchen floor was empty. ‘Oh God, where is she,’ Amelia cried.

A loud crash at Amelia’s side caused her to topple sideways, an instinctive reaction to avoid the sudden collapse of the table. Flames having done their work on two legs had slowly begun to eat away at the table top. The heat was scorching and she knew she should leave, get out of the kitchen while she still could. In one last attempt Amelia screamed as loudly as she could, ‘LEONIE!’

‘I’m out here, you fool. Get out of there quick,’ a voice behind Amelia bellowed and she felt hands roughly pulling her backwards towards the door.

Outside, Amelia leaned over and vomited. She wiped her face with the tea towel and looked at Leonie who was ambling over to the stone seat under the trees. Leonie lifted a hand and waved to her half-heartedly and Amelia followed and sat down beside her.

Fire alarm bells were closer now, and it wasn’t long before the fire engine turned in to the drive and crunched to a halt.

‘Are you all right?’ Amelia asked Leonie, her vocal cords feeling as if they had been sandpapered.

‘What do you think you were playing at, rushing into a burning building like a banshee? You scared me half to death,’ Leonie snapped.

‘You were tied up so I presumed you were still inside the cottage. I was trying to rescue you,’ Amelia replied indignantly.

Leonie looked terrible. The blow had left a gash on the side of her forehead. A steady trickle of blood inched its way down her face and seeped into the collar of her blue shirt, now a dark maroon.

‘Doreen didn’t make a very good job of tying me up. As soon as I came round I got out as quickly as I could. I’ve been calling the emergency services ever since I’ve been able to focus. I thought you and Grace were trapped inside. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you tear around the corner and go in. Thanks, by the way, it was very brave of you.’ Leonie mellowed and gave Amelia a weak smile.

‘Nathan locked us in a room upstairs, but I managed to break a window and get out.’

‘Did you see which way they went?’

‘Yes. There’s an entrance into the wood behind our shed and I saw them making towards that. Will you be all right for a few minutes? I’d better check on Grace and see if the police have arrived yet.’ Amelia stood.

Leonie nodded, still dazed. Also, she was trying to get over the fact that a Farrell had risk their life to save her.

***

The fire engine was closely followed by two police cars and an ambulance. DCI Montrose got out of his car, puffing with annoyance. He stood for a moment and watched the firemen roll out their hoses and get to work. A female paramedic was directed around the back of the cottage where she found Leonie, and she attended to her head wound.

A male paramedic checked all three women for smoke inhalation and treated their cuts. After he‘d finished dabbing on antiseptic and plasters he strolled over to Montrose. ‘Leonie needs a few stitches so we’ll take her in with us. The other two will be fine. More shocked than anything else.’

‘What a bloody mess,’ Montrose answered in response. The paramedic walked back to the ambulance and Amelia took his place by the DCI’s side.

‘Hello Detective Chief Inspector Montrose,’ she said, honouring him with his full title.

‘Are you sure you don’t need to go to hospital; that looks as if it needs stitches too.’ Montrose looked with concern at a cut on her arm.

‘It isn’t deep. I’m okay,’ Amelia replied.

DCI Peter Montrose tried not to stare, but he found it very difficult. Even in such a state the woman still fascinated him. Her face was creased in fine soot lines and she had smudges under her nose. She smelled of smoke, acrid and bitter, and now and then she had to clear her throat to relieve it of cloying phlegm. The pale pink long sleeved blouse she wore was ripped, matching her designer jeans which were now ripped even more than fashion demanded.

Amelia was completely unaware of the inspector’s scrutiny as she looked at Primrose Cottage sadly. Grace had already given Lillian’s diaries to DCI Montrose and had emphasised the fact that Nathan intended to finish off what Doreen had failed to do the night before. With Sophia’s life still in danger, Amelia was annoyed DCI Montrose still hung about at the cottage, instead of pursuing Nathan.

‘We intended to go to the hospital this morning to see Sophia,’ Amelia sighed. She glanced over at Leonie and Grace standing by the ambulance and then turned to Montrose. ‘We hoped to hitch a lift in the ambulance to the hospital with Leonie, but the paramedics have had another emergency call, so Leonie’s decided to make her own way there. I don’t suppose we could all cadge a lift in one of your squad cars, could we? I really don’t feel up to driving.’

Without answering Montrose motioned one of his officers over, and after a few minutes’ conversation with him, Montrose walked Amelia over to a squad car, and stood watching her climb in. Grace was about to follow then stopped and looked around for Leonie. Leonie was standing by her car looking at the cottage, the fire now under control.

Grace called to her. ‘The police are going to give us all a lift to the hospital. I don’t think you should be driving.’ Leonie waved a hand in dismissal and reluctantly Grace climbed in the police car.

Leaning in the car, his head inches from Grace’s face, Montrose told them, ‘I’ll be seeing you both later. As soon as you’ve seen you great aunt, I’d appreciate a visit to the station where we’ll need to take statements from you.’ Montrose slammed the door and stormed away.

‘I don’t know why he’s got such a bee in his bonnet,’ Grace said pointedly. ‘He’s not the one that nearly went up in smoke.’

Amelia murmured in agreement, distractedly wondering about Doreen and Nathan.

Chapter 34

While the fireman concentrated their hoses towards the kitchen and inside the cottage and DCI Montrose was preoccupied talking to his sergeant, Leonie slipped behind the shed. She quickly found the gate in the hedge and squeezed through it into the wood, expecting to hear ‘Oi you!’ from DS Fielding any minute. Leonie took the path she knew led to Tapscott Manor nursing home and strode along, keeping a wary eye open for Nathan.

‘Damn him.’ Leonie spoke out loud. Nathan had tricked her into believing he was on her side. Even took payment in advance for the information he’d promised, when all along he’d had his own agenda and had been laughing at her. When she’d told Nathan to help by delaying the changing of Sophia’s will, she never dreamt he would resort to hurting the old hag. The fact that Nathan worked for the same solicitor used by the Deverells was a bit of luck, and Leonie had seen no harm in taking advantage of that. All she’d wanted was for him to try and delay things, lose the forms in the post if he had to, anything – but not this. Why had she been so stupid to trust him? Leonie trudged along deep in thought. A sudden sound behind her pulled her up short.

Grace was coming along the path, her face still as white as a sheet, albeit a bit grubby.

‘What are you doing here?’ Leonie asked. ‘You’re supposed to be on the way to the hospital.’

‘Following you,’ Grace said. ‘I pretended I felt sick, so they let me out of the car. You’re looking for them, aren’t you?’