Mrs. Jeffries & the Yuletide Weddings (32 page)

“Where did he get the knife?” This question came from Mrs. Goodge, who’d come up behind them and been listening.

“From the cutlery kit in his office,” Witherspoon replied. “The place is full of all sorts of odd items that his company imported into the country. He took the knife and went to her house. I don’t think he’d have gone through with the murder if she hadn’t gone to Chepstow Villas.”

“You mean, at that point, he thought that Miss Moran was willing to make Rosemary a social pariah rather than see her married to Lowery,” Ruth clarified.

“That’s right.” Witherspoon sighed. “He just didn’t know then why she didn’t want the girl to wed him. Evans thought she was simply greedy, that she was trying to blackmail Mrs. Evans for more money to keep quiet. He only realized today the real reason behind her determination to keep Rosemary away from the man.”

“Are you goin’ to arrest Lowery?” Mrs. Goodge waved at Wiggins, who was standing across the room, chatting with Phyllis.

Witherspoon thought for a moment. “I’m not sure we can,” he answered. “Even if he did murder two women, they’re both long buried, and any evidence of what really caused their deaths is interred with them. However, all of the facts are bound to come out at Evans’ trial, and at that point, it will be up to the Home Office as to whether or not we pursue a prosecution of Lowery.”

“Once the details get out and into the papers, Sir Madison will be a social pariah himself. He’ll be broke and there won’t be a family in the entire country that’ll let him near one of their daughters,” Mrs. Goodge muttered.

Witherspoon laughed and got to his feet. “If you dear ladies will excuse me, I must go and thank Constable Barnes. He’s the one who rallied the lads into doing the paperwork and suggested we put Evans in a holding cell so I could get back in time for the wedding. Oh, and Ruth, it was so good of you to bring the carriage to fetch me home. Your timing was impeccable.”

Ruth smiled but waited till he’d walked away before she said, “My timing was the result of a quick message from Constable Barnes.”

Mrs. Goodge laughed. “This has been a wonderful day.” She glanced at the housekeeper. “You’ll have to tell us the rest of the details later.”

“We’ll have a quick meeting after the reception.”

“Luty and Hatchet are dyin’ to find out the rest of it,” Mrs. Goodge said. She glanced across the room. Their two friends were chatting with the newlyweds. “Seein’ those two lovebirds so happy makes me wonder how Rosemary Evans must be feelin’ right now.”

“I imagine she’s relieved not to be marrying Lowery and brokenhearted that her father committed a murder to save her.” Mrs. Jeffries sighed. “But they have a lot of money, and I imagine that rather than face the social humiliation of having a murderer in the family, Arabella Evans will probably pack up and leave the country.”

“That’s what I’d do,” Mrs. Goodge said. “I’m goin’ to get another plate of food. It’s actually very good.”

“I’ll come with you.” Ruth got up as well. “That black currant cream is absolutely delicious.”

“I made that dish,” the cook said proudly as she led the way to the dining room. “And the Battenberg cakes and the scones. The caterers did the rest.”

Mrs. Jeffries sipped her champagne. She’d not lost her touch. She saw Betsy stand up and make her way through the crowd.

“Alright.” Betsy stopped in front of her and put her hands on her hips. “What’s going on? I know something has happened because you’ve got an expression on your face like a cat that’s just got the canary.”

“I’m just happy that you’re finally married. It was a beautiful wedding. I was quite surprised to learn that Smythe’s Christian name is Goodwin.”

“That’s right, I’m Mrs. Goodwin Smythe.” Betsy’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You’re trying to change the subject, aren’t you? Come on, tell me what happened. You know I’ll not have a moment’s peace until I know.”

“Jeremy Evans was arrested today,” Mrs. Jeffries said. “We didn’t want to say anything to you and Smythe because this is your special day and we didn’t want it ruined.”

“Ruined? What’ll ruin it is if we don’t know what’s happened.”

“Betsy, it’s your wedding day and we all want it to be special for—”

“You and the others have already made it the most special day of my life,” she interrupted. “I’ll never forget what all of you have done for me, for us.”

“Then why do you want it tainted with the details of an ugly murder?” Mrs. Jeffries asked softly.

“Because it’s not just about the murder. It’s about justice!” she exclaimed. “Surely you must know how important our cases are to Smythe and me. They mean everything to both of us. I came from nothing, Mrs. Jeffries, and I got lucky and found myself at Upper Edmonton Gardens. Coming here changed my life in ways you can’t imagine. You and the inspector believed in me; you encouraged me to be my best, to learn to speak properly, to read books and newspapers and magazines because I had a right to be a part of the world. But the best thing you ever did for me was to give me a chance to serve the cause of justice. Because justice, doing what’s right, making sure that the innocent don’t suffer because it’s convenient for the rich and the powerful, that’s the most important thing anyone can do in their entire life.”

“Well said, my love,” Smythe commented softly as he came up behind her. He looked at the housekeeper expectantly. “Come on, Wiggins let it slip that there’s been an arrest. So you’d best give us the details. We’ll not leave for our weddin’ trip until you do.”

A feeling of great pride swept through Mrs. Jeffries as she listened to Betsy’s passionate speech. The girl was right; this wasn’t about murder. It had never been about murder.

It was about justice.

Justice that was blind to money, wealth, class, and privilege. Oh, she didn’t fool herself that the law in England was perfect as yet. But they were certainly well on their way.

“Alright you two.” She motioned to the empty chairs. “Sit yourselves down and I’ll tell you everything.”