The Mystery Of An Old Murder

THE MYSTERY OF AN OLD MURDER

LAURA BRETT

Copyright © 2016 Laura Brett and M.M. Verlaan

All rights reserved.

DEDICATION

To Martin, without whom all this would not have been possible. I love you, my darling!

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing a novel is a lonely affair, yet there are some people I do need to thank for both their support and their wealth of wisdom. Sharon, Leslie and Belinda, thank you for always being there. Mrs. Benton, you are an authority on all things old but not forgotten! Mr. Lawrence, fountain of youth, my gratitude goes out to you for hours and hours of research. Last but not least, Martin. Thank you honey for being there on good days, on bad days, and all moments in between!

Chapter 1

unexpected visitors

The railway passes close to Saltleigh now; you can see the tall church tower and the gabled rectory as the train enters the little wayside station, where flowers bloom all the year round in the soft Cornish air. But railroads had not been heard of when Marjorie Drew was a girl; Plymouth and Bodmin were then farther off from Saltleigh than London is now, and in all her life of seventeen years Marjorie had seen no town larger than Driscombe, the tiny market town four miles off, through which the mail-coach passed twice a day, waking the echoes of its paved street with clattering wheels and bugle blast, and bringing with it for a few moments the bustle and excitement of the great world beyond the hills.

It was the coach which brought the London Gazette for the rector of Saltleigh, Marjorie's father, that precious sheet with its scanty war-news and lists of dead and wounded, so eagerly watched for by those who had dear ones fighting.

War had been a familiar word to Marjorie from babyhood. She had been in the little gray marketplace of Driscombe one day in early November when the coach came in, all decked with flags and flowers, but with crape twined among the flowers, bringing the news of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson. She was only eight years old, but her little heart swelled with pride and grief just as did the hearts of the grown-up men and women about her. Those were days when there was terror in the very name of Bonaparte; when the fear of invasion was heavy on England; and Marjorie, child as she was, understood what the victory meant, and what England owed to the hero who was gone.

The fear of invasion passed, but the war went on, and its shadow fell more darkly on the quiet Rectory as Marjorie grew older. Her brothers were now away, fighting for their country. And into her mother's eyes had come that far-off, patient, waiting look that mothers' eyes wore in those days. But it was not all shadow; there were days of pride and rejoicing, when even Mrs. Drew could smile and be as hopeful as Marjorie. Letters had come from Jack's colonel, and from the captain of Ned's ship, praising the boys; and one never-to-be-forgotten day Jack's name was in the Gazette, not in those dreadful lists, scanned with sickening dread by so many loving eyes, but in despatches, mentioned for gallant conduct at Badajoz. Mrs. Drew went about the house that day with her delicate head held high, and Marjorie saddled her white pony and rode across to tell Aunt Eleanor, who was staying at Westmead for a week; and when she came back, the villagers had set the bells ringing in the old tower, and the valley was jubilant with the sound of the merry chimes.

But dearer than anything were the letters from the boys themselves; letters only to be looked for at uncertain intervals, and to be read again and again, till the edges of the broad sheets wore away.

Marjorie had one of these precious sheets in her wallet as she rode home from Driscombe on her white pony one February afternoon. February though it was, there were few signs of winter in the narrow sheltered lanes through which she rode. The grassy banks were brightly green, and starred with celandines and daisies; the blackthorn was in bloom, and so was the gorse; and once Marjorie had got of her pony to pick some primroses which she had espied in a sheltered spot. The sky overhead was softly blue, and though the morning had brought with it a slight touch of frost, the air now was like the breath of April. No wonder the birds were singing, calling to each other in clear, soft notes from hedgerow to hedgerow, as if spring were already come.

Marjorie began to sing herself as she cantered on, to sing like the birds in very happiness of heart; the winter was over and gone, the long warm days of summer were at hand.

The district was a thinly populated one, and she met no one on the road. But as she approached the crossroads, about half-way between Saltleigh and Driscombe, she saw a post-chaise standing there. The post-boy had got down and was trying to decipher the names on the dilapidated finger-post, while one of the occupants of the chaise, a ruddy-faced old gentleman with very white hair and whiskers, was leaning out, pointing with his stick and talking in a loud impatient voice.

He turned round on hearing the sound of the pony's hoofs.

"Here is somebody at last!" he exclaimed. And then added, staring through his gold-rimmed spectacles at Marjorie, "Why, bless my soul, you must be Marjorie Drew! Don't tell me you are not, for I won't believe it."

Marjorie was slightly taken aback at this abrupt address from a perfect stranger, but before she could answer, one of the ladies in the chaise, a round-faced, bright-eyed little woman, bent forward to speak.

"We are trying to find our way to Saltleigh Rectory, my dear. You must be Marjorie Drew, I am sure. You are so like your Aunt Nell."

Marjorie flushed up with pleasure. She loved to be told she was like her dear Aunt Nell. "I wondered how you knew me," she said shyly.

"But you don't know us, eh?" demanded the white-haired old gentleman.

"No, sir," said Marjorie, smiling as she met his eyes, gleaming kindly under his bushy white eyebrows. He had taken off his spectacles, and was rubbing them with his yellow silk handkerchief, and he looked much less alarming without them.

"But you have heard your father speak of Roger Bulteel? That is my name, little girl."

His wife again interposed.

"Your mother must forgive us for taking her by surprise like this, but we could not pass within a dozen miles of Saltleigh and not stop. We have been to Plymouth to meet my niece Kitty, who has come from London to spend the summer with us. Kitty's brother is in your Jack's regiment, my dear. Has he mentioned Captain Hollis in his letters?"

"Often, madam," Marjorie answered, looking with smiling eagerness at the young lady in a very fine pelisse, who sat opposite Mr. and Mrs. Bulteel, with her hands hidden in an enormous muff. She had a small, rather pretty face, but it was thin and pinched, and the smile and bow she gave Marjorie had something curiously affected and un-youthful about them. Marjorie felt sorry for her as she looked at her sallow cheeks. She thought she must be ill.

"Kitty is very tired," Mrs. Bulteel said. "Are we far from the Rectory now, my dear?"

"It is just over the hill," answered Marjorie in her bright voice. "I will ride on to tell mother you are coming. How glad she and father and Aunt Nell will be! You cannot

miss the road now. It is straight up the hill."

"I knew it!" exclaimed Mr. Bulteel with a triumphant glance at his wife. "Didn't I tell you so, Mary? But what do you mean by having a finger-post like that at your crossroads, Miss Marjorie? We were glad enough to hear your pony's hoofs, I can tell you. Kitty here thought we were lost for good, got into a kind of No Man's Land. You wished yourself back in Lunnon town—eh, Kit? But you ride on, my dear, and show us the way. Though I was certain the hill was our road."

Marjorie cantered off, and Mr. Bulteel bent out of the chaise to look after her with an approving glance. "I knew who she was the moment I set eyes on her," he said to his wife. "She's just what Nell was at her age, isn't she? Just such another happy, bright-eyed creature, full of fun and laughter. Well, well, it is a hard world for some of us."

A spark of curiosity showed in Kitty's round eyes. "Miss Lane was engaged once to that Mr. Carew you and uncle were speaking of yesterday, was she not?" she said to her aunt "I heard mother talking to Lady Tremayne about it at one of our card-parties."

"What business had you to be there, pray?" demanded her uncle. "Little girls should be in bed and asleep before card-parties begin. And don't you mention the name of Carew here. An old story like that is best forgotten."

"I never repeat things," said Miss Kitty with a little toss of her head. "And I am not a little girl, Uncle James. I am sixteen."

Mr. Bulteel looked at her with twinkling eyes. "That's a great age indeed, Kit. But you'll be younger in a few years. Won't she, Aunt Mary?"

"Your uncle is fond of teasing, my dear," Mrs. Bulteel said smilingly. "You must not mind it."

But Kitty's face did not lose its expression of offended dignity. She disliked extremely to be called Kit; Kitty was quite bad enough. She had tried in vain to make her mother and brother call her Catharina. But—Kit! She could not forgive her uncle for addressing her, a London young lady of fashion, by such a ridiculous title. She had expected to be treated very differently indeed.

Mrs. Bulteel understood far better than her husband how Kitty's feelings had been hurt, and hastened to say something pleasant.

"We hope Mrs. Drew will allow Marjorie to spend some weeks with us soon, Kitty. You will like to have a companion of your own age. We want you to have a happy summer."

Kitty looked a little brighter at this. She felt that it would be amusing to have a little country girl like Marjorie to talk to, and dazzle with her descriptions of London gaieties.

"I should think they would be glad to let her come, Aunt Mary," she said. "It would be a change for her. How dull it must be to live in the depths of the country like this! I should die of the dumps."

"Marjorie didn't look dull, my dear," said her aunt. "The country has its pleasures as well as London, you know. But look, isn't that a pretty scene?"

They had reached the brow of the hill, and the green valley lay below them with its trees and its winding stream. The church and the village were close together, and a long wooded meadow divided them from the gabled rectory, which was near the foot of the hill, surrounded by a large carefully-kept garden sloping on one side down to the stream.

It was a low, irregularly-built house, with diamond-paned windows, and a wide hospitable porch, thickly overgrown with creepers. The garden beds were brilliant with crocuses, violet and yellow, and the gravel-path up to the house was edged on each side by snowdrops, and red daisies, and early wallflowers.

There was no carriage-drive, as Kitty's eyes were quick to note. The chaise stopped at the gate, but before it stopped the tall rector came hurrying from the house, and he was at the gate to meet them.

It was a warm welcome he gave to the travellers; he, as well as his wife and sister-in-law, had been born and bred in St. Mawan, and, though for years he had not been near the place, he cherished a warm affection for it still.

"Come in, come in," he cried ; "Thomas will look after the chaise. He will be here in a moment. Start again in an hour? Nonsense, old friends. Hear what my wife and Nell have to say to that! Nell will be here presently, Marjorie has gone to meet her. Here they are, Edith. They talk of starting again this evening. But that's not to be allowed, is it, my dear?"

He had brought them into the porch, and Kitty saw a tall, slender, elegant-looking woman, with dark hair turning slightly gray, and quick-glancing hazel eyes, who came running forward to meet them with outstretched hands. Kitty could not help confessing to herself that a country welcome was a very pleasant thing to receive, and that Mrs. Drew, except that her cap was not of the latest fashion, did not look at all like a country parson's wife.

She was very glad when it was settled they should stay at the Rectory that night, instead of going on in that jolting post-chaise to St. Mawan. The long drive from Plymouth had made her feel miserably tired. It was pleasant to be taken up to a pretty room looking into the garden, and to be tucked up on a sofa at the window by Mrs. Drew's gentle hands.

"Marjorie shall come and fetch you when it is tea-time," were almost the last words Kitty heard. Before Mrs. Drew and her aunt left the room she was asleep.

"She has been ill," Mrs. Bulteel said, as she looked down for a moment at the pale little face of the sleeper. "I hope the summer will do her good. Would you let Marjorie stay with us for a time, Edith? You promised last year that we should have her someday."

"She would like to go," said Mrs. Drew with a faint sigh, a sigh Mrs. Bulteel understood; "she questions us eagerly about St. Mawan. It does not seem right that neither she nor the boys have ever been there. But John thought it best."

"But surely now, after so many years," began Mrs. Bulteel, and then checked herself and did not speak again till they had crossed the broad landing and reached the top of the stairs. The front-door stood wide open, and from where they stood they could see the gravel walk in front of the porch. Marjorie was standing there talking to Mr. Bulteel, and by her side was a tall woman in black, with a print sun-bonnet over her fair hair. Mrs. Bulteel gave a great start as her eyes fell on her. She laid her hand on Mrs. Drew's arm.

"Is that Nell?" she said in a low voice. "Oh, Edith, how changed she is!"

"Could you expect her not to be changed?" said Mrs. Drew with a tremor in her voice. "But she is well and strong, thank God. She is our guardian angel, Lucy. That is what John calls her. And he knows better than anyone what she has been to us and to the parish. Her life is an utterly unselfish one. And she says she is happy."

Mrs. Drew sighed again as she stopped speaking, and Mrs. Bulteel glanced at her. "Edith, do you think she has forgotten?" she asked.

Mrs. Drew shrank back as if the question had touched some open wound. But she answered quickly. "We never speak of it," she said. "It is years since she has mentioned Robert's name to me. But she has not forgotten, Lucy. John thinks she has, because she is so cheerful always, so interested in other people's affairs. But I know her better than John." She paused a moment, and then added in a lower voice, as if afraid the group standing outside the porch might hear, "He is away still, is he not? The Manor House is shut up?"