Hawke's Tor

by Thompson, E. V.

  ‘It hasn’t produced any positive results,’ Tom admitted, ‘but it’s stopped us wasting any more time pursuing the theory that Florrie Kittow might have baby Albert.’

  ‘Are there any other suspects?’ George Farmer asked the question as he acknowledged the greeting of a passing wagoner, who raised a hand to his hat as he passed by on the road.

  ‘Alfie Kittow, Florrie’s husband, isn’t off the hook yet. The murdered girl worked with him for a long time and it’s generally believed in the village they were a whole lot closer than landlord and barmaid. Especially as Kerensa had the reputation of sharing her all with whoever was around, married or single. Her husband was new to the village when he married her and probably didn’t know of her reputation. If he found out later then he too has to be a suspect. We know he was violent to her on occasions and there’s some mystery about his background, much of which was spent in India with the East India Company. That’s another reason why I want to speak to Verity Pendleton. She was in India – as you know – and was going to try to find out something about him for us.’

  ‘It would seem our chief constable’s stepdaughter has been very helpful to you,’ George Farmer mused. ‘What sort of a woman is she?’

  Glancing quickly at his companion, Tom replied, ‘She’s a well-bred, well-educated and intelligent woman. She’s also very attractive, but totally committed to her work. She takes a keen interest in police work too, which must please her stepfather. Why don’t you come along with me and meet her?’

  ‘I’d like to,’ George said, uncertainly, ‘but she’s used to meeting with the most senior men in our force, I’m only a sergeant.’

  ‘So am I, but there’s nothing pretentious about Verity, she’s seen far too much of life for that. You’ll like her … I do.’

  ‘Well, when we reach the station we’ll see whether they’ve been able to arrange a meeting for you.’

  Verity Pendleton’s message for Tom was that she would be at the Salisbury Hospital until about four o’clock that afternoon when she was returning to London. She would be delighted to see him if he could find time to call on her there before she left.

  He arrived at the hospital shortly after noon in company with Detective Sergeant Farmer and Verity Pendleton welcomed him with a warmth which took Tom’s companion aback, but then she greeted the Wiltshire detective with such relaxed friendliness that it was not long before he had forgotten he was talking to his chief constable’s stepdaughter.

  When Tom told Verity of his interview with Florrie Kittow, she expressed her sympathy for the North Hill woman. ‘She must have been terrified you were going to take the baby from her, poor woman, but are you completely satisfied it is not baby Albert?’

  ‘There can be no doubt about it,’ Tom assured her, ‘The baby she has is obviously younger than Albert Morgan and its hair and eye colouring are wrong. That was something I really should have thought of having someone check before coming all this way.’

  ‘Had someone made those inquiries and it was baby Albert it could well have frightened her away,’ Verity said. ‘You had no alternative but to come here and see for yourself – and it meant that we are able to meet again so I am delighted. How are Amos and Talwyn…?’

  The next few minutes were spent talking of her visit to Cornwall, but then Tom asked if she had been able to make any progress in her enquiries into Horace Morgan’s service with The East India Company.

  ‘The friend I have in the company was able to tell me that Morgan is in receipt of a pension from them. Unfortunately, the clerk responsible for the department dealing with the affairs of employees and ex-employees has recently left because of alcoholism – no doubt a consequence of his years in India – and the files are chaotic. They are currently being reorganized and he has promised to make finding details of Morgan a priority. I will be calling on him tomorrow morning when I am back in London and will send any information I gain off to Amos immediately.’

  Their talk then moved to include George Farmer and Tom felt that the Wiltshire detective sergeant was assessing Verity whenever she spoke of her work. He was not surprised that when they spoke of leaving the hospital he suddenly said to her, ‘The plans you have for the nurses you are recruiting … will it really make nursing a respectable career for a girl?’

  ‘A highly respected career,’ she affirmed, firmly. ‘Miss Nightingale would accept nothing less – and neither would I. Why do you ask?’

  Taking a deep breath and avoiding Tom’s interested gaze, George Farmer said, ‘My daughter Millie has followed your career with a passion that has sometimes alarmed me. She desperately wanted to be a nurse too, especially when the reports of what you were doing during the Indian mutiny were published in the newspapers, but I told her in no uncertain terms that nursing was not a career for any girl of mine.’

  Showing embarrassment, he explained, ‘I formed my opinion from the women in this very hospital where we are now and who were supposed to be nursing soldiers brought back from the Crimean War. They didn’t impress anyone.’

  ‘I can assure you there will be no more nurses of that type,’ Verity declared fiercely. ‘Such women have made the task of Miss Nightingale and myself so much harder than it should be – but we are winning. The nurses of the future will be highly trained and entirely above reproach. The slightest hint of a scandal involving any one of them will lead to instant dismissal. We are building a service of which Miss Nightingale will be proud – and she is not easily pleased.’

  ‘Yes, Tom explained that to me,’ George Farmer said, ‘but I am happy to have it confirmed by you.’

  ‘How old is your daughter,’ Verity asked.

  ‘Eighteen. She has been helping out Miss Pretty at the local school for some time.’

  ‘She is a very bright girl,’ Tom put in, ‘and still just as keen to be a nurse. I stayed at Sergeant Farmer’s home last night and Millie showed me a book on nursing she had bought only a few weeks ago with money she earned at the school. It was about Miss Nightingale’s notes on nursing, as I remember.’

  Verity’s interest quickened immediately, ‘I have a copy myself; it was published only last year and sets out many of her ideas on nursing. Anyone reading it and taking in what it says is likely to make the sort of nurse we are looking for.’

  Shifting her attention to Sergeant Farmer, she said, ‘Are you still opposed to your daughter becoming a Nightingale nurse?’

  ‘Not if it is to become a respectable career, but—’

  Verity cut him short. ‘Nightingale nurses are already recognized as being “respectable” and all the girls we choose to become her nurses will undergo a year’s training under strict supervision and when qualified will have international recognition as true professionals. In truth, with such training and after some experience of hospital work our girls will be eagerly sought after to take charge of nursing in any respectable hospital in the world.’

  ‘Then I couldn’t possibly have any objection to Millie taking up such work. In fact I would be very proud of her.’

  Verity looked up at the clock on the wall of the office where they were talking. It showed 12.50. ‘My train leaves for London at a quarter past four – is it possible for Millie to come here to see me before then?’

  ‘She has been teaching until noon today but should be home by now. I could have her here in half an hour.’

  ‘Splendid … while you are fetching her Tom can tell me more about how his murder investigation is coming along – and whether he has seen any more of the pretty young gypsy girl whose father went missing at the same time.’

  Tom managed to steer their conversation away from Zillah for much of the time he and Verity were chatting, but his reticence about talking of her intrigued Verity and she kept returning to the subject of the gypsy girl. He was relieved when George Farmer arrived at the hospital with a very excited Millie and Verity explained she would like to question her without the two men being present.

  Outside the hospital where
the two men went to enjoy a smoke while they waited, George Farmer said anxiously, ‘I’m still not absolutely convinced I’m doing the right thing by letting Millie meet Miss Pendleton, Tom. If she’s accepted she’ll be going away from the family, and if she’s turned down she’ll be brokenhearted, so either way her mother and me lose out.’

  ‘You’d be losing her before long anyway, George. She’s a very attractive girl and I’m surprised she has stayed single for so long. If Verity Pendleton accepts her as a Nightingale nurse you’ll know that she is very special and you and your whole family can be very, very proud of her.’

  ‘And if she doesn’t?’

  ‘As you say, she’s going to be very disappointed, although that will pass with time … but let’s not imagine what might be. In a few minutes you’ll know, one way or another.’

  In fact, the ‘few minutes’ turned out to be more than half an hour – but the wait proved worthwhile. Verity was smiling when the two women returned to the hallway where Tom was waiting with the Wiltshire detective sergeant and Millie was positively radiant.

  Verity was the first to speak. Addressing herself to George Farmer, she said, ‘Millie and I have had a long talk together and Tom was not exaggerating when he said she is a very bright girl. She is also a most determined one and has the commitment that Miss Nightingale looks for in every one of her nurses. I am most impressed with her.’

  ‘Does that mean … you want her to train to become one of your nurses?’

  Tom was unable to decide whether the detective sergeant was proud of Verity Pendleton’s approbation of his daughter, or apprehensive of what it would mean to have her leave the family home. He decided it was both.

  ‘I do. She is still a little young to take on the responsibilities that go with being a fully qualified Nightingale nurse but until she reaches a suitable age, and with your permission, I would like Millie to become my personal assistant, with pay of course, to help me with my duties of selecting other girls for nurse training, and inspecting hospitals to ensure they meet the increasing demands of government. It is work that will undoubtedly prove invaluable for Millie’s future and she will always be under my personal supervision.’

  The silence that followed her words lasted so long that Verity felt obliged to prompt Millie’s father. ‘What do you think, Mr Farmer?’

  George looked to where Millie was waiting for his reply, an expression of anguish on her face. ‘I think her mother and I are going to miss her very much, Miss Pendleton, but we will be happy knowing she is working for such a responsible person and proud that she will be helping you and Miss Nightingale make nursing the caring and respectable profession it should be.’

  Millie hurled herself at her father with a squeal of delight that would have gladdened any father’s heart and as her father hugged her tight in return, Tom said to Verity, ‘You and her father have just made her the happiest girl in Salisbury.’

  ‘I think she has you to thank for making it possible by persuading her father that she is being offered an honourable future, Tom, but it would not have stopped her from pursuing a career as a nurse because she is a determined girl who knows what she wants from life. When she reached an age when she could decide her future for herself she would have taken the step anyway, but you made it possible for her to do it with the approval of her family and come to us with their blessing. That is most satisfactory for all of us … but there is a lesson in this that you, as a policeman, should never forget.’

  When Verity stopped short of an explanation, Tom prompted, ‘… And the lesson is?’

  ‘That you should never underestimate the determination and resolve of a woman if something matters enough to her. Because of the way our society is she may have to work twice as hard as a man and show a mental – and indeed a physical strength – far beyond the norm in order to achieve her aims, but some women are possessed with such strength, as Miss Nightingale has shown. I believe Millie is cast in a similar mould. I am happy for her that she has not found it necessary to prove it to anyone.’

  Chapter 20

  WHEN TOM RETURNED to Cornwall the following day and reported the results of his journey to Laverstock, Amos echoed the frustration felt by his friend.

  ‘That’s another line of inquiry that seems to have come to a dead-end, Tom and we are no closer to finding baby Albert – or Kerensa Morgan’s murderer. I think we need to go through the details of all we have done once again and check what we have, what everyone has said to us, then see if we can come up with some new ideas. Unless Kerensa was murdered by someone who hasn’t yet come to our notice, it’s beginning to look as though Horace Morgan is our sole remaining suspect.’

  ‘Let’s hope Verity turns up something on him at the East India Company. She’ll be there today.’ Tom told Amos of his meeting in Salisbury with Verity, touching briefly on the part he had played in obtaining training for Detective Sergeant Farmer’s daughter as a Nightingale nurse.

  ‘Verity is showing a very keen interest in the case and I’m glad you were able to be of some help to her, Tom. You seem to have built up an excellent relationship with Wiltshire’s detective branch too. That might stand us in good stead at some time in the future, so your trip hasn’t been wasted. Spend a quiet day tomorrow writing a report about it and I’ll show it to the chief constable. The day after is going to be a busy one for both of us. I need to set off early in the pony and trap to attend the funeral of Kerensa Morgan at North Hill. The coroner released her body after the inquest, while you were away. The jury returned a verdict of murder by person, or persons unknown. In view of the fact that Colonel Trethewy is involved, the chief constable feels we should be represented at the service.’

  ‘Do you have anything special in mind for me while you’re there?’

  ‘Yes, Tom, I’d like you to pay a visit to the farm where this gypsy girl is staying and check whether her father has returned. If he hasn’t, find out if she can tell us any more about his activities, or whether she knows of anyone else who might have been doing the same thing. Then you can go on to the Ring o’ Bells to tell Alfie Kittow you’ve seen his wife and the baby. Frighten him a little and perhaps he can come up with something that might be useful to us. When you’re done come on to Trelyn and meet me at Sergeant Dreadon’s house. I’ve arranged to have something to eat there before returning to Bodmin. No doubt Dreadon’s wife will be able to find enough for both of us.’

  When Tom reached Gassick Farm he found Zillah in one of the stables grooming a moorland foal, one of three that would be put up for sale in the near future. She greeted him warmly, but was so despondent when she learned he had no news of her father he was unsure whether her initial warmth was at seeing him, or because she believed he had come with news of the missing man.

  ‘I’m sorry, Zillah, but I’m on my way to North Hill and Trelyn now and while I’m there I’ll be asking around to see whether anyone has any news of him. But how are things going, here at the farm?’

  She shrugged, ‘I’m keeping busy. There’s plenty to do around the place, it’s been neglected for far too long.’

  ‘You haven’t thought of anything else that might help us to find your father, or remembered something about that last night that might help identify whoever it was who called him out?’

  ‘Nothing, but I’m about finished here now, would you like to come into the house for a cup of tea and meet my grandmother?’

  Accepting her offer, Tom accompanied her into the farmhouse to meet the owner. Blanche Keach reminded Tom of Bessie Harris, the North Hill midwife. She was small and comfortably plump but, much to his relief, unlike the midwife’s home, hers did not smell of cats. She was a busy, garrulous woman with a moorland Cornish accent which was so strong that initially he had some difficulty in understanding her. However, it soon became embarrassingly evident to him that she was sounding out his prospects as a possible future grandson-in-law.

  Zillah was aware of it too and as soon as Tom had finished his tea she made t
he excuse that she had more work to do in the farmyard and ushered him out of the house. They left still pursued by the searching questions of the old woman.

  ‘I am sorry for that,’ Zillah apologized, when they were clear of the farmhouse. ‘But Grandma doesn’t meet many people up here on the moor and you’re the first man I’ve ever brought into the house. It will probably be the last, I found it very embarrassing. ’

  ‘I’m sure she means well. She’s probably concerned you’ll end up as she has, looking after the farm on your own.’

  ‘There are worse things to be doing – and when Dado comes back I’ll suggest to him that we both stay here and work. We’d never be rich, but we’d never starve either.’

  Riding away from the farm after spending about half an hour in Zillah’s company, Tom wondered what was likely to happen to her if Jed Smith never returned. Her grandmother would soon be too old to work about the farm and it would be a lonely and hardworking place for a young girl on her own. It was something that would be much on his mind in the days to come.

  At North Hill the Ring o’ Bells was quiet, the inn not yet open for the day’s business although the cleaner had completed his work and a tired-looking Alfie Kittow was making everything ready for the customers he was expecting at noon.

  Outside the church, which was only across the lane from the inn, a black carriage drawn by two plumed black horses stood outside the gate to the churchyard. Behind it was another carriage with the Trethewy coat-of-arms painted on the door and beyond that again Tom recognized Amos’s pony and cart.

  ‘You’ve arrived a little late for the funeral, although I see you’re not dressed for it anyway. Can I offer you a drink?’

  Declining the landlord’s offer, Tom said, ‘The village is very quiet, Alfie, is everyone in the church?’