Untitled

by Wendy Bayne

  Mother waited while Renee finished her tart and took a sip of lemonade and asking for permission to have another tart. “Go ahead, my dear, please both of you help yourselves.” She moved the cake tray closer to them. “Yes, we are asking about them. Did you see or hear anything?”

  Odette and Renee both nodded with their mouths full and it was a bit before Renee said anything. “Yes, madam, the blond boy called the dark one Gabriel. The boy was very young and very angry, he wanted to know what Gabriel intended to do. I could not hear everything they said but Gabriel was also very angry, he said it was none of his business; except that he would put a stop to what they were doing soon. Then he said something having to find what that they had both been looking for before he could stop them…but I didn’t hear what it was that they were looking for. Then Lady Granville came into the conservatory with two other ladies to show them her orchids, so we hid. When she left, she closed and locked the door, so we had to go outside and around to the kitchen door to get back in the house.” She looked at me with a worried countenance. “That is when we saw mademoiselle…” she nodded at me, “with the nasty Englishman that had tried to kiss Inez. He slapped Inez very hard when she tried to push him away, but Lady Granville caught him, so he let her go and walked away. I was so afraid that Inez would get into trouble, she is very pretty and very good too, but Lady Granville is a kind mistress and told Inez to stay in the kitchen and help there.”

  Mother nodded. “It sounds like you have a good mistress.” They both nodded. “Did you see anything else?”

  Renee looked at Odette. “Oui. The dark man was in the garden too, he was hidden in the shadows by the fountain and when the nasty man and mademoiselle walked past him, he followed.”

  They both shrugged when Mother asked if they saw anything else. Emilie grinned and spoke to Odette and Renee in French, so we pretended that we didn’t understand them however that was all that they seemed to know. Neither knew what had happened to the person I thought might be Ramsey. Nonetheless, it was more than we had gotten from all the other staff combined, including Inez who hadn’t told us anything about being abused by Julian. The girls looked at the remaining cakes, so Emilie got up, wrapped them in the tissue from the candies and handed it to them “You can take the rest them to your room.”

  Odette looked a Renee and shook her head no, Renee smiled. “That is very kind, madam, but Lady Granville is a good mistress and taking those would be unfair to the others.”

  Aunt Mary opened her bag of scented soaps and candies then smiled. “You do indeed have a good mistress, but she would want you to have these gifts as a thank you for helping us.” She pulled out two bars of soap, and two bags of candy and passed them to the girls. They squealed with delight taking the gifts while thanking her. Then they curtseyed to my aunt and to rest of us and left.

  Dr Jefferson and Miles were waiting for us in the morning room with self-satisfied smiles on their faces and the look of having imbibed a bit too much whisky. Aunt Mary clicked her tongue and shook her head, “Well, gentlemen, I suggest we leave before that odious toad Dunhill seeks us out.”

  As if on cue there was a tap at the door and the odious toad came into the room with two grooms. “I’m afraid that I cannot allow you to leave, Mrs Spencer, until I know what you were told by those two children.”

  Miles and Dr Jefferson both rose and stepped forward to put us behind them with Miles saying, “I beg your pardon, Mr Dunhill, but your tone is most offensive. I suggest that you apologize to Mrs Spencer and the other ladies then we’ll be on our way.”

  Dunhill pulled a pistol out from behind his back and pointed it at Miles. Both footmen seemed shocked and stepped away from him, moving back to either side of the door. Mr Fraser then stepped into the room with pistol of his own and cocked it. Mr Dunhill looked over his shoulder at the sound, “You can leave, Fraser, I have this under control. These people were trying to abscond with state secrets, I saw them coming out of his Lordship’s study.”

  Mr Fraser blinked slowly looking at the two footmen and motioned towards the door and they both left without hesitation. Fraser took a deep breath. “I seriously doubt that, Dunhill.” He took a step closer to him. “Mrs Spencer, please excuse me, ma’am, I should have told you about the tweenies, but I had no idea that they had been downstairs. They only just now came and told me what they told you and to confess their omission.” Mother looked startled then confused. “You see they didn’t tell you everything, ma’am, for fear of reprisal from Mr Dunhill. But they also saw him speaking to the murdered man.” Dunhill was looking around the room licking his lips, a small trickle of sweat ran down the side of his face as he took a step towards my Aunt. Dr Jefferson suddenly moved, grabbing at the pistol in Dunhill’s hand, in the struggle he dropped the pistol and it went off. The shot missed everyone burying itself into a portrait over the mantel. Nevertheless, Dunhill continued to fight back but he was no match for the doctor who finally knocked him down with a punch to his gut. Miles picked up the pistol that had landed at his feet and Mr Fraser moved to the door calling for the footmen. They came in and took charge of Mr Dunhill, leading him out at Mr Fraser’s direction. Mr Fraser laid his own pistol down on a nearby table as he sat heavily in the chair nearest him and pulled out his handkerchief to wipe off his brow. “Oh my, I haven’t done anything like that since the peninsular war.”

  Dr Jefferson went to the table taking up his pistol. “Sir, this pistol is not loaded!”

  Fraser looked up at him with an inscrutable face. “I know, sir, I had no time after I saw that piece of dung come in here. Oh my,” he was very flushed, and his hands were shaking, “I do confess that I make a better butler than a foot soldier.”

  Dr Jefferson knelt beside him feeling his pulse then loosened his neckerchief. “May I send for some water or perhaps something stronger?”

  Fraser’s head popped up. “Oh no, sir, but thank you. I can’t have the staff seeing me as anything but omnipotent.” He chuckled then he leaned back in the chair as his colour improved.

  My aunt sat down near him and reached out to touch his hand but drew it back. “Mr Fraser, what you told us, did they hear anything or only see Mr Dunhill speaking to that man?”

  “No, milady, the children didn’t hear anything. But I’ve been keeping my eye on him since he was hired on.” He turned his attention to my mother, “I knew your father, Mrs Turner, from the war and a crustier man there never was; but he knew how to spot good men and foul and I learned a good deal from him in that respect.” He took a few deep breathes and seemed to relax a bit more. “I haven’t trusted Dunhill from first moment I met him. But oddly enough his Lordship hired him based in part on a recommendation from your father apparently vouching that he knew him well and valued his abilities. What alerted me to something perhaps being wrong with the recommendation was that the General empathized several times that Dunhill was a good Northumberland man, born and bred. I immediately knew that for a lie. The folk in the North Country don’t speak regular English, ma’am, as you well know coming from there yourself. Even if you only speak posh English like yourself you can still understand the common speech; but not him, never. I knew then that the General felt he was a man that merited watching.”

  Dr Jefferson poured out some brandy from a decanter sitting on a marquetry table by the door. He passed it to Mr Fraser who hesitated then tossed it back and coughed before proceeding. “My mother was from Northumberland and she spoke the Geordie and I learned it at her knee as I learned my posh English at the end of the vicar’s cane. But Mr Dunhill doesn’t have any Geordie at all. Even with his posh English he shouldn’t be able to hide a Northumbrian burr completely. I pointed this out to his Lordship, but he still wasn’t satisfied that he’d made an error in hiring the man, so he contacted the Home Office. It wasn’t long before he received a letter from Sir Thomas Wiseman asking him not to dismiss the man but to keep him under observation until at some point Mr Turner or his representative arrived and then he could
discuss a course of action with them. But with all the ruckus with Mr Johnson’s incarceration and then the shooting here at the embassy, the occasion never presented itself.”

  Miles sucked in his breath. “I was supposed to meet with Lord Granville when I first arrived in Paris, but I met with my misadventure before I could call upon him. Mr Fraser, may I ask what exactly you did in the peninsular war?”

  Mr Fraser grinned widely. “Intelligence of a sort, sir, I was with the Duke of Wellington, of course he wasn’t a Duke then.”

  Miles chuckled. “Then you were no common foot soldier either, sir.”

  Mr Fraser smiled. “Just common enough so as not to have questions arise if I were caught.”

  “I take it, Mr Fraser, that you come with the Embassy and are not a personal servant of Lord Granville?”

  Mr Fraser grinned. “You have the right of it, Mr Johnson. I am loyal to my country, the Crown and to the Ambassador, whoever he maybe just so long as he too is a loyal and honourable servant of the Crown.”

  Aunt Mary sighed and smiled. “We owe you a further debt of gratitude, Mr Fraser, is there anything we can do to show our thanks?”

  Mr Fraser stood up and straightened his neckerchief. “Not for myself, Mrs Spencer. But there is something I would ask on behalf of all of us…please solve this crime quickly. I’d hate to have any of my staff leave because of this incident. The Frenchies are a nervous lot to begin with working for the English and now they’re afraid of their own shadows, seeing murderers in every dark corner.”

  We arrived back at the chateau well past luncheon. However, Emilie ordered up a traditional English high tea which included beside the usually cakes and sandwiches a pigeon pie and Welsh rarebit, a decidedly British treat. We had just sat down to eat when my father, uncles, Lord Shellard and the Marquis joined us.

  We ate as we discussed our time at the Embassy. Nothing of use had been found on the grounds and as for the Paris authorities they were not as cooperative as my father had hoped. They were still aggrieved at having Miles removed from their custody, whether it was right or not. But the Marquis came up with an alternate strategy and invited the Prefect of Police to accompany them to a wine tasting of a new vintner that the Marquis was very impressed with and apparently so was the Prefect. After several glasses of Perrier-Jouet’s champagne the Prefect was happy to tell him everything that he knew had transpired while Miles had been in their custody as well as who they were currently watching as persons of interest in Paris. I was appalled that men would rely on spirits to loosen tongues, but I had to admit that it was effective in this case.

  According to the Prefect, Lord Burley had sent his son Julian accompanied by Miles’ brother, Edward, to lay a complaint of murder against Miles. Miles had also been accused of treason in an affidavit written by General Sir Richard Hughes who requested that he be arrested and turned over to Julian’s custody and returned to Great Britain. However, the Prefect was suspicious of their credentials and while he did arrest Miles he would not release him into their custody. He could not, however, ignore a writ from the French Minister of the interior granting them full access to the prisoner for questioning until they received confirmation from England that he was indeed a suspect in these capital crimes.

  The Prefect assured the Earl and my father that he’d not been aware of the methods employed during their questioning or he would have put a stop to it. But he became nervous when asked why Lord Granville had never been approached to confirm the charges against Miles or why he had never been made aware of the arrest of a British subject. The Prefect insisted that he had informed his Lordship but that he had never received a reply. We agreed that it was safe to assume that Mr Dunhill had intercepted the message and that the Prefect did not care enough to follow up with the Embassy. Uncle Arthur had shown the Prefect a copy of my picture and was sure from the man’s reaction that the he recognized the dark man, but he denied having seen him.

  Despite the excellent champagne he did not divulge any further information but he suggested that they might like to speak to the Minister of the Interior. So, the Earl requested an appointment which surprisingly had been granted for tomorrow afternoon.

  Then Miles and my Aunt Mary brought them up to date on what we had found out from the embassy staff, that the dark man was called Gabriel and that it was still possible that the blond man was Ramsey Clarke.

  Chapter 28

  A Picnic

  Nothing more came of the meeting with the Minster of the Interior, he would not even admit that he knew anything about Gabriel, only that this person could perhaps be the nephew of Don Francisco de le Rosa. The minster had detailed notes on every member of our party including James and shared that information with my Uncle Arthur as a form of intimidation to stop us from poking around and asking uncomfortable questions. Yet after seeing my sketch of Gabriel, he had the gall to ask if I had really been the one to do it and if so would I consider a commission to sketch his wife. Uncle Arthur started to tell the minister what he thought of him when the Earl apparently jumped in and said that he thought that I would be delighted and that my parents were sure to be agreeable being very sensible of the honour, so he offered to arrange it on the minister’s behalf.

  I looked at the Earl in shock opening and closing my mouth several times at a loss for words. He merely smiled at me, “Come now, Miss Turner, you are very talented. I’ve seen the sketch you did of Miles that hangs in his Dorset study.”

  Father rubbed his chin looking at me with an expression of restrained amusement. “Well, Lissa, you ladies proved today that women are more observant and hear more than the average man. Would you care to try your hand with the minister’s wife?”

  Aunt Mary made a throat-clearing noise, “Colin, she cannot go alone, it wouldn’t be proper. I suggest that Emilie accompany her.”

  Emilie sat up wide-eyed. “Me, but why me?”

  Aunt Mary looked at her over her spectacles. “Because, my dear, you are French, and you speak the language flawlessly and you are attempting to regain possession of this grand estate, in such cases it never hurts to make friends in high places.” Father opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything my aunt continued, “Besides the rest of us would only put the Minister and his wife on guard. But a gift for the minister at the same time would not be out of place. Monsieur Marquis, perhaps you could recommend a vintage that would make the minister more amenable to answering my nieces’ questions. I should think a case would not be too extravagant.”

  In any event the proposed gift proved to be very practical when we received an invitation from the minister’s wife for all us to join them for a picnic on their estate. Uncle Samuel seemed delighted with the idea since many of the legal and judicial men of power were sure to be there. Mother was happy since James had been invited which meant that Lettie would be able to lend us her talent for eavesdropping. Murphy would also be in attendance having been elevated to the position of my father’s secretary, much to the amusement and pride of Mr Allan, Michael and Jacob. The invitation had also included the Earl and Marquis.

  The French apparently loved dining el fresco, but their idea of picnic was obviously very different from the English. It seemed as if the inside of the minister’s home had been recreated outside with a huge buffet set up on tables with chairs and chase lounges scattered about the grounds in groupings, encouraging conversation and insuring privacy, fortunately it was fair day. The Marquis’ selection of a gift for the minister was superb according to our host, it was much-appreciated especially since he would not have to share it with the company today; it still needed to age for a few more years. The case of Scotch whisky was a most unusual choice for a Frenchman, but the Earl had agreed that it would appeal to the minister for its uniqueness.

  The minister’s wife was as lovely as the minister himself was homely. It was rumoured that she was once considered the most beautiful woman in Rennes and that she had been a rich titled widow who’d lost her first husband to madam
la guillotine. Yet she had somehow avoided arrest or the loss of her considerable fortune. She had a smile that projected a pervading sense of peace with just a touch of melancholy. When it came to choose a place for her to sit for her portrait, we settled on a glade where we were surrounded by untamed nature rather than a formal garden setting. It seemed much to her liking and removed us from the overwhelming presence of so many guests. The minster seemed pleased with my choice and left Aunt Emilie and I alone with my subject. Madame asked us to call her Marie Esther as she explained to us how she had met her current husband and married. As I had suspected her first marriage had been the love of her life and his death was the cause for her underlying melancholy. Her current marriage as she said was based on the mutual admiration of two clever people who had weathered the storms of war with their heads and fortunes intact, but it lacked passion even though he was totally devoted to her.

  Emilie in turn shared her story about her own family and her quest to regain the family property in France. Marie Esther scrunched up her face as if she found the subject distasteful, but she was also sympathetic and sent a footman after her husband who came to her side immediately. “Jacques, my love, Madam Hughes has a case before the courts to reinstate her family’s property to her. Would you be a darling and whisper in the right ears? I like her and would love to see more of her. I think we will be good friends.” She beamed at him and you could see that he was totally under her spell. “Besides you’ve said that the English make excellent neighbours and her husband,” she looked about her, and spotted Samuel then pointed to him “…over there is very English.” As an afterthought she waved a hand at me saying, “And this sweet talented young lady is his niece. Do you think you can assist them in this matter, my love? Even if it’s just to have the case moved forward?” She smiled and batted her eyelashes bringing his hand up to her cheek before kissing his palm. I had never in my life seen anyone so outrageously manipulated and not even notice it. He was totally at her mercy and she knew it.