FOURTEEN
In all his years as a policeman and then a private investigator, Amos Finnister had learned about people and knew how to read them. He had a psychological insight into most, and usually understood the motivations of others. This aside, he had acquired a certain charm. He was at ease with people from all walks of life, and they were at ease with him. Certainly he had a way with them, handled them with expertise and finesse.
And this was most apparent on Friday evening, when Charlie and Major Cedric Crawford dined with him at the Ritz Restaurant. As it turned out, he discovered that the major was the perfect English gentleman, well mannered and genial, and from a distinguished family. And Charlie was being himself tonight, playing the perfect English gentleman as he had done so often on the stage in London and New York.
Amos knew how to make people relax, and by the time they were halfway through dinner he had the major laughing, and sharing stories, some of which were hilarious. And as Amos joined in the general hilarity, told stories himself, and chatted mostly about inconsequential things, he listened and watched, trying to observe the major surreptitiously in order to properly weigh him up.
By the time they had eaten the main course, Amos felt comfortable enough to broach the subject of Tabitha James. At a given moment he glanced at Charlie, a quizzical expression on his face, and Charlie gave him a quick nod.
After taking another sip of the good French wine he had ordered, a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Amos put down his glass and leaned back in the chair, not wanting to appear intrusive or in any way threatening.
Speaking in his ordinary, neutral tone, Amos said, ‘I wonder if you’d mind my asking you something, Major?’
‘No, not at all. What is it you’d like to know, Finnister?’
Having worked out a simple story before dinner, one based on truth, Amos had it ready and on the tip of his tongue. ‘Before I begin I’d just like to explain something … I’m wondering if you happen to know a friend of mine.’
The major’s eyes were glued on Amos. ‘Who would that be?’
‘Lady Fenella Fayne. Have you ever come across her?’
‘No, I haven’t, I’m afraid. But I do know who she is, I think everyone does. Great philanthropist, so I’ve read, and a woman who has devoted her time, energy and money to helping women … women at risk, shall we say? I believe she’s the widow of Lord Jeremy Fayne.’
‘That’s correct, and her father is the Earl of Tanfield. Some years ago Lady Fenella tried to find a friend of hers from Yorkshire, where she herself comes from originally – a lady friend who had disappeared in London. She did manage to find out, through another acquaintance, that her friend had ended up living in the East End, in Whitechapel or thereabouts, and that her friend had been acquainted with a gentleman by the name of Cedric Crawford. That wasn’t by any chance your good self, was it Major?’
Cedric Crawford nodded at once, showing no signs of embarrassment or reluctance to admit to knowing the woman Amos was referring to. ‘I did know a lady who lived in Whitechapel by the name of Tabitha James. I knew her quite well, actually. You see, she was an extremely close friend of a fellow guards officer, Sebastian Lawford. At one moment I did believe they were going to marry – they were very much in love. But unfortunately that did not come to pass.’
‘And why was that, Major, do you know?’
‘Oh yes, I’m afraid I do. Tabitha James became very ill. Actually, she had contracted consumption, and then she was felled by double pneumonia. Before I knew it, she was dead and gone.’
‘I see. So you went to their home in Whitechapel, did you?’
‘It was Tabitha’s home, in point of fact. She wouldn’t move to a better place for some reason – though, with all due respect, Seb had tried to install her in a cottage that was more than comfortable. I have no idea why she was so obdurate.’ He shook his head, and finished, ‘It was all very sad because she was obviously a genuine lady: what I mean is, a woman of breeding.’
‘She was indeed. She was Lady Tabitha Brockhaven, and her late father was the Earl of Brockhaven,’ Amos informed him.
It was obvious that the major was surprised; Amos thought he looked thunderstruck, even a little disbelieving. He waited, wanting this information to sink in.
Cedric Crawford frowned, and he sounded dubious when he eventually asked, ‘Are you sure of that, Finnister? I mean … a title? Goodness me.’
‘Yes, I am sure. Absolutely. Anyway, a moment ago I mentioned Tabitha’s home. You did go there then?’
‘Oh yes, quite a few times. It was in 1904, the spring I think. Yes, that’s correct. You see, I was about to travel to Europe with my father and my two sisters. We were going to the family villa in the South of France, and then I was moving to Paris. Permanently. I wanted to be a painter and my father had agreed I could attend the Beaux Arts. In fact, he was footing the bill.’
‘But you were a guards officer, weren’t you?’ Amos probed.
‘Oh yes, but the old man, well, he was a good sort, my pater, he let me do what I wanted, more or less. So he put up no resistance when I resigned my commission. His father had been rather a bully, so I was led to understand, and Father sort of –’ Cedric paused, shrugged, ‘tended to go the other way. Indulged me. Spoiled me rotten, I expect. Anyway, he agreed with me that I wasn’t cut out to be a soldier.’
‘But you rejoined the army when war broke out, and you were both wrong as it turned out, weren’t you, Major? Since you must have been a very dedicated soldier from what Charlie tells me. You performed great acts of courage, so much so you are about to be awarded the greatest honour in the land, the most prestigious medal a soldier can receive for valour in the face of the enemy … the Victoria Cross.’
The major looked suddenly bashful, and he merely nodded, turning pink. He took a sip of his red wine.
Amos now leaned across the table, and asked the question he’d been holding back. ‘In the spring of 1904 did you come across a little girl living with Tabitha?’
‘Good Lord, yes, I’d forgotten about her for a moment. Tabitha did have a daughter. A toddler. Yes, yes, of course. Now what was her name … I’ve got it! She was called Grace.’
‘You don’t happen to know what happened to Grace, do you?’
‘Not really.’ The major rubbed his hand over his forehead, frowning slightly. ‘You know, now that I think about it, the last time I saw the child was the last time I saw Tabitha.’
‘Can you remember what happened that day?’ Amos sat back, sipping his water, and waiting, a sense of excitement growing inside him. His eyes rested on the major reflectively. He was very intent on arriving at the truth.
‘I remember it was quite a nice day,’ Major Crawford began. ‘Sunny, if a little cool. I went to Whitechapel with Seb Lawford because he wanted to persuade Tabitha to move to a better place, a decent cottage which he had found in Hampstead, near the Heath. He asked me to help him move her things, and we arrived in a hansom cab. Tabitha was there, but she wouldn’t agree to move or leave that … hovel. She was stubborn. We both noticed how dreadfully ill she looked, and she was coughing … coughing her heart out. Seb sent me to talk to the woman who lived several doors away, down the street. She had a teenage daughter who apparently sometimes looked after Grace. He wanted her to come to the house and watch Grace whilst we took Tabitha to the hospital. I can’t remember the girl’s name, but she agreed, and she came back with me. As I recall, I gave her a guinea to wait until we returned. Then Seb and the girl helped to get Tabitha into some of her clothes, and he and I carried her out to the hansom, and we took her to the hospital.’
‘Which hospital was that, Major Crawford?’
‘The one on Whitechapel Road, it’s called Royal London Hospital. Very old place. Naturally, they kept her in the hospital, she was so very ill.’
‘And what happened after that?’ Amos asked quietly.
‘Seb returned to Tabitha’s place in Whitechapel, and I took a hansom cab back to my father’s
house in Queen Street in Mayfair. We left for France about five days later.’
‘But you said Tabitha died. You must have seen your friend Sebastian Lawford before you left, didn’t you?’
‘He came to see me only two days after we had taken Tabitha to the hospital. And yes, she had died, she had a virulent case of pneumonia, not to mention consumption. It was her lungs, I think, they were horribly congested, she had trouble breathing.’
‘At that time, did he mention the little girl Grace?’
‘No, he didn’t say anything, and I didn’t think to ask. We, that is the family, were going abroad for three months, and I was packing for a much longer stay in Paris. It was somewhat chaotic, I’m afraid –’ Cedric Crawford broke off as if suddenly something had occurred to him. ‘What happened to the little girl, Mr Finnister? I hope nothing bad.’
‘No, not really, thank God.’ Amos cleared his throat, went on, ‘When Lady Fenella was looking for Tabitha, I know she checked all of the hospitals in the area, because I helped her. But she didn’t find Tabitha registered. Don’t you think that’s a bit odd?’
‘Yes. But then again, no, I don’t. You see, she was using the name Mrs Lawford … Mrs Sebastian Lawford … Seb thought using his full name would offer her protection in that rather rough area of London. Anyway, he had a pet name for her, as well. He always called her Lucy. I’ve no idea why, but what I do know for a certainty is that he registered her as Mrs Sebastian Lawford, Christian name Lucy. I was standing right next to her when he spoke to the nurse.’
‘I understand, and so will Lady Fenella. Everything has become clear. Tell me, Major, did Sebastian Lawford invite you to the funeral? Or tell you where she was buried?’
‘No, he didn’t say, but I couldn’t have gone because of the problems of the family leaving, and, as I said, my father’s house was chaotic until the day we left.’
‘I think I would like to meet Sebastian Lawford, if you would help me to locate him. Do you know where he is, Major?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘And where is that, if I might ask?’
‘In a grave in France. He was killed at the battle of Ypres, the third battle. He died in my arms, Mr Finnister. So you see, I can’t help you with that. So sorry.’
‘You have helped me. You’ve given me the name of the hospital, and hopefully they will be able to tell me where Tabitha James, or rather Mrs Sebastian “Lucy” Lawford, is buried. I’m certain they will have that on record.’
‘Is it important, knowing that?’ the major asked curiously.
‘Oh yes, very much so,’ Amos murmured, and added, ‘thank you again, Major, thank you.’
It wasn’t unusual for Amos to go to Deravenels on Saturday, even though the offices were closed over the weekend. He often went in to tidy up his paperwork, and do other small jobs, which he couldn’t attend to during the week.
But on this Saturday morning he had a specific purpose when he arrived at the grand old building on the Strand. The uniformed commissionaire touched his cap, said ‘Good morning, Mr Finnister. Weather for ducks, ain’t it, sir?’
Amos grinned at the older man. ‘Good morning, Albert. And indeed it is the right kind of weather for our fine feathered friends.’ As he spoke he closed his umbrella, then hurried across the grandiose marble entrance foyer and up the staircase.
The reason he had come to the office was to list the names of cemeteries in the vicinity of Whitechapel, and make a few telephone calls.
His first call was to the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, where he quickly discovered the records office was not open on weekends; this was an answer he had fully expected. He then dialled Ravenscar, and when Jessup, the butler, answered, he announced himself, spoke to the butler for a moment or two, and then was put through to Edward Deravenel.
‘Good morning, Amos,’ Edward said. ‘I’m assuming you have some sort of news for me.’
‘Good morning, sir, and yes, I do. It was the right Cedric Crawford, as we had thought on Thursday, but he was not the man involved with Tabitha James.’
‘How strange!’ Edward exclaimed. ‘That friend of Tabitha’s, Sophie whatever her name was, seemed so certain about Cedric Crawford.’
‘According to Lady Fenella, yes, she did. But according to the major it was his fellow guards officer, Sebastian Lawford, who was the man in question. And I do believe Major Crawford.’
‘And an easy mistake, I suppose, to muddle Crawford and Lawford,’ Edward commented.
‘That’s right, Mr Edward, and the major kept referring to him as Seb last night. Seb Lawford or Ced Crawford, what’s the difference when you don’t actually care about the facts?’
‘And Sophie didn’t, is that what you’re saying?’ Edward asked.
‘Yes, I am, sir. And let me tell you everything I learned.’ He then proceeded to relay all of the information he had garnered from the major the night before.
‘Well done, Amos!’ Edward exclaimed. ‘Now you’ve got something to follow up.’
‘I do, but it will have to be on Monday. I telephoned the hospital and I can’t get into Records until Monday, and I know Somerset House is closed at the weekend. They have a registry of all births, marriages and deaths in Great Britain, so I’ll be able to track her death certificate now that we have the correct name. Well, the name she was using.’
‘Thank you for going to all this trouble, Amos, you’ve done a splendid job.’
‘There is something else, sir. Er, er, Mr Deravenel?’
‘Yes, Amos, what is it?’
‘Once I have all the information would it be all right for me to tell Mrs Forth?’
‘Absolutely! She’ll be happy as I am to know everything, it’s been such a troubling mystery all these years. And I’m sure she will agree that Grace Rose should be told … it’s an ending for her, Amos, and it will finally put her mind at rest, knowing what happened to her mother.’
‘I agree, sir. I will telephone you on Monday as soon as I have been in touch with the various organizations involved, and then I’ll talk to Mrs Vicky.’
‘That’s a good plan, and thank you again, Amos –’ Edward paused for a split second, then finished, ‘And how strange life is, really. All of this came about by coincidence, because Charlie met another soldier in hospital. Truly amazing, Amos.’
FIFTEEN
Ravenscar
She was in charge. Her grandmother had told her so, and this pleased Bess Deravenel. But she should be in charge, shouldn’t she? After all, she was nine years old, the eldest, the first born. Everyone was aware that the heir was more important because he was a boy. But this did not trouble her. She had always known that she was her father’s favourite, and therefore she was very special. He had said that to her when she was small.
Her father had recently bought her a cheval mirror, and had it placed in the corner of her bedroom, so that she could view herself full length. Now she went over to it, stood staring at her reflection, her head on one side.
Bess decided that she looked very nice, and was most appropriately dressed for the Christmas Day lunch. She had chosen the dress herself, because Nanny was fussing about the other children, and had told her to use her own judgement. She liked doing that, it made her feel very grown up. And so she had picked out a dress made of royal blue velvet with a gathered skirt almost to her ankles, long sleeves and a beautiful white lace collar and cuffs. Her white stockings and black shoes were an excellent choice, Nanny had said a few moments ago.
Returning to the dressing table in the bay window, Bess took the small brooch out of its black velvet box. Earlier that morning they had all opened their Christmas presents in the library, where the huge Christmas tree stood, and this brooch had been a gift to her from her father. It was a small bow made of diamonds. Her mother had seemed annoyed, and Bess had heard her say to her father that it was much too expensive for a child, and he had retorted, ‘Not for a child of mine, Elizabeth,’ and walked away looking even more annoyed than her mo
ther. She was used to them. They often quarrelled; she had grown up with their quarrels and often wondered why her mother said the things she did when she knew he would be instantly angry.
Carefully, Bess pinned the brooch at the neckline of the dress, saw that it fitted in neatly between the two sides of the collar. She touched her hair, arranged the curls away from her face, and nodded to herself. Her hair was the same red gold as her father’s and her eyes the same bright blue. She looked like him, just as Grace Rose did. She was very disappointed Grace Rose wasn’t coming for Christmas. It was all because of Young Edward’s bronchitis. None of the guests were coming; her father had cancelled the festivities. ‘God help us,’ Nanny had said to Madge, the nursemaid, the other afternoon. ‘I don’t know what we’ll do without family and friends here, they usually act as a buffer between them.’ She had shrunk back from the door, hoping Nanny hadn’t seen her. And she knew exactly what Nanny had meant, and agreed with her, although she could never say so. Nanny would think she had been eavesdropping.
Jumping up off the stool, Bess ran across the bedroom floor and opened the door to the corridor. In the distance she could hear Nanny’s voice coming from the direction of Mary’s bedroom, which she shared with little Cecily, because Cecily was afraid of the dark. Wondering if there was some sort of problem, she flew down the corridor and pushed open the door of Mary’s room.
Nanny turned around swiftly and exclaimed, ‘Now, now, Bess! Please don’t run down the corridors. It’s simply not ladylike. And how many times have I told you that?’
‘Every day, Nanny. Sorry. But I thought you might be in need of me. To help you.’
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