Death of a Footman (Riley Rochester Investigates Book 8)

by Wendy Soliman

  ‘She couldn’t have. I wore…’

  A deathly silence greeted Verity’s blurted response.

  ‘Thank you for admitting your complicity,’ Riley said, almost smiling at Verity’s shocked expression when she realised that she had given herself away. ‘We know that you argued with Ezra, which I can understand. He had taken up with not one but both of the women you most disliked and resented. Neither of them would have met him had it not been for you. It must have felt like history repeating itself, which is why you mentioned Jason in your letters to your brother and why you didn’t tell him about Nancy and Ezra to begin with. You wanted to exploit that situation for your own purposes, but when Nancy refused to pay for your silence and Gordon took her side when you did reveal the truth, it tipped you over the edge. So you swallowed your pride, went down to Clapham and made yourself known to Ezra’s brother. You had heard him talk about Sam and his volatile temper. You also knew that he resented Ezra because he wouldn’t include him in his various schemes. Sam was the perfect person to do your dirty work for you, in other words.’

  ‘Except you didn’t think it through,’ Salter added. ‘In arranging for your brother to be killed—’

  ‘I did not—’

  ‘Be quiet,’ Riley said in an authoritative tone. ‘You have had your opportunity to talk and failed to take advantage of it. Carry on, Sergeant.’

  ‘In having Gordon killed, you inadvertently did Nancy a favour. Her relationship with Ezra had been platonic up until that point—’

  ‘So she would have you believe,’ Verity sneered. ‘I can see that neither one of you is immune to a pretty face. Apparently you are both ready to take her word over mine.’

  ‘You cleared the path for Ezra and Nancy to be together. You might have gained a little satisfaction from knowing that Ida had been dislodged from Ezra’s affections, but to see Nancy take her place cannot have sat comfortably with you. So Ezra had to go. What we need to know is what part Sir Philip played in his demise. We know that you slipped something into Ezra’s drink to make him woozy. He went outside either because he felt the need for air or because you somehow persuaded him to, which is where Sir Philip caught up with him.’

  ‘Untrue.’ She folded her arms. ‘Sir Philip had nothing to do with Ezra’s death, although God alone knows he had enough reason to demand retribution. Ezra had made him look like a fool in his own home. However, he was not there as far as I am aware, and nor was I, and you cannot prove otherwise.’

  ‘I rather think that we can,’ Riley replied, disappointed but not surprised when she didn’t cave in. ‘But leaving that aside for the moment, let’s return to the matter of your brother’s death.’

  ‘That was an accident, but I suppose you are going to try and pin that on me too. Well, it won’t work. A stack of barrels fell upon him and crushed him to death, and I couldn’t move even one barrel to save my life. Besides,’ she added with a wicked glint in her eye, ‘as you yourself just pointed out, his death was very beneficial from Nancy’s perceptive. Or would have been, had Ezra lived. Why would I do her any favours?’

  ‘You had to kill your brother before Ezra. You gave Nancy hope and then snatched it away from her.’ Riley paused. ‘How long would you have allowed Nancy to live before she too met with an accident, leaving you as your brother’s only relative to inherit her estate?’

  Nancy leapt from her chair. ‘That is an outrageous slander!’

  ‘Sit down!’ Riley waited until she did so and then resumed speaking. ‘I think it only fair to tell you that we have Sam Dawson in our custody as well. We know that he called to see your brother just before his death and I feel persuaded he will tell us who suggested that meeting, if only to save his own neck. You don’t need to have been there in order to be tried for murder. All we have to do is convince a jury that you put the idea into the killer’s head. Besides, we also know that you called at Sam’s cottage. His wife will have seen you and will be able to identify you.’

  ‘Even if I did, it means nothing. I just wanted to know more about Ezra.’ She studied her folded hands, her fingers laced together to prevent them from trembling. ‘It humiliates me to make the admission, but I still wanted Ezra as a friend. He had a mesmerising effect upon me, as he did upon every woman who set eyes on him, and I hoped that Sam could help promote my cause.’

  Riley shook his head. He would have felt sorry for her but for the fact that he recognised in her stony features the face of a cold-hearted and calculating killer.

  ‘Lock her up while we speak with Sir Philip and Sam Dawson,’ Riley said abruptly.

  He expected protestations but she surprised him when she stood and walked from the room with her head held high.

  ‘Blimey,’ Salter said, scratching his head. ‘What did you make of that performance?’

  ‘She knows we are onto her and is falling back on her dignity.’ Riley stood. ‘As things stand, we don’t have enough firm evidence to convict her of anything, and she knows it.’

  ‘Yeah, I guessed as much.’

  ‘Never mind. We’re not done yet. Let’s go and see what Sir Philip has to say for himself. Hopefully, he will be a little more forthcoming.’

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sir Philip looked up when Riley entered the room. He sat ramrod straight, but his eyes reflected a combination of uncertainty and fear. As the power behind a number of governmental thrones he was accustomed to dishing out orders, not being compelled to obey them. It was humiliating for anyone to be brought into Scotland Yard, Riley knew, but people in Sir Philip’s comfortable situation didn’t expect it to happen to them. Riley braced himself for a barrage of protests and bluster. Instead he was treated to a mildly worded enquiry.

  ‘Why am I here, Lord Riley?’ Sir Philip asked. ‘Is there news?’

  Riley sat across from him and took a moment to assess the man. His face looked haggard, as though he hadn’t been sleeping well, but his attire was pristine. Had it been anyone other than Riley interviewing him, Riley sensed that he would have pulled rank and attempted to intimidate. Fortunately, Riley was immune to intimidation.

  ‘Verity is in the next room,’ Riley said after a slight pause.

  ‘Ah.’ Sir Philip’s upright stance crumpled and he let out a long breath. Riley wondered if he was relieved to have been rumbled, aware now that he wouldn’t have to press for an explanation. ‘So you know.’

  ‘I suspected your involvement when Ida told me that you had been preoccupied and withdrawn since Ezra’s death. Even so, I would prefer to hear your own account of events.’

  ‘She isn’t a bad woman.’ Sir Philip ran a hand through his hair and Riley knew he was referring to Verity rather than Ida. ‘Gideon should never have married her. Ida and I couldn’t understand why he had, and Gideon wasn’t willing to share his reasons with us. Verity thinks it was for her fortune, which he needed to bolster his political ambitions. She fails to take into account that Gideon has no ambitions. Well, not in respect to politics, anyway. Those aspirations are all Verity’s. I have known for a long time that Gideon has neither the drive nor the will to succeed in such a cutthroat arena, but Verity had very different ideas on the subject and thought his achievements would eclipse my own.’ Sir Philip shook his head. ‘I could have told her differently. Gideon is a dreamer, not a man of action. He actually writes very good poetry, as a matter of fact.’

  ‘I was not aware of that,’ Riley said. ‘Verity didn’t encourage that talent, one assumes.’

  ‘Indeed she did not. She is driven by a will that none of us have ever understood. She and Ida have despised one another since the day Gideon first introduced us to Verity. Chalk and cheese, of course. I tried to be kind to Verity because…well, because no one else in the family—not even her own husband—bothered to give her the time of day. I suppose she misinterpreted my politeness for approval of her ambitions for Gid, so I must shoulder part of the blame for inadvertently bolstering her determination.’

  ‘No one could have predic
ted the extent of Verity’s spite. She isn’t rational.’

  Sir Philip lifted a shoulder. ‘She was outraged when she realised how Ida occupied her time and felt duty bound to tell me about her behaviour with…Oh, I forget who now, but one of her previous paramours.’ Sir Philip gave a mirthless chuckle. ‘She couldn’t believe that I knew and didn’t mind, and continued to be outraged even though I had no use for her sympathy. Ida had tried to be polite to Verity up until that point, and you know how hard it is for Ida to pretend to be something she is not. She either likes a person or she doesn’t, and if she doesn’t then you can be sure that person won’t be left in any doubt of it. Verity had made an adversary for herself, since Ida simply didn’t care what she thought of her.’

  ‘Which made for interesting times when you were together as a family, one imagines,’ Riley said, keen to keep Sir Philip talking. Riley sensed that he found the opportunity to confess a huge relief. Whether he intended to admit to killing Ezra or was being so disconcertingly honest in the hope that Riley would believe him when he lied about his part in the footman’s death was less certain.

  ‘You have no idea. But of course that was the calm before the storm. When Ida took up with her new footman and made next to no effort to conceal the affair, I thought Verity would have a conniption. She kept on at me to do something about it, insisting that my reputation and good name was being degraded. She didn’t believe me when I said that I was happy that Ida was…well, happy. You have to understand, Lord Riley, that I truly love my wife and I believe that she loves me in return. It’s an odd relationship, I’ll grant you, but it works for us. We are the very best of friends and have few secrets from one another.’

  ‘She said you have been very supportive since Ezra’s death.’

  Sir Philip sighed. ‘How could I be otherwise? She was inordinately fond of Ezra.’

  ‘Weren’t you jealous?’ Salter asked from his position against the wall.

  Sir Philip slowly shook his head. ‘If she had lost her heart to him, then perhaps I would have been, but she repeatedly assured me that the relationship was purely physical. I was aware of her needs when I married her. I struggled to satisfy them early in our marriage when I was still able to discharge my duty in that respect. Well, we have three children and they are all my progeny, so at least I did something right. But I was seriously unwell not long after Patrick was born, and although I recovered it left me impotent.’

  ‘Ida didn’t say.’

  Sir Philip chuckled. ‘She wouldn’t. She was protecting my dignity, I expect.’

  ‘Is Verity aware of the real reason why you and Ida no longer share a bed?’

  ‘No. We agreed not to tell anyone. Besides, it’s none of her business.’

  ‘So, Sir Philip, we come to the matter of Ezra’s death. You went to Clapham with Verity on the night in question, didn’t you?’

  Riley held his breath. This was a vital moment in the investigation and he and Salter both knew it. Riley had made it sound as though he knew the truth by implying that Verity had admitted Sir Philip’s involvement, despite the fact that if Sir Philip chose to deny it they would be unable to prove it.

  ‘Yes,’ he said softly after what seemed like an indeterminable pause. ‘To my lasting regret.’

  ‘Why?’ Riley asked, releasing a long breath.

  ‘Because Verity refused to let up. She became incensed every time she came to the house and saw Ezra and Ida behaving affectionately towards one another in front of the rest of us. Oh, I don’t mean to imply that they touched one another, or anything quite that blatant. It was just the informal way she spoke to him when he served at table, and how she always wanted him in the room. Verity should perhaps have called less often if she was offended by what I saw as a harmless infatuation. I had seen Ida similarly fixated before, you see. Anyway, I pointed out to Verity that she could stay away until the whole business ran its course if it offended her so much, but she continued to call—if anything even more frequently.’

  ‘Go on,’ Riley encouraged.

  ‘She came to me a while ago, angrier than I had ever seen her, which is saying something. Ida, it seemed, had agreed to advance Ezra a very large sum of money to invest in a men’s sporting club in Clapham. I’m sorry I didn’t admit to knowing about it when you asked me. That was wrong of me. I didn’t have time to think about my response and I suppose I thought if I told the truth it would make me look guilty. Anyway, it infuriated Verity because Ida was seldom persuaded to part with money when she herself requested it to support Gideon, claiming he needed it to enhance his standing in Whitehall. Ida knew it was tosh, of course, which is why she always said no to her.’

  ‘You hadn’t known about the loan prior to Verity enlightening you?’

  ‘No. I will admit that Ida failed to mention it to me and I was hurt by that. It’s her money, of course, but she has never parted with a large sum without discussing it with me first and seeking my opinion. It made me think that perhaps Verity was right and Ezra meant more to her than the others had. Perhaps they intended to run away together.’ Sir Philip looked away. ‘I’m not sure I could have borne that.’

  ‘So you went to Clapham with Verity to kill him,’ Salter said starkly.

  ‘No, Sergeant, there was never any intention of killing anyone.’

  ‘In which case, why did you not speak with him in your own home?’ Riley asked.

  ‘Because Ida would have been there. She seldom went out without taking Ezra along in his capacity as a servant. If he was in the house, it stood to reason that Ida would be as well and she would have wanted to know why I needed to speak with him. The money was supposedly an investment upon which she would see a rich return, but I was far from convinced on that score. Ezra could satisfy my wife in ways that I am no longer able to, and I was willing to accept that, but I couldn’t stand by and see her swindled out of a large proportion of her fortune.’

  ‘I understand,’ Riley said.

  ‘We went out that evening just as I told you we did, and when we got home Ida went straight to her room. I knew she was hoping that Ezra would be back from his visit to his mother which he had unexpectedly undertaken that afternoon.’ A brief flash of pain shot through Sir Philip’s expression. ‘There was a message waiting from Verity. She needed to see me on a matter of extreme urgency that couldn’t wait. I knew she wouldn’t have sent the note unless…well, I thought there might be something wrong with Gideon. Actually, I’m not sure what I thought, but something made me go straight out again. I hailed a cab and when I reached Verity’s home she was like a whirlwind, insisting that we go to Clapham and have things out with Ezra once and for all. We would never have a better chance to catch him alone and have things out with him before he swindled Ida out of her money. I went along with her because frankly, I wanted answers too. I had told my valet that I wouldn’t need him that evening. Gregg would retire to his room with a bottle of my best brandy as soon as he locked the front door behind us, so I knew my absence wouldn’t be noticed.’

  ‘How did you get out?’

  ‘Through the back way, past the mews. We reached Clapham and I had the cab wait for us a street away from the tavern where Verity seemed to know that Ezra would be found. Well, she comes from Clapham originally, so I bowed to her superior knowledge. How she knew he would be in that tavern and not on his way back to town was less obvious, and I confess I didn’t ask.’ He lifted one shoulder. ‘Perhaps she had someone watch him whenever he went to Clapham and knew his habits.’

  ‘And then?’

  ‘She said we couldn’t talk to him in a crowded taproom and that he would know something was up if I went in to get him. I didn’t like the idea of her going into that crowded public house alone late at night, but she was insistent and told me to wait in the side alley where we wouldn’t be seen and could talk uninterrupted. I was already having second and third thoughts by then, but it was too late to turn back.’ Sir Philip threw his head back and closed his eyes, letting out a lo
ng sigh. ‘The wait seemed interminable but it couldn’t have been more than five minutes, ten at the most, before Ezra staggered out of the place. He was completely foxed and Verity had to hold him upright. I knew then that we’d had a wasted journey. Nothing I said to him would have penetrated his drink-befuddled mind. I told Verity we’d best leave Ezra to sleep it off and think of another way to warn him off Ida, but Verity was having none of it.’

  ‘What do you mean by that?’ Riley asked when Sir Philip’s stream of words stalled.

  ‘It’s hard to say,’ he replied, frowning as though seeking an answer that continued to elude him. ‘I’d never seen her quite so indomitable before. She was shouting at me in a whisper, if that makes any sense, almost manic in her determination. She said it was my chance to get rid of the problem that was Ezra once and for all. Everyone would think he had fallen down drunk, struck his head and died.’ Sir Philip shuddered. ‘I will never forget the chilling cast to her features, the deadly determination in her eyes. It was as though the matter had become personal and that she didn’t have an emotional bone in her body. It occurred to me then that she actually expected me to whack the poor chap over the head.’

  ‘Well, someone did,’ Salter said with irrefutable logic.

  Sir Philip remained silent.

  ‘Are you telling us that Verity did it?’ Riley asked.

  ‘I have said too much.’

  ‘You have said enough to condemn yourself,’ Riley replied, ‘but I don’t believe that you killed the man. However, what I believe doesn’t signify. As things stand, there is enough evidence to charge you both with murder.’

  ‘She is my son’s wife,’ he said, tears in his eyes. ‘I can’t…’

  ‘It might help you to make up your mind if I tell you that you were right to think it was personal from Verity’s point of view.’