Bright Young Dead
Page 32
‘I’m going to hand in my notice,’ she said.
Guy said nothing but raised his eyebrows.
‘They won’t want me there, anyway. Even though it was Sebastian and Charlotte that did it, and not Dulcie, I think they’ll believe I bring too much trouble to the house.’
‘Don’t be too sure. You’ve been there a long time, you’ve worked hard.’
‘I know. But I’m ready for a change. I want to go back to London.’
Guy stopped and looked at her. They had walked up a short hill and the quilt of fields hemmed with hedges spread out behind Louisa’s silhouetted figure, the tip of her nose pink from the cold and her eyes squinting slightly against the sun.
‘What will you do there?’
‘I thought I might apply to train as a policewoman.’ She burst out laughing when she saw Guy’s shocked face. ‘I’m not absolutely certain.’
‘It’s not that I’m saying you’re crossing on to the other side quite…’
‘Almost. You’re right. It is but I thought – if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.’
That made Guy laugh, too. He put his arm around her shoulders and they looked out into the distance together, standing there quietly for a few moments until they both knew they couldn’t put off the rest of their lives any longer.
POSTSCRIPT/HISTORICAL NOTE
On 2 March 1926 Alice Diamond was charged at the Central Criminal Court for intent, burglary, riot damage and assault, receiving eighteen months’ hard labour. Her cohorts Bertha Tappenden and Maggie Hughes were also arrested for the attack on the Britten family (on whom I based the Longs), which occurred on 20 December 1925. This marked the end of Alice’s reign as ‘Queen’ of the Forty Thieves.
In March 1926, Lord De Clifford married Dorothy (‘Dolly’) Meyrick at a London registry office. As he was only nineteen years old and marrying without his mother’s consent, he lied about his age and was later fined £50. They had two children but separated in 1936.
Pamela Mitford and Oliver Watney were briefly engaged in 1928 until his mother talked him out of it. Pamela conceded as she, too, had been having second thoughts.
Kate Meyrick, the owner of the ‘43’ nightclub in Gerrard Street, had been released from prison in April 1925, after which she left for Paris until 1927. Her daughter, Dolly, ran the club in her absence. In early 1929 George Goddard, who had been running the Vice Squad from Savile Row police station, was jailed on corruption charges and Kate Meyrick was sentenced to fifteen months’ hard labour for bribing him.
Please note that while parts of this book have been based on real people and historical events, all conversations have been completely imagined. The murder of Adrian Curtis is fictional.
A NOTE ON HISTORICAL SOURCES
I read several books in the course of researching this novel but am especially grateful to:
Bad Girls: A History of Rebels and Renegades, Caitlin Davies (John Murray)
Dope Girls: The Birth of the British Drug Underground, Marek Kohn (Granta Books)
The Mitford Girls: The Biography of An Extraordinary Family, Mary S. Lovell (Abacus)
Alice Diamond and the Forty Thieves: Britain’s First Female Crime Syndicate, Brian McDonald (Milo Books Ltd)
The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters, edited by Charlotte Mosley (Harper Perennial)
Nights Out: Life in Cosmopolitan London, Judith R. Walkowitz (Yale University Press)
A Woman At Scotland Yard, Lilian Wyles (Faber and Faber)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For their inspiration, guidance and patience I would like to thank: Ed Wood at Sphere/Little, Brown, alongside Andy Hine, Kate Hibbert, Thalia Proctor and Stephanie Melrose. Also Caroline Michel at PFD, with Tessa David; Hope Dellon and Catherine Richards at St Martin’s Press. For research and historical checks (but admitting any mistakes as my own): Sue Collins and Celestria Noel.
To Simon, Beatrix, Louis, George and Zola … thank you.
ALSO BY JESSICA FELLOWES
The Mitford Murders
Downton Abbey—A Celebration
The Wit and Wisdom of Downton Abbey
A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey
The Chronicles of Downton Abbey
The World of Downton Abbey
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jessica Fellowes is an author, journalist and public speaker, best known for her work as author of five official companion books to Downton Abbey, various of which have hit the New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller lists. Former deputy editor of Country Life and columnist on the Mail on Sunday, she has written for publications including the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Lady. Jessica has spoken at events across the UK and US, and has made numerous appearances on radio and television. She lives happily in London and Oxfordshire with her family, an energetic Labradoodle and two chickens. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Chapter Sixty-Five
Chapter Sixty-Six
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Chapter Seventy
Chapter Seventy-One
Chapter Seventy-Two
Chapter Seventy-Three
Chapter Seventy-Four
Chapter Seventy-Five
Postscript/Historical Note
A Note on Historical Sources
Acknowledgements
Also by Jessica Fellowes
>
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
BRIGHT YOUNG DEAD. Copyright © 2018 by Little, Brown Book Group. Written by Jessica Fellowes. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
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First published in Great Britain by Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, an Hachette UK company
First U.S. Edition: October 2018
eISBN 9781250170835
First eBook edition: October 2018