by Minna Howard
Freddie looked nervous, ‘Did that thief woman put it there and will come back later and get it?’
‘No, she wouldn’t come in here, and anyway the door was locked, wasn’t it, Anna?’ Luke said.
‘Yes,’ Anna said.
Simon got up and took the jug from Cathie. He examined it. ‘Yes, it is from the castle, you see it’s got a crest, but perhaps it somehow got left out or Philly borrowed it or something.’ He looked at Anna. ‘But you say you haven’t seen it before and you’ve looked in that drawer while you’ve been here?’
‘Yes, I took out some clean cloths yesterday morning to dry up some glasses we used. They can go cloudy in the machine, so I prefer to hand wash them,’ she said, wanting to somehow go on talking about safe subjects in this peculiar situation.
Cathie was looking at her as if she was about to arrest her, making Anna feel guilty, even though she hadn’t done anything. ‘If it’s from the castle, do you think it is something to do with the theft at the wedding yesterday?’ she queried.
Luke and Simon suddenly looked worried.
Freddie asked again, ‘Did the thief hide things in here?’
‘No, Freddie, the flat was locked, no one could get in and no one was here until I got back at night and then I double-locked the door.’ Anna put her arm round him to reassure him, though she felt uncomfortable herself. But perhaps Philly had borrowed it; only she knew it had not been there the first time she’d opened the drawer to see what was in it or any of the other times.
Cathie was studying her intently. ‘So who put it there then,’ she said accusingly. ‘It must have been someone who was at the wedding, mustn’t it?’
Anna was aware that they were all looking at her. She could read their minds, she was a stranger here, and even though she had caught that woman stealing – they were asking themselves, had she taken this?
Simon said, ‘I think we must call Julius, see what he makes of it.’ He sighed, ‘Anna, you’re certain it wasn’t there before.’ He was looking at her as if he was begging her to find an innocent reason for a silver cream jug stamped with the crest from the castle to be in that drawer.
Anna felt she was digging herself into a deeper hole by repeating that she had not seen it before, and she hadn’t, but then why had Cathie opened that particular drawer to find the spoons when there were three other drawers to choose from? She stared into her face and saw a defiant gleam of triumph there. She was jealous of her and Simon, not that there was anything going on between them, though they did get on well, and perhaps he’d been taking more interest in her since he’d met Daisy, wanting to know more about her without appearing to care much.
Simon got his mobile out and dialled Julius, he did not say what it was about but asked him to come to the flat as soon as possible.
‘He’s on his way to see Tessa and Nell,’ he said, ‘he’ll be here in a few minutes.’
Cathie put the small, round-bellied silver jug on the table. ‘Strange there was a burglary at the wedding yesterday and then this has been found here,’ she said as they all stared at it as if it had a voice and could speak for itself.
Cathie had come in a few minutes before the others to use the loo. She’d been alone in the flat while Anna fetched Freddie from outside, and then she’d been in the kitchen instead of being with the others in the living room. Could the robbery yesterday have given her the idea to take something herself and plant it on Anna to keep her away from Simon? No, she was going mad. Surely she hadn’t done that?
Cathie had known they were going to work in the quadrangle and that Anna usually asked them in for coffee. Had she really thought all this out to trap her? But what if Anna hadn’t invited them in? What would Cathie have done if the silver had been found on her? It was a tremendous gamble.
Surely Anna was maligning her, but what other explanation could there be?
Anna faced her, feeling sick with nerves; she was about to ask Cathie why she’d opened that drawer and why she’d been in the kitchen when the doorbell went.
Simon said, ‘There’s Julius now,’ and headed to the door.
‘Oh… hi… Simon, is Anna here?’ Daisy came into the hall and Anna ran to greet her, overcome with relief to see her.
Thirty-Four
The tension in the hall was thick enough to cut into slices. Simon and Daisy appeared transfixed with each other. Daisy stepping into the hall and dropping down her overnight bag as if she were in a trance and Simon standing there, his hand still on the open door, staring at her as though she were a vision.
Anna greeted her with warmth; at least here was someone who was on her side. Simon closed the door and Daisy hugged her, though Anna felt her attention was not on her. She said, ‘Oh Daisy, I’m so pleased to see you, I’d forgotten you were coming.’
‘That’s encouraging, I only rang you an hour or so ago,’ Daisy laughed.
Freddie said, ‘Cathie found a silver thing in the drawer and it could have been put there by the thief from the castle.’
‘What?’ Daisy put her arm round him, ‘You’ve lost me, Freddie, explain slowly.’
Simon pulled himself together. ‘It’s good to see you again, Daisy. We had a robbery during the wedding in the castle yesterday and a piece of silver, a cream jug, has been found here and…’
Cathie said desperately, ‘Anna caught the thief yesterday and now a piece from the castle has been found here, in the flat.’
Daisy frowned, ‘Did the thief come in here, to the flat then?’
‘No, but…’ Cathie began.
Simon broke in quickly, ‘There’s bound to be an explanation.’
Daisy started to take off her coat and Simon helped her, and though it was just a simple thing Anna could feel the tense excitement between them, though Daisy barely looked at him and, taking Freddie’s hand, went into the living room and stood by the fire, saying how lovely and comforting it was after her gloomy drive.
Cathie appeared agitated, trying to work out who this woman was who’d suddenly appeared on the scene and had captured Simon’s attention.
The bell went again and Julius and Nell came in.
‘What’s up?’ Julius said to Luke who had opened the door.
‘You’d better ask Simon,’ Luke said.
‘OK, Simon, let’s have it,’ Julius said, seeing Simon about to go into the living room.
Simon turned back rather reluctantly to speak to him.
Anna pushed forward. ‘Something very odd has happened,’ she said firmly, not looking at Cathie, but certain now that she had something to do with it. ‘I asked everyone in for soup and when we’d eaten Cathie opened a drawer in that cupboard and found a silver cream jug in there that’s come from the castle.’
Julius stared at her. ‘A silver jug? But that might be Philly’s.’
‘No, it’s not, it’s got the castle crest on and it wasn’t there yesterday or any of the days I’ve been here,’ Anna was defiant.
Julius and Nell followed her into the kitchen. The jug was gleaming on the table.
Anna picked it up and handed it to him. ‘I have no idea how it got there. The drawer it was found in is for the linen and stuff and it certainly was not there yesterday or any other day,’ she repeated.
Nell said, ‘It is from the castle and Tessa and I noticed it was missing when we put the rest of the silver back in the safe. We made a note of it and were going to check to see if it was among the haul taken by that woman, how did it end up here?’ She turned to Anna, her face troubled. ‘That woman didn’t get in here, did she?’
‘No, the door was locked whilst I was at the wedding,’ Anna said.
Julius was looking at the jug as if it could tell him itself how it got there. He turned to Cathie. ‘So you found it, Cathie. Was it easy to see, or hidden under these cloths?’
Cathie looked awkward. ‘I… I don’t remember,’ she said, her mouth stiff with defiance.
Daisy joined them in the kitchen, she said, ‘Hello, I’ve just arri
ved; I’m Philly’s niece, Daisy. I think she did inherit some silver from her parents. I suppose it could be part of that.’
‘No,’ Nell said. ‘It’s definitely come from the castle.’
Daisy shrugged, ‘Well then I don’t know.’ She flashed Anna a look of concern.
Freddie, who’d been showing Daisy the Lego train he’d made, came into the room. ‘Is there a thief here then, perhaps hiding somewhere?’ He looked nervous.
Julius and Nell exchanged glances.
‘No, Freddie,’ Nell said, ‘but we just want to find out how it got here.’ She smiled at him.
Julius said, ‘I think we’ll all… but, Anna, you stay here with Freddie and Daisy, we’ll go and discuss this in Nell’s office. I’ll come back later.’ He gave them a tense smile and everyone went into the hall to collect up their coats and boots to leave.
Simon lingered behind a moment. ‘Thank you, Anna, for the delicious soup, and don’t worry, we’ll resolve it.’ He smiled at her, but his eyes strayed over to Daisy. ‘Good to see you, Daisy,’ he said quietly.
‘And you,’ Daisy said, and Anna felt as if she were somehow intruding.
Thirty-Five
Anna, feeling shell-shocked and longing to discuss this strange happening with Daisy alone, without Freddie listening in, told him that she thought Ozzie was overdue for a clean out.
‘It’s been some days now since you did it, Freddie, and his home smells dreadful,’ she said.
‘No, it doesn’t, Mum,’ Freddie protested. ‘Daisy’s just come and I want to see her.’
‘I want to see you and Ozzie, but not if he smells,’ Daisy held her nose, laughing.
‘And while you’re there you could water Philly’s flowerpots,’ Anna filled a jug with water. ‘There’s nothing up yet, but I expect they’d like a drink,’ she said.
‘Oh all right,’ he reluctantly agreed and trailed off to the shed with a rubbish sack under his arm and the half-filled jug of water.
‘So what was that all about? Finding a silver sugar thingy in Aunt Philly’s drawer and a thief at the wedding?’ Daisy asked when Freddie was out of earshot.
‘Long story: yesterday at the wedding I went into the dining room just before everyone sat down and saw this woman putting silver spoons and such into her bag.’
‘What, one of the wedding guests?’ Daisy was horrified.
‘No, as it turned out. She looked the part, smartly dressed, frivolous little fascinator on her head, but she’s a professional thief, gate crashes glam events and helps herself, makes quite a good living apparently.’
‘Wow, I never thought of that,’ Daisy said. ‘But I suppose it’s an easy thing to do, if you’re a thief that is. So did she take anything very valuable, I know there’s some marvellous stuff here, but they put away anything really priceless, don’t they?’
‘Yes, but some of the silver they used for the dinner was valuable, I don’t know about the jug. But she was caught before she could take anything and the security men dealt with it and the police came and took her away.’
‘So do you think she had somehow kept that piece hidden on her… or stashed it here before she was caught?’ Daisy frowned. ‘You don’t think she hid her first haul here and you’ll find silver knives in your pants drawer?’ She was half joking.
‘No, don’t say things like that,’ Anna said. ‘Anyway, I was at the wedding, Freddie was with Lucy in the village and the flat was locked… unless she had a key?’ Anna slumped beside Daisy on the sofa in the living room. She remembered the spare keys left here for other parts of the castle that Simon and Marian had borrowed to let the people who’d been flooded into the castle.
‘No one else has a key; it’s Sidney and Philly’s private home, that’s part of the deal. Though I suppose there could be a spare in Tessa’s office or somewhere and someone who shouldn’t has managed to get hold of it or had another one cut.’ Daisy looked concerned. There was silence between them for a moment, then she added, ‘So didn’t we meet Cathie when I brought you here to meet Philly and Sidney?’
Anna stayed silent a moment. ‘I wouldn’t say this to anyone, but you and I know you won’t pass it on, not even to Philly, but I can’t help feeling Cathie has something to do with it.’ She paused.
‘Cathie, but why should she? You mean she’s in league with the woman you caught?’
‘I wouldn’t say that, well I don’t know, apparently that woman does have a partner in crime, but I never thought of that being Cathie. But she’s an odd girl, she’s barely spoken a word to me and she’s obviously in love with Simon…’ Daisy frowned. Anna went on, ‘Anyway whenever I see Simon, Cathie turns up or she’s working with him already and she throws killing looks in my direction, tries to lay claim to him. I like him a lot, he’s been very helpful, especially over the flood, and he’s really good with Freddie, but I’ve not flirted with him or come on to him or anything like that, but I just wonder if she had something to do with it, to get me out of the way.’
‘Are they together? Does he care for her?’ Daisy asked a little mournfully.
‘I don’t know, Daisy. They don’t seem to be together, but they live in cottages virtually side by side, so for all I know they could be a couple.’ Anna saw the disappointment in Daisy’s eyes.
Freddie, returning with straw sticking to the front of his jersey and Ozzie in his arms, interrupted them. ‘I’ve done my best,’ he said, ‘I woke him up and now he wants to come out.’ He put him down on the carpet and lay down beside him.
At the same moment the doorbell went, and when Anna opened the door, Felix shot in quickly followed by Julius.
‘Careful, Freddie, Felix is here,’ Anna called to him.
Julius said, ‘Sorry, would you rather I put him outside?’
‘No, it’s just that Freddie has Ozzie on the floor,’ she said, feeling awkward in front of him now, wondering if he thought her a thief and would send her and Freddie packing.
‘OK.’ Freddie snatched up Ozzie, jumping up and coming out to the hall, holding Ozzie close to him. ‘Felix won’t hurt him, will he? He did find him that day.’
Julius said, ‘He might want to play with him and be a bit rough. Come Felix, lie down and be good.’
Throwing him a reproachful look, Felix lay down in the hall.
‘Come in,’ Anna turned to go back into the living room.
‘I would like to speak to you in private,’ Julius said gravely.
It was as if a stone had lodged itself in her stomach. Had Cathie somehow persuaded Julius that she had stolen the silver jug? She was leaving here in two weeks and Cathie worked here so was more important to the running of the estate than she was.
‘You can say what you like in front of Daisy. She’s one of my oldest friends and Philly’s niece and I have nothing to hide.’ She stood a bit taller, her gaze true and proud.
Julius came closer, she could feel his breath on her face, and he said quietly, ‘That’s fine but I don’t think it right for Freddie to know about it.’
‘OK,’ she said, her heart beating fit to burst. ‘Freddie, you stay with Daisy and Ozzie just in case Felix forgets himself and chases him. Julius needs to show me something in the kitchen, then we’ll join you.’
She threw Daisy a look, and Daisy said, ‘See you in a minute, come on, Freddie, show me again how that train thing works.’
Julius headed into the kitchen and Anna reluctantly followed him and he shut the door.
Anna felt almost paralysed with fear and, for some obscure reason, shame, as if she really had stolen from the castle. She sat down on a chair and Julius stood before her.
‘I’m very sorry this has happened,’ he began, watching her face. ‘It seems that Cathie is in love with Simon and is jealous of any woman who might get his attention. She seems to think,’ he paused, ‘well, that you are after him.’ He seemed uncertain, even distressed, he glanced away from her, making her feel curiously bereft.
‘But I’m not,’ Anna protested. �
��I like him, yes, I like all of you, but I’m only here a month and I imagine he… all of you, are already paired up.’ She stopped, not knowing what else to say. With her overwrought imagination, she thought she saw relief in Julius’s eyes.
He said, ‘Cathie saw that woman in the castle being led away and heard what she had done and as a sort of stupid reaction she took the jug left on the table after the dinner, deciding somehow to pin it on you, so you’d be sent away from here and more importantly from Simon.’ He paused. ‘She knew everyone would be working outside here today, taking down the arch, and banked on you asking them in for coffee as you’ve done before. I don’t know what she’d have thought up if you hadn’t, but it was a wicked, stupid act and I’m so sorry.’ He looked as crestfallen as if he had done it himself.
‘I did wonder that, but I thought I was overreacting,’ Anna said, a great feeling of relief running through her that Cathie had done it and confessed. She felt sorry for her and her unrequited love for Simon, but it was a relief that no one would think it was her who was a thief. ‘So she owned up to it?’
‘Eventually. It was Nell who worked it out, having seen her reaction. She worked in the police force many years ago and she knows guilt when she sees it.’ His look was tender, soothing her emotions. ‘I’m just so sorry you were put through this, Anna.’
Anna had another of her extraordinary feelings of wanting to be in his arms, to be held close to his chest, to be kissed by him. This place had such a strange effect on her, the sooner she left and went back to normal life in London, the better.
‘As long as no one thinks I’m a thief,’ she said, ‘but what’s going to happen to Cathie?’
‘I’ve sent her home, told her to stay away until you leave. I don’t think she’s a bad person, just a misguided one. But…’ he paused, stretched out and took her hand, holding it in both of his. ‘I feel so badly about it, you’ve coped wonderfully.’ The warmth in his expression reminded her of that kiss.