‘What an incredible sight,’ remarked Lockhart, now standing next him and who had witnessed the spectacle as well.
‘In ancient times they would have interpreted it as an important portent,’ replied Swann.
They stood for a moment in silence before Lockhart turned to Swann.
‘Swann,’ he said. ‘From what I understand, it seems you have not told Mary about the duel.’
‘No and I do not intend to burden her with it.’
‘But what if you are killed?’
‘I do not think that is your business.’
‘I would have to disagree with you there. As we are soon to be related and I care deeply for your sister, I believe it is my business.’
Swann sighed. ‘I intend to leave written instructions for her provision and a personal letter to her.’
‘Do you believe that is enough? Do you not wish to give Mary an opportunity to say her goodbye personally?’
‘You seem quite certain of my imminent demise.’
‘No, no, it is just …’
‘I understand from Fitzpatrick that you are acting as Kirby’s second?’
Lockhart nodded reluctantly.
‘Please believe me, Swann. I know we are not as agreeably acquainted as I would wish, but I did not seek this position or indeed relish it now it is mine. But I am beholden to Kirby at present, so have little choice.’
‘Either way,’ said Swann, ‘if anything does happen to me on Sunday, I am most concerned for Mary, given your involvement with such undesirable types.’
‘I am aware my situation looks disagreeable but you must believe me when I say that by the time we marry in October, this part of my life will be over. If anything does happen to you in two days’ time, and God willing it will not, you can be assured I will protect Mary with my life.’
‘You can begin to prove your sincerity by obtaining the letters I requested, if you have not already done so.’
‘I will be at Kirby’s office tomorrow afternoon, undertaking final preparations for the duel, and intend to find an opportunity to procure them at that time.’
‘Then we shall meet tomorrow evening, at eight-thirty precisely by the East Gate, so they can be returned to their rightful owner before I undertake the duel. Remember, if they are not in my possession by that time, I shall tell Mary everything.’
Lockhart nodded.
‘Tell Mary what, Jack?’ asked Mary as she and Jane walked towards the two men.
‘It was nothing, my dear sister, only talk regarding business.’
Mary sighed resignedly.
‘That is why I never allow two gentlemen the chance to engage in conversation alone in my fiction,’ remarked Miss Austen. ‘You can never be certain what they may discuss.’
The group laughed.
The party descended towards the waiting carriage. The route it took went straight down, bypassing the lower part of Swainswick village and into the neighbouring Lam Bridge – named for the nearby Lam Brook and the bridge that spanned it. The main residency in the area was the former manor house, Lark Hall, located at the bottom of the Lam Valley, which had been converted into a coaching inn due to its location on the main route out of the city for travellers and mail coaches heading north to Gloucester.
As they were passing the Larkhall Inn, a loud noise emanated from one of the carriage wheels. The next moment it had stopped and the driver appeared at one of the passenger windows.
‘With all due apology,’ he said, ‘but one of the wheels has to be repaired; it should take no more than thirty minutes.’
There was the option of completing the journey into the city centre on foot, but the consensus from the travellers was that they had undertaken enough walking for that particular day and so decided to avail themselves of refreshments while they waited for the carriage to be repaired.
The Larkhall Inn was a hub of activity as the quartet walked in, with a clientele consisting of travellers enjoying a respite on their arduous journeys, a number of men associated with the coaching business itself and a few other local customers. Swann and the others quickly engaged in conversation, especially after it was discovered the landlady shared the same first name as one of the party: namely Miss Austen.
‘We traversed up Solsbury Hill,’ said Lockhart, on being asked where they had walked.
‘Never heard of it,’ said one of the locals.
‘Forgive my fiancé,’ said Mary, knowingly. ‘He means Little Solsbury.’
There were nods of approval from the locals and the landlady.
‘Ah, you’re from around here, Miss …?’
‘Gardiner, although my maternal family are the Montagues of Swainswick.’
There were more nods of approval.
‘My father worked as a gardener for the Montague family years ago. Yes, they were a good family, so he said.’ The speaker was a man who introduced himself as Mr Cornish. On the party’s arrival, he had been in discussion with another man known in the inn as Thierry de Turffe, even though he was not French.
‘We saw an eagle with a snake in its claws,’ said Lockhart, trying to make up for his earlier faux pas, but to no avail.
‘I do not think so,’ remarked another man who, along with a companion, had been writing away furiously in a corner of the inn. ‘More likely to have been a common buzzard, I would hazard a guess.’
‘You have got about as much chance of seeing an eagle,’ the companion added, ‘as you have of seeing Bladud having taught his herd to fly.’
There was laughter around the inn.
‘Get back to your scribbling,’ Cornish said good-naturedly to the pair of resident authors. ‘Don’t mind them,’ he said, turning to Lockhart. ‘They sit in here and think they’re Boswell and Johnson.’
Not long after, the driver appeared, to inform Swann and the others that the wheel had been fixed. They bid farewell to their temporary hosts and made their way out of the inn.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Bath, Friday 30th March, 1804
It seems almost a lifetime ago that I visited the school and found the diary and yet it was only yesterday. It has proved enlightening in terms of revealing that Miss Leigh and Grace had established a relationship, that subterranean passageways exist underneath the grounds of Grove House and, of course, it has proved the existence of the Circle of Sappho itself. What it has not done yet, however, is to reveal who else might have been involved in their deaths, and, I fear, may not do so.
The walk to Swainswick has certainly aroused emotion. I have become enamoured with Miss Austen, I realise; her wit and intelligent mind are most enlightening. It is unfortunate she is to leave the city for a few months, but assuming she will return by October, to attend the wedding, I shall venture to further our acquaintance. I will enlist Mary’s help in this.
I am not, of course, forgetting the small matter of Sunday and the duel with Kirby. The thought of dying has put life in perspective and having shared such delightful conversation with Miss Austen today, I realise that at some time in the future, if I survive this duel, I could possibly venture to enjoy an intimate relationship again.
But what of Lockhart? I still cannot make him out, although after today’s conversation I wonder if I have misjudged him. He seems genuine in his plea that he wants to shed the criminal activities he is currently engaged in. Perhaps the first step in discovering whether he is genuine or not will be his acquisition of Moorhouse’s letters; if he does not produce them, as promised, then I shall indeed inform Mary of all I know.
Swann closed his journal for the night. He then opened the diary and began reading the remaining entries.
I am devastated. I have received news today to say I am to leave the school in two weeks’ time and travel abroad with my parents for the foreseeable future. I have to find a way to tell Miss Leigh.
In a following entry Grace told Miss Leigh the news that she was to leave the school. Unsurprisingly, it was not taken well. The more Swann read, the more it seem
ed to be leading to the inevitable conclusion the teacher had, after all, killed Grace and then poisoned herself.
Swann then cast his mind to Anne. He did not believe that she had committed suicide. If she had been looking forward to his arrival, as the school principal had indicated, then why throw herself from the school roof? At the very least Swann owed it to the two dead girls, if not to Miss Leigh, to discover once and for all if someone else was involved. Two entries later and Swann read the first hint of what he was looking for.
She keeps it from me but I know something troubles her. I know my news has had an adverse effect on her, I can see it in her eyes when she looks at me, but there is something else, something unrelated to my news. She will not talk about it and for the first time I feel a tension between us. She smiles and says everything is fine but I know it is not fine, as our relationship is no longer the same: where there was union, there is now distance; where there was joy, there is now sadness.
Swann read on and soon discovered the answer to what was troubling Miss Leigh.
I have at last found out what is causing Miss Leigh to be so miserable. One of the girls in the Circle is threatening to reveal our secrets; of the Circle’s existence itself. Miss Leigh will not tell me who it is, but I think I can guess; it can only be one of three after all.
No names were mentioned but, like Grace, Swann could guess who it was. From what he had learned from reading the diary, each year, at the start of the academic term, one of the three final year girls who belonged to the Circle would be chosen by Miss Leigh to be her ‘special’ companion – her ‘Atthis’. They would then indulge in a physical relationship throughout the year, until the girl left the following spring. The next academic year the process would be repeated. With the appearance of Grace, however, she had become that ‘special girl’ instead. One of the three girls from the final year, it seemed, was not happy about this situation and was threatening to expose the relationship and the Circle itself.
If someone was threatening to expose the Circle and Miss Leigh then … it hit Swann like a thunderbolt. What if Miss Leigh and Grace had not taken the boat across to the island after all. What if they were already on the island, having used the secret passageway, and it was the murderer who had taken the boat? And if the murderer had rowed the boat across and left it there, it could possibly mean only one thing. Swann intended to put his theory into practise first thing in the morning. He read on to see if there was any more information which would support his theory and found it in the very last entry, written the night before the two women had died.
Now she knows I am leaving, she has said she wants to become the ‘special girl’, but Miss Leigh has refused. I am afraid for Miss Leigh, especially as she is prone to violent outbursts. Miss Leigh tells me it is because of a condition she has, but will not tell me what it is. I can tell Miss Leigh is scared of her, of what she might do, but she tries to hide it from me, so as not to worry me before I leave tomorrow. But I do not want to leave the school now; I do not want to leave Miss Leigh here alone …
CHAPTER THIRTY
Catherine Jennings addressed all the girls of the school in the main hall, after morning prayers had been completed. ‘Mr Swann will be coming back to the school today and wishes to speak with you all. He has found out information regarding a group called the Circle of Sappho, which apparently exists illegitimately at the school.’ Miss Jennings looked towards her head girl. ‘Elsa, Mr Swann wants to talk to you first.’
‘Why, Miss?’
‘As I understand it, he thinks that as head girl you may have heard something about this Circle of Sappho. He also believes that Miss Leigh and the two girls who have died this week were somehow involved.’
‘Yes, Miss Jennings,’ Elsa replied coolly.
‘Thank you girls, I am not certain when Mr Swann is due to arrive but please be prepared to talk to him when he does.’
The girls were dismissed and Miss Jennings made her way out of the main school building. Once outside she crossed the grounds to Tom’s cottage. She knocked on his door and he answered.
‘Tom, I want you to ready the boat for Mr Swann when he arrives. After he has spoken to the girls he wishes to be taken across to the island, as part of his investigation into the murders of Miss Leigh and Miss Templeton. He believes there is an item there which will confirm the murderer’s identity.’
‘Very good, Miss Jennings.’
‘I will go back to my office and wait for him there.’
As Miss Jennings turned and made her way back to the main building, she passed Elsa hiding in the nearby undergrowth. The head girl had followed the school’s head and had positioned herself, unseen, in order to overhear her conversation with Tom. Now that she had heard it, she realised there was not much time to discover what it was on the island that might expose her. She had to find it, whatever it was, and get back in time to talk to Mr Swann. She made certain the boat was moored on the house side, so proving there was no one already on the island, and after she watched Tom amble back inside his cottage, returned to the main house.
Once inside the school building, Elsa stopped briefly in the kitchen and then made her way to the library. There were two girls in there and after she told them to leave, they did. She closed the door and pushed the secret panel. Once through the gap, she pulled the bookcase closed behind her and descended the stone stairwell. She reached the bottom and made her way, in the dark, as quickly as she could along the passageway. Her heart was beating faster now, but there was no time to lose and no time to be afraid. Everything had happened so fast that she had not been able to find Gretchen. The last she had seen of her was back in the assembly hall, after prayers.
Elsa passed through the initiation chamber and the curtained wooden door, which she unlocked using the golden key she had taken from Miss Leigh. She left the door unlocked, as it would only slow her down on her return, and hurried along the passageway until she reached the stone steps which led up to the rear of the island temple. She ascended these and at the top pressed a lever to loosen the stone from its resting place. She put her shoulder against the cold rock and began to push with all her strength.
She now realised, as she felt resistance to her efforts, that this was the first time she had made the journey alone, at least in this direction. The other times had been either as a member of the Circle or with Gretchen, when they had come to look for the diary but had been disturbed in the process. In fact, they had only just managed to get back inside the temple and close the stone behind themselves before Swann had entered. When they had come back for the diary later, it had gone.
The one time she had previously made this journey on her own, of course, was after she had killed Miss Leigh and Grace, but then it had been in reverse. She had complained of period pain, while at church, and had been sent back to the school before everyone else. She knew Grace was leaving that day and wanted to confront Miss Leigh. After arriving back at the school, she found the boat moored on the house side. She then overheard the French master and gardener talking and found out Miss Leigh and Grace were missing. Knowing where they were most likely to be, she began the journey she had just undertaken. Having reached the wooden door, she found she could go no further. The door was locked to her. She banged on the wooden panels, but to no avail. So she had retraced her steps and when she saw the men searching elsewhere in the grounds, untied the boat and rowed herself across to the island.
Elsa had reached the island unnoticed and tied the boat up against the wooden post attached to the jetty. She then made her way towards the temple. As she neared the entrance she edged closer, so she could hear what the two occupants of the temple were saying.
‘Do you think Sappho killed herself for Atthis?’ she heard Grace say, her voice slightly slurred.
‘Yes. It is said Sappho fell in love with Phaon, a boatman, but it was unrequited and after he sailed away to Sicily she killed herself.’
‘Do you believe the story?’
‘No,
I believe it was invented by men as they could not endure the thought of a woman loving another so passionately. If she did take her own life, I like to think it was because of Atthis. In my mind, Sappho heard Atthis had died and, unable to bear the grief, threw herself off the cliffs at Lefaka. And in that way they were reunited in another place to enjoy their love eternally.’
The more she heard, the angrier Elsa felt. It should have been her in the temple with Miss Leigh; by rights it should be a final year girl who was chosen to be Miss Leigh’s companion. She had waited her turn patiently, but had been cruelly rejected. She could not help the way she was; her body was how God had made her. There was no doubt this was why Miss Leigh had rebutted her advances and had chosen this slip of a girl. She had not even chosen another final year girl, but rather this pubescent fourth year one. No, Miss Leigh had totally disrespected the Circle’s tradition and now she would pay.
‘Will you still love me after I go away?’ she heard Grace say.
‘You’ll never leave my side or my heart, I promise you,’ said Miss Leigh.
Enraged, Elsa smashed her fist against a tree.
‘I am sure I heard something, did you not hear it that time?’
‘I told you my love, we’re quite alone here. I have prepared it that way.’
If she was to retain the element of surprise she had to rush into the temple now. She felt the knife taken from the school kitchen in her grip and then picked up a sharp stone in her other hand.
Once inside the temple, she had immediately thrust the knife into the girl. She had fallen to the ground, the knife still in her heart. She had then turned on Miss Leigh and hit her with the stone. Blood had gushed from her forehead. Beside the teacher she had found a suicide note and small bottle. It seemed obvious what the glass bottle held: poison. Miss Leigh now groaned. Elsa knelt down beside the teacher and unscrewed the bottle’s top. She squeezed open her lips and poured the liquid down her throat, which caused the teacher to involuntarily swallow. She had then ripped the golden key from her waist. It was all too perfect. With the note and poison beside the bodies, it would be thought that Miss Leigh had killed the girl and then taken her own life; the wound to her head no doubt inflicted by the girl as she tried to defend herself from Miss Leigh’s murderous attack.
The Circle of Sappho Page 19