by Anne Perry
“Yes.” He was looking at her very directly. “Miriam said one thing for which I have no answer, and I think it could be at the core of it…”
“Not Patrick!” Her voice choked. It was the thought at the back of her mind. She knew how angry he had been. Was it over something about Rebecca that he knew would hurt Jemima?
“No!” he said quickly. “Come on, Jem! I wouldn’t go sideways at it like that! It’s Thorwood again. Once he got Sidney out of America and out of the embassy in disgrace, why didn’t he let it be?”
“He wants…” She stopped, uncertain.
“Yes? What does he want? In hot blood, he wanted revenge for the assault. But in cooler blood, he wants the whole world to believe that Rebecca was actually attacked. This is a lot of revenge for the theft of a glass pendant. Is she persuading him to do it?”
“No. I think she would rather he didn’t.” Her mind went back to a conversation with Rebecca. “He is saying she will feel better if she gets him locked up, where he can’t hurt another young woman. She’ll be to blame if anyone else is hurt.”
“He must be very sure it was Sidney in the corridor,” Daniel said quietly, very seriously. “Miriam told me that the first time people come to swear to something, they are remembering what happened. The second time, they are remembering what they said the first time. And each time after that becomes more what they said than what they can actually relive in memory. In time, they come to use exactly the same words.”
She started to argue, then thought back a moment and realized how that might be true. She was sure of what she had said, but after a little while the actual memory was constructed by the words, not by the vision or the hearing of what had happened. “I’ll see what I can get,” she promised. “You can go back and tell Miriam I shall do my best.”
“It’s not for Miriam! It’s for…” He saw in her face that she was teasing him, and he blushed.
* * *
—
LATER IN THE evening, however, other things drove Daniel and Miriam out of Jemima’s mind. She had had no opportunity to speak alone with Patrick before they had to dress for dinner with the Thorwoods. She had not time to consider it before, but watching Patrick straightening his tie for the fifth time before the looking glass, she remembered how highly he regarded the Thorwoods. She admired his gratitude; a sense of appreciation was a generous thing. But a sense of debt for a gift fairly given, or as in his case, for a chance to be of service to someone else, did not warrant permanent obligation—unless there was more to it than she knew?
He caught her eye in the looking glass. Suddenly all pretense fell away and he turned and spoke. “You’re going to ask what part I played in certain events in Washington, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Is it to do with Tobias?” When he did not respond, she insisted. “Tell me!” she said simply. “Stop…”
“Morley Cross, who worked with Sidney at the embassy, you remember I told you they found his body in the river about the time Sidney left Washington? I’m waiting to hear whether it was before or after Sidney left. I’m not sure I believe Sidney really did that.”
“Why would he?”
“I don’t know, but I’m doing everything I can to find out. Come on, or we’ll be late…and you hate being late.”
This was not the time to discharge old obligations. She needed to understand Thorwood better. What Miriam had apparently said made sense. Jemima watched Patrick now, but the moment he turned to face her, she looked away. He would see in her face that she was anxious. She pretended to be concerned with her appearance. The gown was new, a gift from her mother. Jemima had no idea what it had cost, and she did not ask. It was a gorgeous, rich dark blue, falling to just above the ankle, the most fashionable length. It was made of silk and cut as low at the neck as she dared wear. Patrick’s eyes had widened when he saw it, but he had said nothing. Perhaps fashions in London were a little more avant-garde than those in Washington. Certainly, London was closer to Paris!
It was a short journey from Keppel Street to the hotel where the Thorwoods were staying. No time for serious conversation, which was a relief. Jemima occupied the time relating memories of visiting them in their home in Washington, and saying how much they must miss it.
They arrived about five minutes late. As far as she was concerned, it was perfect timing. For the hosts to wait a short while for people was fine; to be caught not quite ready was not.
The Thorwoods were all waiting in the sitting room of their suite when Patrick and Jemima arrived. The usual greetings were made, as if the threat of unpleasantness did not exist. Tobias was in a dark suit, very formal without quite being evening dress. Bernadette was extremely elegant in soft, plum-toned pinks. With the delicate way the fabric moved with her when she walked, it could only have been silk. She came forward as they entered and greeted Jemima warmly, although it was Patrick whose eyes she met first, before glancing at Jemima’s gown, drawing in breath, and deciding that whatever comment she was going to make was inadequate.
“What a charming color,” was all she said. “It is most flattering.”
“Thank you,” Jemima replied, as if it had been an unqualified compliment. “It is one of my favorites.” She hid the smile that came to her lips and turned to Rebecca, who was dressed in green. It was too dark for her and made her look cold. She was a little thin, and at the moment too pale to carry so heavy a shade. “I’m so happy to see you,” Jemima said warmly. “Every time I think of Washington, I remember how kind you were in showing your favorite places to me. I would never have seen the dogwood in bloom had it not been for you. Everyone speaks of the azaleas, and they were gorgeous, but the dogwoods are magical.”
Rebecca’s face lit at the memory. “Oh, yes! I’ve always thought so.”
“We must go out again,” Jemima said.
Tobias drew breath as if to say something, then changed his mind. He glanced at Bernadette, who shook her head minutely and said to Jemima, “Shall we go in to dinner?” It was a directive, not really a question.
Jemima noticed as they went into the dining room that Tobias offered his arm to Rebecca, rather than to his wife. Otherwise, Rebecca, as the unescorted one, would have gone in alone. Patrick had remained close to Jemima, perhaps thinking of her as the odd one, the only one not American, not in on some of the references in conversation. She did feel it at times: the sense of being a stranger, not sharing the idealism of a relatively new nation burning with pride for its uniquely noble beginnings. There had been one or two conversations in the past on the superiority of being a republic. Jemima felt far too vulnerable to argue. Anyway, it was ill-mannered and pointless.
The issue of loneliness in such company was sometimes very deep. She must make sure Patrick did not feel that in the Pitt family. Did they do that sometimes without thinking? Perhaps everybody felt separate in some way or other, at times?
Her father came sharply to mind. Knighted by the Queen. One of the last things she had done at the end of a reign that had lasted most of the century! And now he was confidant of the King, for some service he would never speak of; head of Special Branch, and keeping the secrets of any number of people, the great and the small, public and private. And yet, with his humble background he was never one of the Establishment by right.
Jemima thought about how alone we all are, behind the smooth manners or the awkwardness.
She was suddenly aware of the Thorwoods. They were talking to her but she had not been aware of it until Patrick touched her arm and repeated the question Tobias had asked.
“Oh, yes, thank you,” she answered a little awkwardly. She took the seat he was indicating for her. Everyone else also took their places as Tobias directed.
Dinner was ordered. Patrick ordered for her, and she did not mind in the least. He knew exactly what she liked.
Conversation was casual, not exactly awkward, but not flowi
ng. It was as if each person was intending to say something else, but wound up evading it. It was Bernadette who finally leaned forward, and the stillness in her, the tight muscles of her neck, conveyed such tension that everyone else stopped speaking. She seemed to be talking mainly to Patrick, but every so often she included Jemima. “I’m going to speak during our dessert, but this cannot be avoided all evening. It hangs over everything, and we are so busy avoiding it, it has finally become central. Tobias will be called to testify at Philip Sidney’s trial. If not tomorrow, then very soon. Perhaps the next day.”
“They seem to want me for tomorrow,” Tobias cut in. “For several days now, it has been almost meaningless…”
“Why?” Rebecca interrupted. “You aren’t for the prosecution! You know nothing about the embezzlement, do you?” She looked completely puzzled.
“No, I don’t.” Tobias looked miserable, as if he had been cornered and faced enemies in every direction. “I’m…sorry…” It was unclear whom he was addressing: Jemima, Rebecca, or even Patrick.
“Has the prosecution called you, sir?” Patrick asked. Under the table, he reached for Jemima’s hand.
“Yes,” Tobias said quietly.
Jemima looked at Bernadette. She was smiling, very slightly.
“Papa?” Rebecca began. “You said—”
Her mother silenced her with a glance. It was of such finality, it would have silenced Jemima. “I have no choice,” Tobias said quietly. “Something has happened that has taken from me the option of remaining silent.” He stopped for a moment.
Jemima looked at Patrick, but his eyes were concentrated on Tobias. Jemima was sure he did not know what Tobias was going to say.
Tobias looked at Rebecca. “I’m sorry, my dear, but your godmother’s pendant has turned up.”
“How can you know?” Rebecca demanded.
“The police in Washington found it, and sent a wire to the embassy here. I was notified this afternoon.”
“Where did they find it?” Rebecca asked.
“In a pawnshop. The owner was an honest man, and he reported it.”
“But it’s weeks later now,” Patrick pointed out. “His honesty works rather slowly.”
“Yes, that needs a little explaining,” Tobias replied. “Apparently it was brought in by a man who took it in a gambling debt, the evening after it was stolen.”
Patrick frowned. “But apparently Sidney didn’t leave the British Embassy after you reported the assault. This can’t be true…or at least it can’t be entirely true.”
Tobias bit his lip. “That’s the point, I’m afraid. This young man worked at the British Embassy. He took it in payment from Philip Sidney, then finally had to pawn it for cash. I’m afraid it seals the question as to Sidney’s guilt. Not that any of us doubted it.”
Patrick leaned forward, his face creased with anxiety. “So, what are you going to testify to? It still has nothing to do with the embezzlement. All this man at the embassy could swear to is that Sidney gave him a pendant in payment of a gambling debt.”
Jemima looked at Patrick. She tried to read his expression. Was this young man Morley Cross, who had been shot? In which case they had only the pawnbroker’s word for any of this. Patrick did not look vindicated at all; rather, he looked even further troubled. Was he pleased? Was he sorry for Sidney? It was not fully a moment of triumph, to judge by his expression. It was not a victory at all.
Patrick’s frown deepened. “How are you going to bring that in? In fact, why is the prosecution calling you at all? If Hillyer bends the rules, which, watching him, I can’t see him doing—”
“Character witness,” Tobias said simply. “And if by some chance he doesn’t, your fellow Kitteridge can. That might be better.”
“Difficult,” Patrick said. “That would make him look like an idiot. Seem as if he were deliberately sabotaging his own client.”
“That’s why Tobias wants it to be Hillyer,” Bernadette said patiently. She turned to Patrick after a quick glance at Jemima, and then away again. “I’m afraid we will take Kitteridge by surprise, but if Hillyer asks, we must answer.” She smiled with deep satisfaction.
Somehow, Jemima found it chilling. She tried to put herself in Bernadette’s place; imagined it had been Cassie hurt. Would she then have felt that throb of triumph? Why didn’t she? The pendant turning up, traceable through a gambling debt directly to Sidney, was just what they needed. Maybe the pawnbroker had already identified the man who brought it in as Morley Cross from a photograph of him. Daniel would not doubt Sidney’s guilt after that! Would they then bring in Morley Cross’s part in handing over the embezzled expenses? Was that what they were waiting for? It would tie it all together.
“What will you do?” Jemima asked. “Appear for Hillyer, and very reluctantly admit that you are now in a position to condemn Sidney’s character utterly? And since the pendant was to pay gambling debts, you find it not difficult to believe he also stole…and…killed?”
Under the table, Patrick’s fingers tightened over hers. He knew she did not want Sidney to be guilty—possibly because he was Daniel’s client.
Tobias was staring at her. “Killed! What on earth are you talking about?”
The color burned up her face. There was no escaping it. She had totally trapped herself. They were all staring at her. “I’m sorry,” she murmured to Patrick, then she looked at Tobias. “The man who you believe pawned the pendant. He was found dead, in the Potomac. That surely has to be connected, doesn’t it?”
Bernadette looked suddenly pale.
“I’m afraid it does,” Tobias agreed. He sounded relieved.
“You will have to tell the whole story,” Jemima began, looking across at Rebecca.
Rebecca winced. She turned to her father. “Do you have to, Papa? Can’t you just say it was stolen?”
“If he is even competent, never mind clever, Hillyer will ask details,” Patrick warned. “He won’t just accept it.”
“Can’t Daniel stop him from pressing it?” Rebecca asked, looking at Jemima.
“I’ll tell him,” she replied. “But if Hillyer is going to raise the subject, Daniel and Kitteridge have to challenge it if they can.”
“Do they?” Bernadette said sharply. “Won’t they only be making it worse for their client? It will be, you know. This was a very serious charge. Not some petty theft!” Her face was full of emotion. Jemima could see she was breathing rapidly and a little shakily, and she felt a wave of compassion sweep over her.
“I can point out to Daniel the damage that will do. Or to Kitteridge, if he is handling it. Damage not just to Rebecca, but to Sidney, who is, after all, his client. People will hate Sidney for it. He might get a far heavier sentence. I believe judges have some latitude but he might choose the heaviest sentence he can.”
She was surprised to see Tobias look troubled. He glanced at his wife, then his daughter.
Patrick was watching him; then he turned to Jemima.
“For goodness’ sake,” Jemima said impatiently, “no harm has been done yet. If you’re uncertain about it, it will make people doubt you.” She was looking at Tobias.
He flushed a dull, painful color and looked away.
Bernadette turned to Patrick. “It was actually I who heard Rebecca scream,” she stated firmly. “I am a lighter sleeper than Tobias is. I gathered my robe from the hook on the door and went out into the passage. I saw a man coming out of Rebecca’s room. I screamed to waken Tobias. The man turned and ran. I admit…” She gulped.
Tobias put his hand on her arm gently.
“I was very shaken,” she continued. “I ran to Rebecca’s room, terrified of what I might find. I imagined all sorts of things. But she was all right. I mean, she wasn’t injured…or worse. Only shocked and very frightened. And there was a red ring around her throat where Aunt May’s pendant had bee
n savagely ripped off her neck.”
Rebecca was white-faced. She was clearly reliving the whole thing, awakening in the night to find a man right there in her bedroom. She had screamed, and he had lunged at her for the necklace. Then fearing she had roused the household, he darted out of the room and fled.
“I saw quite plainly that it was Philip Sidney. I was only a few yards away from him. He hesitated and stared at me. I thought for a moment he was going to attack me. How misled we can be by people,” she said quietly. “He seemed—”
“We were all misled,” Tobias agreed. “I feel guilty that I ever allowed him into the house.”
“He worked at the British Embassy, Tobias,” Bernadette said gently. “If they didn’t know what sort of a man he was, how could you?”
Jemima felt all her muscles knot. And she also felt Patrick’s hand tighten on hers under the table. She looked at Tobias. “Why did you say it was you who saw him? Someone will ask you. It seems an unnecessary lie.”
Tobias’s lips tightened. “I was trying to protect Bernadette from having to relive that night again in front of strangers,” he said curtly. He clearly resented being obliged to answer her.
But no one challenged him, certainly not Jemima. She thought Bernadette was quite capable of seeing off a pack of dogs, let alone a gentle police questioning, respectful of her position in society and the crime that had taken place in her house. But she did not say so. There was nothing to be gained. And now that the pendant had been recovered and traced back through another member of the British Embassy, making the possible link to Philip Sidney, it seemed that it was all over. Sidney would be far wiser not to fight the inevitable any longer.
Why did she feel so defeated? Was it because Daniel was going to lose the case? That was absurd! He had accepted it originally in order to see justice brought about for another crime in what seemed impossible circumstances. And there was now the terrible weight of Morley Cross’s murder hanging over everything. Did Sidney even know of that? Was he responsible?