by Clara Benson
‘But what happened to the person she went to meet?’
‘I’ve no idea. Perhaps he was hiding in the bushes too. It would have been easy enough. After all, there were only the two of us and the grounds are pretty big. He might even have escaped on to the path himself, before Irina did.’
‘But why?’
‘There you have me,’ admitted Angela. She glanced about her one last time and then said, ‘Let’s go and take another look at the spot where she disappeared.’
They followed the path that led through the trees, looking carefully about them as they did so.
‘She’d seen us by this time, and started running,’ said Angela. ‘When we came out from the woods she was already quite a way ahead of us.’
As they emerged on to the road, they saw a police-car approaching, heading in the direction of the village. Evidently the search had begun. They waited for it to pass, then walked along to the place where the man had stepped out and Irina had seemed to disappear into the hedgerow. Although it was Sunday, there were several people about, and so they had to be circumspect in their search. If Angela had been hoping to find a clue, however, she was disappointed, for even in daylight there was no sign that the hedge had been disturbed at all.
‘I was almost certain this was where she vanished,’ she said in perplexity. ‘It looked as though she went through the hedge here. I suppose my eyes must have been playing tricks on me. The moon was out, but perhaps it was still too dark to get a true picture of what happened.’
‘Where exactly was the moon?’ said William.
‘Over there, I think. Why?’ said Angela.
‘Why, then, the hedge must have cast a shadow a little way into the road,’ said William. ‘Are you sure she didn’t just disappear into the shadow and keep going?’
Angela considered this.
‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ she said. ‘Yes, she might have. We assumed she had gone through the hedge because the man we saw seemed to step out and pull her into it. But I suppose it’s always possible that he just drew her to the side of the road and pulled her along in the shadows. But where did they go after that?’
‘Let’s go and find out,’ said William.
They carried on in the direction of the village for another two hundred yards or so, then came to a halt.
‘Oh!’ said Angela.
They were standing by a narrow gap in the hedgerow which was easily passable with only a little squeeze.
‘Do you think this is it?’ said William. He peered through the gap. ‘There’s just a field on the other side,’ he said.
‘Well, if they didn’t want to be seen it would make sense to get off the road as soon as possible,’ said Angela.
‘I guess so,’ said William. He scrambled through the hedge, then held it aside to allow Angela to step through. There was not exactly a path on the other side, but a few yards of bare earth indicated the direction most feet took when they came through this way. The short-cut passed diagonally across the field to a gate. Angela and William headed towards it. The gate in turn led out onto a little path and through a clump of trees.
‘Look!’ said Angela suddenly, once they were through the gate. She bent over and picked up another cigarette-end. ‘It’s the same type as before.’
‘Then we’re on the right track,’ said William.
They carried on doggedly through the wood. Beyond it was a wall with another gate in it, and on the other side of that a road. Although the weather had been dry for several weeks, the ground here under the trees was still soft, and they both saw the tyre tracks by the gate at the same time. William crouched down to examine them.
‘They had a car waiting here,’ said Angela.
‘A big one,’ agreed William. He held up another cigarette-end. Angela took it. It was the same type again. Angela leaned over the gate and looked up and down the road. One way led back to the village, and the other towards the coast. Presumably the car had taken the latter route.
‘So, then,’ she said. ‘For some reason, the man brought Irina this way and drove off with her in the car that someone had thoughtfully left here earlier.’
‘I guess they came this way so as to avoid going through the village,’ said William.
‘Yes,’ said Angela. ‘It seems to be a short-cut. But I don’t understand the delay.’
‘What delay?’
‘Why, the delay in their leaving,’ said Angela. She saw his puzzled look and explained. ‘I followed Irina to the back entrance of the building, then came back to get Mr. Hesketh, but it was at least twenty minutes before Miss Devlin and I came out to search the grounds, if not more. If this man was intending to kidnap Irina—or even if she was intending to run off with him for some unknown reason, then why was she, at least, still hanging about the summer-house when we got there? One would have thought that she would have taken good care to get away as quickly as possible rather than skulk around as she did. I don’t understand it at all.’
‘Do you really think she was kidnapped, ma’am?’ said William hesitantly. He seemed to be searching carefully for the right words. ‘I know she’s kind of young, but—’
He seemed unwilling to finish. Angela came to his rescue.
‘You’re wondering whether she mightn’t have run off with some man,’ she said. ‘I’ll admit the thought had occurred to me, and all I can say is that if she has, then I don’t envy the Moranians one bit in having to cover that up. Or Miss Bell, for that matter. It’s hardly going to do much for the school’s reputation, having princesses elope all over the place.’
‘Still, better that than kidnapping, surely?’ said William. ‘At least her life isn’t in danger this way.’
‘Of course, but we still have to get her back,’ said Angela. ‘I don’t know much about royal families, but I’m fairly sure they’re not too keen on having their fifteen-year-old heirs apparent run off with strange men in the middle of the night.’
‘Probably not,’ said William.
They looked around a little longer, then set off back towards Wakeley Court.
‘How cross do you think the Moranians will be, exactly, when they find out what’s happened?’ said Angela as they arrived back at the school. ‘You don’t suppose they’d invade, do you? I should give something to see Miss Bell’s face if Morania declared war on Great Britain all because she didn’t hide her keys properly. How would she take it, do you think?’
‘I guess she’d have to give herself a detention,’ said William.
He then went to see if he could find out anything more about what had happened to Edwards, while Angela went to look for Mr. Hesketh.
FOURTEEN
‘If they did go off in a motor-car, then no doubt they are far away by now,’ said Mr. Hesketh. ‘I wonder which way they went.’
‘We assumed they went eastwards, along the coast,’ said Angela. ‘There doesn’t seem much point in hiding a car outside the village in preparation for a quick and secret escape, only to make a terrible racket by driving through the place after all.’
‘I suppose not,’ agreed Hesketh. ‘You’re right—it would make far more sense to drive in the other direction. I had better speak to the police about the tyre tracks you found. Perhaps they will be able to tell what kind of car it was.’
They were sitting in Mr. Hesketh’s study, whose window faced the front drive. As Angela looked out she saw a crocodile of girls trooping back after church. To look at them one would never have supposed that anything untoward had occurred. Had they been told of Irina’s disappearance?
Angela reached into her pocket and handed Hesketh the cigarette-ends.
‘We found these, too,’ she said. ‘There was practically a trail of them from the summer-house to the place where we found the tracks. I don’t recognize the type.’
Hesketh examined them.
‘Nor do I,’ he said at last. ‘I should say they were probably foreign, though.’ He thought for a moment. ‘So, then, whoever smoked these was
presumably waiting in the summer-house for Irina. Does that mean he was the same man who snatched her from the road?’
‘I don’t know if he snatched her, exactly,’ said Angela. ‘But yes, I assume it’s the same man, unless it was someone else who smokes the same kind of cigarette.’
Hesketh was frowning.
‘Let me get things quite clear in my mind,’ he said. ‘We know Irina came out of the school, went to the summer-house and met this man. A little while later she and he heard you and Miss Devlin coming, crept out of the summer-house and hid—presumably in the bushes—while the two of you scouted about. At some point the man escaped along the path through the trees and waited for Irina on the road into the village. She took the same path, and when she caught up to him he pulled her off the road and out of sight. They then went to the car, which the man had thoughtfully hidden earlier, and drove off to an unknown destination.’
‘That’s clear enough,’ said Angela.
‘But it doesn’t make sense,’ said Hesketh. ‘I can see that she might have been lured out to the summer-house, but why did she then follow him? She knew she was in danger.’
‘Obviously she trusted him,’ said Angela.
‘I don’t understand it at all,’ said Hesketh. ‘Here she was safe. Why did she go?’
Angela wondered whether to mention the elopement theory. It seemed rather far-fetched. How could a fifteen-year-old girl, who had been brought up to understand the importance of her position for the future of her nation, and who had moreover presumably led the most sheltered of lives, have fallen in with a man and been persuaded to run off with him? And could that man possibly have been Edwards, the gardener, who by all accounts was a most unprepossessing fellow? It seemed most unlikely. But then what was the explanation in that case?
‘Have you looked at Edwards’ references?’ she said hesitantly.
‘Yes,’ said Hesketh. ‘They seem good enough, and Miss Bell has shown me the letter she received from Bessington House. We put through a telephone-call to them earlier, but the Marquess’s secretary, who wrote the letter, was out, and we are waiting for him to call back.’
‘It seems rather too much of a coincidence that Edwards should have run off just now,’ said Angela. ‘He must have had something to do with it, surely. I wonder whether he mightn’t have been in league with Miss Fazackerley’s brother. Have you spoken to Fazackerley, by the way?’
‘Yes. His presence in the area just now is most suspicious, of course, but he is sticking obstinately to his story that he came to find his sister and beg some money and food from her.’
‘And do you believe him?’ said Angela.
‘I have the feeling he is probably telling the truth, but of course I should be a fool if I relied solely on my instincts. No, I’m afraid he will have to stay here at least until Miss Fazackerley returns. She is expected back this afternoon.’
‘But what if she is in on it too?’
‘Then we shall find it out,’ said Hesketh simply, and despite his bland demeanour, Angela had no doubt that he could be ruthless in pursuit of the truth if necessary.
‘What about Mr. Everich?’ said Angela. ‘What is he doing to find Irina?’
‘I gather he has been speaking to some of the Princess’s friends this morning,’ said Hesketh. ‘I haven’t seen him, though, so I don’t know whether he has managed to find anything out.’
‘I suppose he has been talking to Barbara and her crowd,’ said Angela thoughtfully. ‘I wonder if perhaps I oughtn’t to speak to Barbara myself, and make her understand that she must tell anything she knows. If they do know where Irina went I should hate them to keep quiet about it out of some misplaced sense of honour. Girls can be rather odd like that.’
‘Yes, do,’ said Hesketh. ‘She at least might tell you things that she would be unwilling to confess to Everich.’
Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was Miss Bell, accompanied by Everich himself.
‘Ah, Mr. Hesketh, I thought we should find you here,’ said Miss Bell. ‘Have you heard anything from the police at all?’
‘No,’ replied Hesketh. ‘I was just going to telephone them as a matter of fact, as Mrs. Marchmont has found out which way they went. It appears they have escaped by car, and have most probably headed eastwards along the coast, rather than back towards King’s Lynn.’
‘Indeed?’ said Miss Bell. ‘How do you know, Mrs. Marchmont?’
Angela explained about the clues she and William had found, and what they most likely meant.
‘I see,’ said Miss Bell, frowning. ‘But are you quite certain there was only one man?’
‘We only saw one, although there might have been another waiting in the car for them,’ said Angela.
‘I meant outside,’ said Miss Bell. ‘I don’t see how one man could have kidnapped Irina and dragged her all the way to the car without someone hearing them. Of course, a man is stronger than a fifteen-year-old girl, but I should have thought she would have tried to fight him off, at least.’
‘It rather looks as though she went willingly,’ said Angela.
The headmistress met her gaze and Angela saw a look of understanding and concern pass across her face.
‘Then you think it may not have been a kidnapping at all?’ she said.
‘That is impossible,’ said Everich, drawing himself up. ‘Her Highness is a Princess from one of the oldest and most illustrious royal families in Europe. Are you suggesting she has run away?’
‘There doesn’t seem to have been a struggle,’ said Angela carefully. ‘Of course, that doesn’t mean she was not abducted. It may be that she knew her kidnapper and thought she could trust him.’
She saw Miss Bell’s look of dismay and pitied her. Whatever the case, things did not look good for Wakeley Court school.
‘It is quite absurd to imply that Her Highness had any hand in this affair,’ said Everich. ‘She knows exactly what is expected of her and would never do anything so outrageous as to leave without telling anyone where she was going—especially now, when her father is so gravely ill and the future of Morania rests perhaps on her shoulders. Why, it is unthinkable! And where should she go? There is nowhere. No,’ he went on firmly. ‘I see the hand of our enemies behind this. They have taken her, that is certain enough. I hope to God we can get her back before any harm comes to her.’
This was a sobering thought and they all paused to digest it for a moment. If Irina really had been abducted by those who wished her country ill, then there was no saying whether or not she was still alive. Angela remembered the blood she had found in the summer-house and tried to take comfort from the fact that there had been so little of it, but she could not forget that she was here because of a supposed assassination plot. If Irina had been abducted, then presumably her kidnappers had intended to kill her. If she had not, then she must still be found and brought back. Whatever the case, there was no denying that they had all failed miserably in their task of protecting her.
FIFTEEN
‘Since Irina has now been missing for nearly twelve hours, I think we have no choice but to let her people know what has happened,’ said Miss Bell. ‘Mr. Everich, have you had word today of the Grand Duke’s condition?’
‘I believe there has been no change, madam,’ said Everich. ‘He is receiving the best possible care, of course, so we can but hope there will be some improvement soon.’
‘Then I had better telegraph Count Paul,’ said Miss Bell.
‘Yes, I think you had better,’ said Everich. ‘His Excellency has taken over the duties of state from the Grand Duke for the present, and since he is now in charge, he will need to know of this latest terrible development. I have no doubt that he will be very upset to hear what has happened. Quite apart from the implications for Morania itself, the Count is very fond of his cousin, the Princess. I should not be surprised if he were to leave everything in the hands of his ministers and come to England at once himself.’
‘Perhaps that would b
e best,’ said Miss Bell. ‘How quickly do you suppose he can get here? Mr. Hesketh, do you happen to have a Continental Bradshaw?’
‘The fastest train from Vorgorod takes about forty hours,’ said Everich, before Mr. Hesketh could reply.
‘Then the very earliest we can expect him is Tuesday morning,’ said Miss Bell. ‘Very well, I shall go and send the telegram at once, so as to waste no further time.’
She went off before anyone could raise any objections.
‘I understand you have been speaking to the Princess’s friends this morning,’ said Mr. Hesketh to Mr. Everich.
‘Yes,’ said Everich. ‘I have spoken to some of the young ladies, although not all of them.’
‘And did they tell you anything?’
Everich shook his head.
‘They are very shocked at Her Highness’s disappearance, naturally,’ he said, ‘but they are all quite certain that they know nothing of where she might have gone. It does not surprise me, for how could they know of a criminal plot of this kind? Still, I was not able to speak to all the young ladies this morning, and so I shall try again later once they are all back at the school. I understand that some of them are taken out by their families on Sundays.’
‘That is so,’ said Hesketh, ‘but they are usually back by dinner-time. Perhaps you can try again later.’
‘I shall certainly do that,’ said Everich. ‘It will not do to omit any possible clue, and I confess I was keen to speak to this Miss Evans, for I understand she is in the same form as Her Highness, and thus may know more than the others about her movements last night.’