by Clara Benson
Angela ran to the classroom where she knew Mr. Hesketh would shortly be taking the Fifth for Latin, and found him just about to begin. Natalia Everich was sitting at the front of the class, her expression inscrutable. She looked up as Angela entered.
‘I beg your pardon, Mr. Hesketh,’ said Angela, ‘but I have an urgent message for you.’
Hesketh gave a glance at Natalia, and came out, shutting the door behind him.
‘What is it?’ he said.
Angela explained the situation in a few words, and he clutched the door handle and went pale.
‘If I didn’t know better, Mrs. Marchmont, I should say you were joking,’ he said, aghast.
‘It’s no joke, I’m afraid,’ said Angela.
Hesketh’s mouth opened and closed once or twice, but no words came out. Finally he found his voice and swore inventively, much to the astonishment of a passing First Form girl, who squeaked and ran away. He apologized immediately.
‘That’s quite all right,’ said Angela, secretly entertained at the sight of the even-tempered Mr. Hesketh losing his head. ‘It was a surprise to me too. But there’s no doubt of it: we have been protecting the wrong girl all along.’
Mr. Hesketh waved his hands.
‘Those Moranians!’ he exclaimed. ‘Why must they make things so unnecessarily complicated, with all this cloak and dagger stuff? If we’d known from the beginning then we might have done something about it, but instead they’ve made fools of us all and put their Princess in danger.’
‘Well, it would have been a good plan had the Everichs been trustworthy,’ said Angela fairly. ‘It was just Florrie’s bad luck that her father happened to choose the wrong people to look after her.’
‘So it’s Mrs. Everich, is it? That little—’ said Hesketh. He broke off without completing the epithet. ‘Why, she’s had us all out scouring the whole of Norfolk for her, and arresting perfectly innocent men for no good reason.’
‘Shh! We mustn’t let her know we suspect her,’ said Angela. ‘The police will have to deal with her and her husband, but in the meantime you’d better come and see Florrie. It’s lucky for us that Count Paul has arrived. We might have had some difficulty in convincing people that she is the real Princess, but he must surely know of the deception.’
‘Yes,’ said Hesketh. ‘I wonder why he has said nothing.’
Just then they saw the Count himself, accompanied by Miss Bell, approaching them. The Count looked very serious, and to judge by the headmistress’s face it appeared as though she had just heard some terrible news.
‘Oh, Mr. Hesketh!’ she exclaimed. ‘His Excellency has just told me the most extraordinary story. It appears we have all been labouring under a terrible misapprehension.’
‘Yes,’ said Hesketh. ‘Mrs. Marchmont has just told me about it. I know Irina is not the real Princess.’
The two newcomers both regarded Angela in surprise.
‘But how did you know, Mrs. Marchmont?’ said Miss Bell.
‘Mainly because Irina’s English is not good enough for someone who was supposed to have spent all her childhood years in England,’ said Angela. ‘There were one or two other things, but when Irina came back and Florrie didn’t, it occurred to me that perhaps we had been looking for the wrong person.’
‘Yes,’ said Count Paul. ‘I deeply regret having deceived everyone, but His Highness the Grand Duke and I thought it was the best way to keep his daughter safe. Evidently we were wrong, for she has disappeared all the same. I have spoken to Natalia Everich this morning and she can tell me nothing of where Her Highness has gone. It is a complete mystery, and I am beside myself with fear for her fate.’
‘There’s no need for that, Your Excellency,’ said Angela. ‘She’s upstairs in my room, quite safe, if a little grubby and probably very hungry.’
‘What?’ exclaimed Count Paul. ‘You are joking, surely.’
Angela swiftly assured him that she was quite serious and explained where Florrie had been, and a smile of great relief spread across his face, which was quickly followed by a frown.
‘Then—but—does she know who attacked her?’ he said.
‘It was Everich,’ replied Mr. Hesketh. ‘It appears that he and his wife have been playing a part all along.’
‘Everich?’ said Count Paul in wonder. ‘But he is our most trusted man.’
‘Not any more,’ said Hesketh dryly.
The Count opened his mouth then closed it again.
‘Please, I should like to see Her Highness at once,’ he said. ‘Her real Highness, that is.’
‘Certainly,’ said Angela. ‘I left her in my room with Barbara and Violet, who rescued her from the attic. I think Barbara was going to fetch her some food from the kitchen.’
Abandoning the Fifth Form to their own devices, the four of them hurried up to Mrs. Marchmont’s room. As soon as they arrived at the top of the stairs, however, they knew that something had gone very wrong, for the first thing they saw was Violet Smedley running towards them along the passage, white-faced and terrified.
‘Everich’s got Florrie!’ she exclaimed when she saw them. ‘He’s got a gun. Quick, you must catch him!’
TWENTY-SEVEN
Barbara arrived just at that moment, carrying some rolls and butter.
‘What’s going on?’ she said in astonishment, looking from one horrified face to another.
Violet sank to the ground and wrung her hands.
‘It’s all my fault!’ she cried. ‘He knocked—three then two, just as we arranged, and I thought it was you, so I opened the door. Florrie had put her knife down and she didn’t have a chance to grab it before he got hold of her and dragged her off. Didn’t you see them when you were coming up?’
‘No,’ managed Hesketh, who looked as though he were on the point of combustion.
‘Then they must have gone down the other staircase,’ said Miss Bell.
Hesketh said no more but ran off, followed by Miss Bell and Count Paul.
‘But how did he know how to knock?’ said Angela.
Barbara looked crestfallen.
‘He must have been up here and overheard me when I went to get some food,’ she said. ‘As I came out of the room I said something like, “Don’t forget, three knocks then two.” I expect I was speaking rather loudly.’
‘Dear me,’ said Angela. ‘Did he say anything?’ she said to Violet.
‘Yes, but it was in Moranian and I couldn’t understand it. He pointed a gun at me and grabbed Florrie and took her away almost before I knew what was happening. Where do you suppose he’s going to take her?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Angela grimly. She did not say that she feared for Florrie’s life, but there was no need, for the girls understood it well enough.
The three of them stared at one another for a second, then of one accord turned and ran down the stairs.
‘Stay here,’ Angela told the girls as they arrived in the main corridor. ‘Or better still, go to your lesson. There’s nothing you can do to help and it’s best you don’t get in the way.’
She did not suppose there was much she could do either, but she intended to try all the same. She left the building and ran as fast as she could down to the coach-house in search of William. She found him peering into the inner workings of the school charabanc in company with an old fellow who was evidently as deaf as a post, for they were conversing in loud bellows and gestures.
‘Quick!’ she cried. ‘Everich has run off with Florrie Evans, and I’m awfully afraid he’s going to kill her.’
William was instantly at attention.
‘Where did they go?’ he said.
‘I don’t know yet,’ said Angela. ‘Mr. Hesketh followed them. I don’t know if Everich expects to get far, but he has a gun and he’s obviously very dangerous, so we’ll have to be careful. I doubt there’s much I can do, but I’m supposed to be here to help so I’d better try and do something, at least.’
‘Well, what are we waiting for?’ s
aid William. ‘Let’s go and find them.’
He left the old coachman without so much as a goodbye, and the two of them hurried across the lawn and back towards the school building. They were not more than halfway there when they spotted some sort of disturbance taking place ahead of them and stopped short.
‘There they are,’ said Angela.
From where they stood they could see a man with light-coloured hair, leading—or possibly dragging—a girl along the path towards a smart motor-car, which was stationed a little way down the drive.
‘He’s going to take her away in the car,’ said Angela.
‘How’s he going to drive it, if she doesn’t want to be driven?’ said William. ‘Not much use in having a gun when you’re trying to keep your eyes on the road.’
They watched as the two reached the motor-car and Everich opened the door and bundled Florrie in. Sure enough, he had barely climbed in himself when the door on the other side burst open and Florrie tumbled out and onto the ground. Everich leapt out after her and hauled her up roughly by the collar. He shook her hard and appeared to clip her on the side of the head with something, and they heard her cry out.
‘Hey!’ said William indignantly. ‘He hit her with the gun! That—’ He broke off, as he remembered Angela’s presence.
Everich had evidently reached the same conclusion about driving the girl away as William had, but he was not about to give up. Florrie was still struggling and he clipped her across the head again. This time she fell senseless to the ground, and Angela gave a little gasp. Everich picked Florrie up and slung her over his shoulder as though she weighed nothing, and set off down the drive at a brisk pace.
‘There’s Mr. Hesketh!’ said Angela.
It was indeed the Latin master, who had shed his gown and mortar-board and was running down the drive after the fugitive, holding what looked like a gun in his hand. Everich heard him coming and turned, and from where Angela and William stood they could see him gesticulating towards Florrie with his own pistol. Hesketh fell back warily, and Everich continued on his way. It was not possible for Hesketh to get a good shot at him, for the unconscious Florrie was draped over him, and any bullet fired would hit her before it hit Everich.
Angela put her hand in her pocket and was reassured by the presence there of her own gun.
‘Quick!’ she said to William. ‘Let’s go back this way. If we go through the woods we might be able to cut him off by the gates, or at least see where he goes.’
They retreated the way they had come, went past the coach-house—where the old coachman did not seem to have noticed that William was missing and was still bellowing away—and entered the path that led through the trees to the road. They followed it for a little distance, and then Angela said:
‘Here, we can cut through the trees this way. We’d better be quiet now.’
‘What are we going to do if we find them, ma’am?’ said William.
‘I don’t know,’ said Angela. ‘I rather hope that Mr. Hesketh is following them down the drive. We might be able to distract Everich while Hesketh gets Florrie. Perhaps you ought to take my gun, just in case.’
‘Keep it. You’re a better shot than I am,’ said William, as they turned from the path and set forth through the trees.
Meanwhile, the Fifth were having a most exciting morning of it. After twiddling their thumbs for twenty minutes waiting for Mr. Hesketh to come and start the Latin lesson, they had been getting rather bored, and one or two of them had begun to gaze idly out of the window. As they did so, they saw a man with very light-coloured hair dragging a struggling girl along the path towards the drive. There were several exclamations of astonishment, and everyone looked up.
‘Why, it’s Florrie!’ said someone.
‘What on earth is she doing with that man?’ said someone else.
Just then, another man hurried past.
‘It’s Mr. Hesketh!’ cried Sarah. ‘And he’s carrying a gun!’
Everyone gasped, and as one the entire class rose and ran to the window. There was much scuffling and shoving as everybody tried to get the best view.
‘What on earth is going on?’ said the first girl.
Nobody knew, but it was quite certain that neither hell nor high water would drag them away from the window until they had received a satisfactory explanation, and so no-one noticed as Natalia Everich rose from her seat and slipped out of the classroom. In the entrance-hall she bumped into Miss Bell and Count Paul.
‘Irina! What are you doing out of lessons? Go back to your classroom immediately,’ said Miss Bell, who was in a state of some confusion and had momentarily forgotten who was who and what was happening.
Natalia ignored the headmistress and addressed Count Paul in rapid Moranian. He replied coldly and turned to go outside, but she ran to him and grasped his sleeve, and he had no choice but to listen. She threw her arms up and spoke to him in an imploring tone, and at last he nodded curtly and they hurried out of the building together, leaving Miss Bell in greater perplexity than ever.
Outside, Barbara and Violet had ignored Angela’s instructions to go to their lesson, and were watching the scene in wide-eyed horror. Miss Finch spotted them and hurried out.
‘What do you think you are doing?’ she snapped. ‘You are supposed to be in class. Get back inside at once! This will be another black mark for you.’
‘Oh, bother the black mark,’ retorted Violet. ‘You can give me two if you like. Florrie’s our friend, and we’re staying here until we know she’s safe.’
Miss Finch was so astounded at the normally well-behaved Violet’s rudeness that she was left briefly speechless. Barbara cast an impressed glance at her friend.
‘I’m terribly sorry, Miss Finch,’ she said. ‘Violet is very upset about Florrie. I’m sure she didn’t mean to be rude.’
Violet opened her mouth to earn herself another black mark and probably also a week’s worth of detentions, but Barbara elbowed her in the ribs and she shut it again. Luckily for both girls, Miss Bell arrived just then in a great state, and swept Miss Finch away, leaving them to watch as Everich disappeared out of sight, followed by Mr. Hesketh and shortly afterwards Count Paul and Natalia Everich. Violet reached for Barbara’s hand and clutched it, and they stared at one another in dismay.
Down in the woods, Angela and William were creeping as quietly as they could through the trees towards the school drive.
‘Where do you suppose he’s going?’ whispered William.
‘I don’t know,’ said Angela, ‘but he can’t keep carrying her forever. Assuming he didn’t kill her with that blow to the head, she’s bound to wake up sooner or later, and then what will he do?’
‘I thought the whole idea was to kill her,’ said William.
‘Yes, I thought so too,’ said Angela. ‘As a matter of fact, I don’t know why he hasn’t done it yet. Perhaps he has some other plan we know nothing about.’
‘Shh!’ said William suddenly, and they froze. ‘Who’s that?’
The trees were thinner here and the road was in view ahead of them, and in the silence they could hear a voice.
‘It’s Mr. Hesketh,’ said Angela.
They crept on until they found a thick clump of trees behind which to hide and observe what was happening. They had emerged close to the school gates; tall, brick pillars surmounted by fierce stone dragons. Here, Everich had stopped, and had set down his burden to rest with her feet on the ground, while he kept an arm around her waist and made sure her body was placed between his and Hesketh’s gun. Florrie appeared to be regaining consciousness, for they heard her utter a low moan. Angela was relieved—as was Mr. Hesketh, it appeared, for they heard him call:
‘Look, she’s alive. Let her go now and we can look after her. There’s no sense in your continuing with this ridiculous scheme. The Grand Duke is expected to make a full recovery. What’s the use in killing the Princess?’
‘I will not speak to you,’ replied Everich imperiously. ‘I will speak
only to His Excellency. I see him coming behind you. He knows what I have to say. Let me speak to him. I must have guarantees, for I fear I have been misled.’
Angela and William glanced at one another and crept a little closer to the road. From where she stood, Angela could now see Count Paul striding down the drive towards the little group, with Natalia Everich hurrying along behind him. The two of them came up to where Hesketh was standing and stopped. There followed an exchange in Moranian between the two men, in which Count Paul appeared to be pleading with his former Head of Intelligence. Everich replied in a flinty voice and was evidently immovable on something, for he shook his head several times. Count Paul took a step towards him, and immediately Everich gripped the half-conscious Florrie to him and pointed the pistol at her head. The Count retreated hurriedly, speaking in tones intended to mollify.
Then Natalia stepped forward and began to speak. She raised her hands to heaven and spoke beseechingly, and for a moment Everich seemed to soften, for he spoke to her gently and with a smile. She sighed and gazed at him fondly, then stepped forward. Everich let go of Florrie and then, still with a smile playing over his face, raised his gun and shot his wife, who fell to the ground.
To say that the onlookers were shocked would be an understatement, but Count Paul and Mr. Hesketh had not even time to cry out in horror before there was another loud report and Raul Everich, too, dropped where he stood.
‘What on earth—’ said Mr. Hesketh.
Angela and William stepped out from the clump of trees. Angela’s revolver was still in her hand, and she put it back in her pocket as she bent over Florrie, who was sitting on the road, groggy but conscious.
‘Is he dead?’ she said over her shoulder to William.
‘Yes, ma’am,’ said William. ‘Quite dead. That was a good shot.’
‘What about Natalia?’
Mr. Hesketh had quickly recovered himself and was crouching next to Natalia Everich.
‘She’s still alive,’ he said, after checking for a pulse. ‘We had better call a doctor. I beg your pardon, Mrs. Marchmont, but was that you—’ He broke off.