Christmas in Nuala

by Harriet Steel

  ‘I’ve been doing a bit of ferreting of my own,’ Archie went on. ‘Strictly unprofessional, and to be kept between ourselves. The manager of the Bank of Kandy tells me that despite old Clarence Rushwell’s parsimony, he was a very wealthy man. It occurs to me that might have some bearing on the case.’

  ‘It certainly might, sir. I’d say it’s beginning to look as if the Arcantis aren’t as well off as they make out.’

  Archie took a cigarette from the packet of Passing Clouds on his desk, lit it and shook out the match. ‘All we have to do now is think of a way of testing out your wife’s theory. What do you suggest?’

  De Silva had considered that on the way to the Residence, although not seriously expecting it was a question he would need to answer. ‘If we confront the countess, she’s bound to deny everything. I think we need to set up the same situation as on the night of the murder—’

  ‘And hope to startle her into giving herself away?’

  ‘Exactly, sir.’

  ‘My wife has already given her a bedroom to use at the Residence when she isn’t at the hospital with the count.’ Archie tapped the ash from his cigarette into the ashtray decorated with a leaping salmon that always sat on his desk. ‘My wife mentioned yesterday that the countess wants to go up to the Rushwells’ place to retrieve some things she left there. I’ll offer one of the official cars and a driver to take her over later this afternoon. She’s due back from the hospital by teatime, so we’ll make it around five o’clock. The light will be fading by then. I’ll follow at a discreet distance, leave my car at the bungalow and walk the rest of the way.’

  Over the course of the next few minutes, they thrashed out the remainder of their plan, then Clutterbuck nodded. ‘Good. I think we have it all covered. Just make sure you have everything ready, de Silva.’

  ‘I will, sir.’

  The conversation appeared to be at an end. De Silva stood up to go.

  ‘Oh, and by the way,’ said Clutterbuck as he reached the door. ‘As you know, my wife reads the same kind of books as yours.’ He grinned broadly. ‘Mrs Clutterbuck is convinced that Mrs de Silva’s hit on the answer.’

  That was support from an unexpected quarter, thought de Silva. He smiled to himself as he drove home. If Florence got into the habit of teaming up with Jane, they would make a formidable pair, and he might as well retire.

  Chapter 13

  He and Jane stood on the roof of Clarence Rushwell’s tower, gazing out over a billowing sea of green.

  ‘I wonder if he often came up here,’ she mused. ‘If he did, I can understand why he wouldn’t leave the place. But not why he let it become so dilapidated,’ she added. She squinted at the sun. ‘Not much longer to go. Do you think we should go down?’

  ‘Probably.’ His brow puckered. ‘I hope our plan is going to work.’

  ‘Of course, it is. Florence will have told the countess she’s unable to accompany her, so I’ve offered to help collect up her possessions and pack them. She won’t be expecting you, but we’ll say you joined me at the last minute because you’d like her assistance with some papers that have just come to light. While the driver takes the luggage to the car, you ask her to come up to the study with you to see them.’

  ‘What am I saying if she wants to know what these papers are about?’

  ‘You’re telling her they concern Clarence’s investments. If she’s as greedy as we suspect she is, she won’t be able to resist.’

  ‘But what if she refuses?’

  Jane smiled. ‘You’ll have to use your charm, dear.’

  Down in the courtyard, they saw that the sun was slipping behind the trees. They had checked the study one last time as they passed it. The mirror was in position, carefully draped as it had probably been on the night of Clarence Rushwell’s murder. What was left of the daylight had been excluded and the only artificial light came from the kerosene lamps and candelabras, one of them carefully positioned to illuminate the face of the person facing the mirror, without causing a reflection.

  As they listened for the throaty hum of the official car coming up the drive, they watched an arrow of egrets flying across the darkening sky. De Silva looked at his watch; it was o’clock now. What if the countess didn’t come? All their careful planning would be wasted.

  A beam of light came slowly up the drive: the car. If the countess suspected a trap, she gave no sign of it. After she and Jane had packed up the clothes and other possessions, she agreed readily to de Silva’s request. On the way up the stairs, she was all smiles, praising him for catching Rushwell so quickly.

  The door to the study came into sight. The countess waited for him to open it for her. The metal latch was cold to his touch as he lifted it. The door opened, and he stood aside, just as the figure in the doorway had done on the night of the murder.

  Mid-speech, the countess froze, staring at her reflection in the foggy glass. Then she exploded in fury. ‘What is this outrage?’

  Before he had time to stop her, she turned and ran down the stairs – straight into Archie Clutterbuck’s waiting grip.

  Chapter 14

  ‘Both of them still insist that the other is the guilty party,’ said de Silva as he and Jane got ready for the carol service on Christmas Eve.

  ‘The important thing is that Robert Rushwell’s in the clear. Anna Phelps was skipping about like a five-year-old at the rehearsal this afternoon.’

  The countess’s version of the story had been that her husband learnt of his uncle’s great wealth from his mother. He had already run through most of what his parents had left him and insisted they come to Ceylon in the hope of getting Clarence’s fortune for themselves. He’d been disappointed when they arrived to find the plantation so rundown, but a few discreet enquiries had suggested that it was by choice, rather than necessity, on Clarence’s part. The count had knocked Robert out when they arrived home after the party and forced her to help put him in the car. Then the count had driven it to the lake. She had followed in their own car, ready to drive them back.

  ‘I’m so glad poor Robert survived,’ she said. Her eyes shone with tears that reminded de Silva of the crocodile. ‘I begged Cosmo not to do this wicked thing. It would have been enough if his uncle left us a little money. He often said he would make changes to his Will, but Cosmo wasn’t satisfied with waiting and trusting to that. After Robert’s car went into the water, I made Cosmo come away because I hoped Robert might somehow escape.’

  It was far more likely, Jane and de Silva later agreed, that she and the count had been determined to make sure that, if Robert’s body was ever found, his death looked like an accident, or even suicide.

  ‘Cosmo had wanted to shoot him to make sure,’ the countess continued. ‘I wanted so badly to go to the police, but you don’t know Cosmo. I was too frightened of what he would do if I betrayed him.’

  The count’s story ran along similar lines, except for the crucial difference that he claimed the plan had been his wife’s. She had forced him into it, and she had fired the gun that killed Clarence.

  ‘What a charming pair,’ said Jane, rolling her eyes. ‘I expect they miscalculated how far the car would slide. They didn’t know the lake as well as they thought they did, and they must have been working almost in the dark.’

  De Silva nodded. ‘They chose a place where the slope down to the water is very steep, but not steep enough for their purposes.’

  He pictured the count and the countess pushing the car over the edge of the grassy area above the beach, confident it would freewheel into the water and become completely submerged in a matter of minutes. When they saw it had stuck, relying on the weight of the car and the camouflage the reed bed would provide to do their business for them was a choice that proved to be their undoing.

  ‘In the end, I expect they’ll be charged with at least conspiracy to murder,’ he said, straightening his tie. ‘As you say, the important thing is that Robert Rushwell’s a free man.’

  ‘Has Archie been able to
find out whether Clarence changed his Will in favour of the count?’

  ‘No, but of course if Robert had been convicted of his uncle’s murder, even in his absence, the law would disqualify him from inheriting the plantation and the money. The whole estate would go to the count as Clarence’s only surviving relative.’

  At church, a large congregation was assembled. On either side of the steps to the choir, greenery and orchids cascaded from tall pedestals. To the left stood the Nativity scene. Something of a Nuala heirloom, it had been made many years previously by one of the Residence’s outdoor staff who had a genius for carving wood. De Silva had always liked the patient donkey with its amiable expression. This year, the three kings had been given a pick-me-up in the form of new robes made by the ladies of the sewing circle. The jewel-coloured brocades gleamed against the pale stone of the church wall.

  To the right of the pulpit, the choir was marshalling in the vestry. De Silva caught a glimpse of Anna Phelps organising her small charges. The organist started to play, and they processed to their places, followed by Reverend Peters, resplendent in his Christmas robes.

  Her duties over, Anna Phelps joined her parents and Robert Rushwell in one of the front pews. With a smile, he turned to hand her a hymn book as the congregation rose to their feet. Soon, the church was filled with song.

  The holly and the ivy,

  When they are both full grown

  Of all the trees that are in the wood

  The holly bears the crown.

  ***

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  Other Books by Harriet Steel

  The Inspector de Silva Mysteries #1

  Trouble in Nuala

  When Inspector Shanti de Silva moves with his English wife, Jane, to a new post in the sleepy hill town of Nuala, he anticipates a more restful life than police work in the big city entails. However, an arrogant plantation owner with a lonely wife, a crusading lawyer, and a death in suspicious circumstances present him with a riddle that he will need all his experience to solve.

  Set on the exotic island of Ceylon in the 1930s, Trouble in Nuala is an entertaining and relaxing mystery spiced with humour and a colourful cast of characters.

  The Inspector de Silva Mysteries #2

  Dark Clouds Over Nuala

  In this second book in the series, the arrival in the hill town of Nuala of the heir to an English earldom signals more trouble for the hapless Inspector de Silva and a new mystery to solve. Throw in a mega-rich Romanian count, his glamorous countess and an enigmatic British army officer and the scene is set for another entertaining mystery.

  The Inspector de Silva Mysteries #3

  Offstage in Nuala

  Inspector de Silva is caught up in the excitement when a professional theatre company comes to Nuala, but matters take a dark turn when the company’s actor manager is murdered. Our inspector has a new case to solve, and he must consider some very unpalatable motives for the crime. He will need all his persistence, coupled with his wife, Jane’s, invaluable help to unmask the villain of the piece.

  Set on the exotic island of Ceylon in the 1930s, The Inspector de Silva Mysteries provide a colourful and relaxing read spiced with humour and an engaging cast of characters.

  The Inspector de Silva Mysteries #4

  Fatal Finds in Nuala

  In this fourth instalment of the Inspector de Silva mysteries, it is monsoon season in the Hill Country. One stormy night, a ghostly encounter on a lonely road leads de Silva into a case of murder, and a mystery that stretches back to Ceylon’s distant past. To uncover the truth, he will have to face death and his inner demons.

  Fatal Finds in Nuala is another absorbing and colourful mystery in this series that vividly portrays Sri Lanka’s Colonial past.

  Becoming Lola

  The true story of how Eliza Gilbert, the daughter of an obscure Ensign in the British Army and his cold Irish wife, became the nineteenth century’s most notorious adventuress, Lola Montez.

  “Throughout Becoming Lola, I kept having to remind myself that the story was based on historical fact. It is a fascinating journey following a woman’s single-minded determination to get the very best for herself at all costs.” Historical Novel Society

  “A fascinating read. Lola was such a gutsy character, and Harriet Steel has captured her times and adventures very vividly. It's a must read if you like wild women and strange adventures.” Beth Webb, Author of the Star Dancer trilogy.

  Salvation

  It is 1586, plagued by religious strife at home and with the Royal Treasury almost exhausted, England holds her breath. When will Philip of Spain launch his Armada?

  In this world of suspicion and fear, three people pursue their own struggles for happiness and salvation.

  When an enemy threatens to reveal his illicit affair with a married woman, young lawyer’s clerk, Tom Goodluck, is forced to leave his old life behind him. An aspiring playwright, for a while his future in the burgeoning world of Elizabethan theatre looks bright but then events take an unexpected turn that threatens his very existence. His mentor and friend, theatre manager Alexandre Lamotte, comes to his rescue but Lamotte’s past hides tragedy and a dark secret. In trying to save Tom, he puts everything he has achieved at risk. Meanwhile Tom’s lover, Meg, is forced to set out on a path that will test her mettle to the limit.

  City of Dreams

  After a whirlwind courtship and marriage to dashing Frenchman Emile Daubigny, Anna, the teenage daughter of a Russian furrier, moves to Paris with her new husband, looking forward to a life of gaiety, love and comfortable affluence.

  Married life and the social scene in the most fashionable city on earth is everything Anna hoped it would be, but when Emile vanishes without trace and she is evicted, Anna is forced to discover the city’s poverty-stricken dark side of harsh streets and squalid tenements, where the temptation for a penniless young lady to become a kept woman is overwhelming.

  To make matters worse, war with Prussia looms and Anna and the city she loves will both struggle to survive.

  Following the Dream

  The sequel to City of Dreams continues Anna’s story in the vibrant city of Paris.

  Dancing and Other Stories

  Profits from this collection of short stories will be donated to WaterAid, a charity working to bring clean water and sanitation to villages in the Third World. The collection takes a light-hearted look at some of the big issues in life: love, hate, friendship, jealousy, revenge and biscuits. It includes the prize-winning story, Dryad, co-authored with bestselling author, Joanne Harris for the BBC competition, End of Story.