by A. O'Connor
“We’ll never know what happened that night – only the people there knew and they are long gone. But you have uncovered enough to show what was really going on at Armstrong House during that period and how there was an elaborate cover-up,” he said, as he got up. “I’ll go put the dinner on.”
Brian was sitting at the island in the kitchen with Kate as Nico served them dinner.
“Well – go on,” urged Brian. “What have you managed to find out for the film?”
“It’s all led to a bit of a dead end, I’m afraid, Brian,” said Kate.
Nico and Brian looked at Kate with surprise.
“But you said you’d uncovered lots of explosive evidence,” said Brian.
“I don’t think any of it is relevant to the film. I think we should stick to the official inquiry. Apart from revealing that the evicted tenant Joe McGrath was not responsible as he was about to dock in Ellis Island. I think he deserves to have his name cleared after all these years.”
Nico said nothing as he began to eat.
“So we continue to use the footage of Charles in the carriage?”
“Yes. As you suggested, Brian, we’ll just use a silent prop gun and dub it later,” said Kate.
Later Kate showed Brian to the front door.
“Thanks for a lovely evening and congratulations on the baby news again,” he said, kissing her cheek.
“Thanks, Brian,” she said and she waited at the door to wave him off. She closed the door and went into the drawing room where Nico was waiting for her.
“What was all that about?” questioned Nico. “Why didn’t you tell him everything we’ve learned?”
She joined him on the couch and nestled up to him. “You know, maybe there’s something in that expression ‘Let sleeping dogs lie’. Lady Margaret and the family obviously thought they had very good reasons to cover up that night. The trouble is although we can have a good guess, only they ever knew what did happen. And by producing all our evidence we’re fingering a lot of people with the blame, when really only one person did shoot Charles.”
“I see.” Nico was very surprised at his wife’s change of heart.
“And you know this child of ours is Charles and Arabella’s great-great-grandchild. And in a hundred years’ time maybe our ancestors will live here and maybe we wouldn’t like them exposing our lives.”
“I thought you wouldn’t mind that in the least,” he said.
“Well, I suppose I wouldn’t. But I know you wouldn’t like it, and maybe our child would hate it,” said Kate. “I guess we have to think of the family name.”
He grinned at her. “Spoken like a true Armstrong.”
“Maybe I am one, at last,” she said.
Nico walked into the drawing room and found Kate on the laptop at the bureau there.
“I’m looking forward to when the filming is over and we get our house back and our normal lives,” he said.
“Only a few weeks left now before they’re gone. But I don’t think our lives will ever be back to what we considered normal, not with the baby on the way,” she said happily.
“True. What were you up to?” he asked as she turned off the computer and came and joined him on the couch.
“I was just trying to find out what happened to everyone whose names came up with the shooting. Looking up censuses and old newspaper articles again.”
“And what did you find?” he asked.
“The Lord Chief Justice of Ireland called for an inquiry into the shooting. The government was desperate to finally stop the rural agitation in Ireland. Lady Margaret and the rest all testified at that inquiry which is what we worked from for the documentary. That Armstrong inquiry recommended even further action by the government to settle the Irish land problem for good. The government introduced another and final Land Act in 1909, which ensured the compulsory selling of estates in Ireland to their tenants. This final act saw the ending of the last of the great estates in Ireland. The great Armstrong estate was no more – all that was left was the house here and some land.”
“And what of the family?” asked Nico.
“Charles’ brother James moved to England and lived on his brother-in-law the Duke of Battington’s estate, which he managed for him. I saw on the peerage website he eventually married a cousin of the Duke.”
“And Harrison and Victoria?” said Nico.
“They moved back to America where they were a society couple. They had two daughters, one born in 1906 and another in 1908. Strangely, they called their first daughter Arabella.”
“Go on,” he urged.
“Emily lived at Hunter’s Farm for a number of years with her mother Margaret who died in 1909. Emily’s husband Hugh Fitzroy was killed in suspicious circumstances in 1912. The bulk of his money was left to his estranged wife Emily. She joined the Suffragette movement and became a leading voice in it. She then nursed at the front in the First World War and became a well-known travel writer after the war.”
“Anything further on Charles and Arabella?”
“Only what we knew. He never recovered from the shooting and died three years later.”
Nico picked up a photo of Charles and Arabella with their children. “And Arabella lasted only a few years after him.”
Kate took the photograph and looked at the family in happier times.
“And that just leaves Prudence and Pierce,” Nico said.
“Yes,” Kate smiled. “But that’s another story.”
THE END