by Joan Smith
“I couldn’t even tell you if they were Englishmen. They never said a word. But I’ll tell you one thing, Mr. Pattle. They were professionals. They carried the thing off like clockwork. Aye, and I’ll tell you something else, they had information from someone inside the house. They knew extra guards were coming on at three, or they’d have struck later. They’d come and gone before the extra guards arrived.”
“That’ll want looking into. I daresay Miss Lipman told Corbett. Now there’s a point. Did she know?”
“She easily could have learned it from the footmen if she wasn’t told by Lady Luten. She spends a deal of time in that library and she’s a chatterer.”
“What I’m wondering, Black, is how they got into the garden without Jack seeing or hearing them. It’s hedged pretty well all around, barring that bit on one side with the little gate that leads to the street.”
“That’d be how they got in and out all right. One or two of them scrambled over the gate while Jack was at t’other end of the garden, nipped around and hid behind the bushes, knocked us out, moved the barriers we’d set up and hauled the goods right out the gate. But how did they spirit the goods away? It’d mean leaving a wagon on the street in front of the house. You’d think Evans would have noticed that.”
“We’ll ask him. We’d best get over there and look for clues,” Coffen said, picking up a piece of toast and rising from the table. Coffen loved a clue, something left behind by the perpetrator to betray his identity or give a hint as to how the foul deed had been done.
When asked, Evans assured them that no wagon had been parked anywhere near the house. Not before he retired at any rate.”
“And you were up till three to let Paddy in,” Black said.
“I may have dozed a little in my room downstairs,” Evans admitted. “It’s a long day, from seven to three in the morning. But I’m pretty sure I would have heard if a wagon had pulled up outside.”
Black, his feelings for Evans softened by the kind treatment last night, said, “No one’s blaming you, Evans. I’m sure I’d have done the same. And you’re right. The sound of wheels and horses would have roused you. It’s like a new mother can hear the least whimper from her baby when she’s asleep. The ears are attuned to the sounds of your duty. It often happened that way with me when I was with her ladyship. Waiting up for her, you know, and drowsing, but wide awake the instant I heard her carriage.”
“Kind of you to say so, Black. I really don’t think any carriage was there last night at all,” Evans said.
Coffen and Black went next to the library, where Lady Luten and Luten stood, looking about in shock and sorrow and anger. It was the moment Black had been dreading worse than having a tooth drawn, to admit his failure to her.
“Milady,” he said with his hand over his heart, as if about to make a request for her hand. “What can I say? You put your trust in me and I’ve failed you.”
She gave him a small, forgiving smile. “You did your best, Black. No one can do more than that. What we must do now is try to recover the goods before the auction.”
“I suggested calling in Townsend,” Luten said. “He’s thorough but his system takes time. Besides, my wife doesn’t want the scandal. If we call in Bow Street, the story is bound to get out. What we must decide is our next step.”
“Me and Mr. Pattle were wondering how they got into the yard,” Black said. “There’s that gate in the hedge that leads out to the front. But the goods had to be hauled away as well. Evans says there was no wagon parked in the street before midnight, when he retired to his room by the door. He’d still have heard if one arrived. But it stands to reason they got the goods away by wagon. The wagon came and went between midnight and three a.m.”
“Yes, it must have been parked nearby,” Luten said. “Perhaps around the corner. We’ll ask the neighbours.”
“Won’t that tell them we’ve been robbed?” Corinne said.
After a frowning pause, Luten said, “They would have used something like a tranter’s wagon, I fancy. We shall say we ordered one to remove some spare furnishings to Southcote Abbey. We do have extra furnishings from your house in the attic, Corinne, and what more natural that we should have them taken to the country estate?”
“But in the middle of the night?”
“Certainly. There were some valuable paintings and — er, objects d’art in the lot, and we wanted to move them under cover of darkness. The wagon hasn’t arrived, and we were curious whether it couldn’t find the house, or had broken down. Late at night no one would wait and watch to see what was happening at the carriage. They’d assume it had broken down. Someone might have just seen it. I’ll send a couple of footmen out to knock on doors.”
“It would mean they carried the goods down past two houses and around the corner to the wagon by hand,” Black said, “though now I come to think of it, it sounded like five or six men scampering about, and most of the goods weren’t that heavy. Dishes and statues and pictures and what not. That big silver item that Miss Lipman had Corbett carry for her was the heaviest thing, and one man could carry it.”
“But even if we hear someone did see a wagon, what good does that do?” Corinne asked.
“Well,” Luten said uncertainly, “not much, but at least we’ll know how it was done. We might make enquiries and discover who rented a wagon and team yesterday.”
“If they did rent it, and don’t own it,” she said. “Sorry to be so negative. I just feel we should be doing something more active. Someone should go and see if Corbett has vanished. I shouldn’t be the least surprised if he has.” Luten had told her what Black discovered at his cottage.
“He’s being watched. He hasn’t left,” Luten assured her. “And Black doesn’t think he will. Why point the finger at himself when he has no reason to think we suspect him? It’s nearly time for Prance and his crew to arrive. If Corbett doesn’t come, we’ll go to his house. Who else we should talk to is Miss Lipman. She and Corbett were pretty friendly.”
“Miss Lipman will have to know about the robbery,” Corinne said, “and there isn’t a chance that chatterbox will keep quiet. I’d like to be rid of her, but that would look odd, I daresay.”
“Is there any job you could give her that would get her away from the house for a few days?” Luten suggested. “Perhaps send her to Elgin Hall?”
“No, some other organization is there today. I can’t think of anything. I could keep her out of the library, set her to writing thank you notes in my little parlour, but with all the servants talking of nothing but the robbery, she’s bound to hear of it. Have you told the servants not to speak of this outside the house?”
“Evans has put the fear of the lord into them. Threatened to turn them off without a character if they talk.”
“Let them know they’re not to mention it in front of Miss Lipman in particular, and I’ll keep her busy writing notes.”
A brace of footmen were sent to make queries of the neighbours living around either corner. Coffen could wait no longer to get into the garden to search for clues. When Prance arrived a quarter of an hour before his cast to see to the requirements of the day’s rehearsal, he was met by Luten and asked to go to the library, where he was informed what had occurred.
When he had assimilated the shock, his first words were, “I hope you don’t think my people had anything to do with it.”
“That is exactly what we do think,” Luten said, and told him what Black and Coffen had discovered at Corbett’s house.
“Pictures in a book,” Prance scoffed. “That doesn’t mean anything. He’s interested in art. Being involved in something like this would ruin his career, and he’s a very promising actor. Let me talk to him.”
“We’ll all talk to him,” Corinne said firmly. She was annoyed with Prance. She always knew he was selfish, but he hadn’t said a single word to show that he was sorry for their trouble, or a query as to whether anyone was hurt. “And furthermore, we no longer want the rehearsals held here. You can
hire a hall or have them at your own house.”
Prance sniffed and looked out the window. “Very well. I shall do as you say, but you have no call to blame me because you didn’t take proper precautions to guard the goods you were responsible for. I shall go and inform Evans to have Vance sent here to the library, and Chloe and Sean sent to my house to wait for us.”
It was not long before Vance was tapping at the library door. He came in, looked uncertainly at the group regarding him with stern, suspicious faces, looked about at the empty tables, then turned to Prance and said, “You wanted a word with me, Reg?”
“Lord Luten wishes a word with you. And before they begin harassing you, I want to make perfectly clear I disagree with every word they say.”
Corbett, the very picture of confusion and concern, was soon informed of the facts. His first outburst of anger that his home had been searched without his knowledge turned to fear when he learned he was suspected of being involved in the robbery.
“But I know nothing about it!” he said. “I’m an actor, what would I be doing associating with common thieves? You only suspect me because I picked up that T’ang horse and admired it. I admire many of the artworks in this house. I recognized some of them from that art book you saw on my sofa table, and looked them up when I got home. I marked the places in the book so I could read about them, study them. I’m trying to educate myself. You can’t blame a man for that. I don’t want to live in squalor forever. I can’t afford better at the moment, but I’ve tried to improve the place with little touches when I can afford it. You certainly didn’t find any stolen items in my house.”
It was a fine rant. If they had not been hearing for days what a great actor Corbett was, they would have been convinced of his sincerity. “I was with Sir Reginald last night. Tell them, Reg,” he concluded.
“They know that,” Reg said, and didn’t reveal by so much as a blink that he had made sure Corbett wasn’t at home, to facilitate the search of his house.
“We didn’t say you did the job yourself,” Luten said. “What we are trying to discover is if you are in league with a gang of thieves.”
“Well I’m not!” Vance said angrily. “And you won’t prove I am because I scarcely know what you’re talking about. How could anyone get all those things out of here with the precautions you’re taking?”
“Miss Lipman, I believe, informed you of the precautions when she brought you in here?”
“What of it? It was interesting. I thought myself it would be impossible to get in unnoticed. I still can’t see how it happened.”
Prance arose and said haughtily, “Mr. Corbett has given his explanation. Do you have any further questions for him, or may we now go to my house and resume our rehearsals?”
The accusers exchanged a questioning look, more than half convinced Corbett was innocent.
“Don’t fear he will run away,” Prance said, with his nose in the air. “It was pretty well settled last night that Mr. Corbett will play the lead when we open on Drury Lane. Come along, Vance. We’re finished here.” He left in high dudgeon, with an unhappy Corbett at his heels.
Luten looked around. “Well, now what?” he asked. “Do we believe Corbett?”
“He didn’t know he had a good shot at that role at Drury Lane till last night,” Black said. “It’d be too late to pull out of the deal with the gang then. All he could do is brazen it out, which he did, in fine style.”
“You notice Prance charged us with not taking proper care,” Luten said. “The best defence is offence. I’ll have Corbett watched till we learn more.”
“In any case, I don’t think he’ll peel off,” Coffen said. “I’m going out to look for clues. Let me know if the footmen find out anything about the carriage.” He picked up his hat and went into the garden.
“I’ll hustle Miss Lipman into the little parlour,” Corinne said, and left.
Luten turned to Black. “You mentioned some fellow called Nappy who knew about the gangs who rob houses. Any point having another word with him?”
“I was just about to suggest it. There’s one other thing. It looks like the gang had inside information and if not Corbett, then who? I know you trust your own servants. Is it possible that Chloe girl or Sean might have ferreted out what goes on here?”
Luten considered this idea for a moment with some interest. “My wife tells me Chloe has struck up a mighty friendship with Mrs. Ballard. She’s been up to Mrs. Ballard’s room on the pretext of seeing some mementos of the late vicar. Mrs. Ballard asked if she might give Chloe a tour of the house. It seems she’s always admiring it. Corinne said she could do it after the auction. I’ll ask Corinne to talk to Mrs. Ballard. She’d freeze up on me. She’s afraid of me.”
Luten went to speak to his wife and Black went out to join Coffen in the search for clues.
* * *
Chapter 13
Black found Coffen searching the ground behind the bushes. “This is where they hid before they leapt out at you right enough,” Coffen said, pointing to the trodden bed of weeds and grass behind the bushes. “And they busted the lock on the little gate and moved the barrier aside as you said. You can see the trampled grass where they took the goods out the gate. I can’t find a single real clue. The only thing they left behind is the tramped down grass. Once out of the yard, they didn’t even leave that. There’s no way to tell which direction they took.”
“It confirms what we already know, but don’t tell us anything new,” Black said.
Coffen did find one other clue that morning, but it wasn’t much help. A crystal fallen from a chandelier told them the thieves had turned left when they left the back garden. One of the footmen got confirmation of this. A wagon had been seen parked around that corner at approximately two o’clock that morning when Lord Heskitt was returning from his night’s revels. Unfortunately he had been three sheets to the wind and couldn’t tell them a thing about the wagon except that it had been there.
In a fever of worry, the only thing Corinne could think that might help solve the case was to find out more about Miss Lipman. With this end in view, she went to call on Lady Cowper. She found the beauty about to leave the house. As Lady Cowper seemed secretive about where she was going, Corinne thought perhaps it was to keep a tryst with her lover, Lord Palmerston.
“Corinne, lovely to see you. How is the collection going? You must have most of the goods in your possession by now.”
“Yes, just one picture and of course Lady Clare’s diamonds, still to come in.”
“And how is Miss Lipman working out? She’s a wonder, is she not?”
“A great help. How did you come to take her in?”
“I believe I mentioned her mama and mine were great friends. When Mama read of Mrs. Lipman’s death, she wrote Charlotte and invited her for a visit, which stretched to months till she could make some permanent arrangement, the one we all hoped for being a husband. It seems partis are scarce in Bath.”
“How long ago was that?”
“It must be two years now. Charlotte is one of those handy helpers to have around. Very good with writing letters and keeping track of appointments, and presentable enough to fill in for dinner at the last moment if someone can’t make it.”
“Was she still staying with Lady Melbourne when you sent her to me?”
“No, she came into a little money from an aunt and took rooms with the Sheltons. She hoped to land the son, of course, but nothing seems to be coming of it, so we keep finding work for her. It provides a little extra pin money, you know. She’ll surely nab someone before long. If she doesn’t won’t be for lack of trying. Any chance Sir Reginald or Coffen Pattle ...”
“As you said, it won’t be for lack of trying. Actually she seems more interested in a young actor friend of Reg’s, Vance Corbett.”‘
“An actor! Oh my,” Lady Cowper said, laughing. “Truth to tell, Charlotte is not overly nice in her friends. Mama had to speak to her about a certain Mr. Fell she was seeing.”
“The very same.”
“How could she have met someone like that?”
“Some friend took her there one night. Charlotte is nearly thirty, you know, and one cannot treat her quite like a child. Nor quite like a servant, as her folks were genteel. She’s really a very nice girl, it’s just that she’s afraid of becoming an ape leader and will take up with anyone who owns a decent jacket.”
“But she is reliable, honest?”
“Mama never felt it necessary to count the spoons. Why, is something missing?”
“Oh no!” Corinne said quickly. She couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for Miss Lipman, shuttled from pillar to post, and didn’t want to harm her character if she was innocent. “It is just that with so many valuables about the house I am checking up on everyone.”
“Very wise. I see we made the right choice in appointing you to guard all the precious valuables. No one would dare to steal anything from the Berkeley Brigade,” she said with a laugh. “Such a lot of work for you, but I’m sure Charlotte is a great help. Quite a whiz with sums as well. When you’re through with her Mrs. Middleton is eager to borrow her to keep track of the accounts — money from the sale of tickets, expenses, and so on.”
“Actually since the donations are pretty well all collected, I could let her have Charlotte now.”
“That’s wonderful! Mrs. Middleton’s nephew is paying her a visit. Only a country squire and one of those chinless fellows, but with five thousand a year he would do admirably for Charlotte. He plans to attend the ball and hasn’t invited anyone yet. I do hope Charlotte hasn’t already invited her actor friend. Do send her along to Mrs. Middleton if you’re sure you can handle the rest of the paperwork.” She picked up her gloves and darted a glance at a head and shoulders clock in the corner
“I see I’m keeping you from an appointment. I must be off as well.”
They parted, neither one completely happy with the meeting, though Corinne was delighted to be rid of Miss Lipman. Lady Cowper had hoped to get the girl palmed off on Coffen Pattle. Charlotte was becoming not only a bore but a nuisance. Gamblers and actors — what next?