The Mystery of Ruby's Sugar (Ruby Dove Mysteries Book 1)

by Rose Donovan

  “You see, there was something odd about the story of Lady Sykes-Duckworth’s death. The suddenness of it – the inexplicable nature of it. What if someone had murdered her, all those years ago? Her husband? Possibly, though it seemed hardly to fit the nature of the current crime. What about the two other adults in the household? Lady or Lord Snittlegarth? Again, it seemed hardly relevant to the current crime. What if Edgar’s reference to ‘I know what you did’ was an accusation of Granville himself? After all, as the oldest child at age eleven, it seemed quite plausible. Especially as we knew that there was a major event to take place around the time of her death – Granville being sent to boarding school. Lord and Lady Snittlegarth – do you remember him being upset by this change?”

  The Earl and Countess exchanged furtive glances. The Earl spoke quietly. “Yes, he was unreasonably upset by it. Of course it’s normal not to want to leave, but he took it too far. Was unfortunately a mark of his character in general.”

  “Yes, it was an early mark of his character most certainly. Am I right in my supposition that Granville killed his mother in a fit of rage?” asked Ruby.

  Again, the Earl spoke quietly. “Yes… yes, he did. Put rat poison in her tea. At the time, we all said it was due to some cherries she ate. But that wasn’t the truth. Granville told us he was so cross with her that he just wanted to make her ill – not kill her. Henry, myself and Alma all knew what had happened. Henry was aggrieved and so disgusted with his children that he completely withdrew by throwing himself into his work. I’m not sure why, but Alma and I felt responsible. Not so much for Granville, but for Charlotte and Edgar. They were the unfortunate victims of this entire affair. Neither of them knew what had happened.”

  “You fool!” screeched the Countess, hitting her husband, sobbing. “She was merely guessing! Why did you tell her?”

  Charlotte gently clutched her aunt and lifted her back into her spot on the couch. The Earl looked sheepish, but also relieved, thought Fina.

  “I’m so sorry, m’dear, but it would have come out anyway. Now that Granville is dead, I had to unburden myself. I could not bear the strain any longer,” said the Earl, shaking his head.

  “Yes, it was wise, Lord Snittlegarth. The locket, the attack on Edgar and finally the sighting of this supposed madman on the loose in Pauncefort Hall by Lady Snittlegarth and Lady Charlotte all pointed in the direction of Edgar as the killer. By process of elimination, we knew that it was likely that the locket was attached to Lady Charlotte, Lady Snittlegarth, or Julia. When we found out the name of Granville’s mother was Catherine, especially given the antique style of the piece, it seemed possible that it might have been her own locket. Is that correct, Lady Snittlegarth?”

  The Countess pursed her lips and nodded.

  “That means that this locket was somehow a signal about Lady Sykes-Duckworth’s death. My guess is that Edgar found out – very recently – that his brother had murdered their mother. Perhaps you can enlighten us, Lady Charlotte.”

  She looked like a broken woman, thought Fina. Her shoulders slumped, and she was hunched over, almost doubled over.

  “The last time Father came home, I overheard a conversation between him and Auntie Alma – I mean, Lady Snittlegarth,” said Charlotte. “They were discussing the terms of his will. When I say it was a conversation, I should say it was an argument. Their voices were raised, which is why I heard it – I am not usually in the habit of listening at doors. My father wanted to make Granville the sole heir, and he also wanted to make him head of the company. My auntie was vehemently opposed; in fact, she was quite shocked by the suggestion. She blurted out something to the effect of ‘Why would you leave everything to a murderer?’. From the rest of the conversation I could make out that what they were discussing was the murder of my mother. I was completely on the side of my auntie, obviously, and could not understand why in heaven’s name Father would leave everything to Granville – especially because he had so obviously despised him when we were growing up. My father said that Granville had showed promise of late in terms of politics and management – little did he know that the family had been covering for him in various ways, as always. He thought it would make something out of him, that he had turned a corner. I suppose my father might also have felt guilty about turning his back on Granville when all this had happened. Whatever the reason, that is how I found out about what happened to my mother.”

  Curiously gaining strength from her tale, Charlotte straightened up a bit. “I was wild with rage. I didn’t know how to confront Granville about it. I began wearing my mother’s locket every day, in a visible way. I wanted to see how he would react. The first time he saw me in it he looked frightened. Then, with each passing day that I wore it around my neck, he grew increasingly enraged. Finally, he confronted me about it. He asked me why I was suddenly wearing it each day so openly. I was so angry at that moment that I said, ‘You of all people should know why’. Then he tore the necklace from my neck – that’s why the chain was broken. After Granville had stomped away with the necklace, Edgar came upon me to find me crying uncontrollably. My hair was dishevelled – quite out of character for me.”

  Edgar said quietly, “Yes, it looked like you had been in quite a dust-up, old girl.”

  Charlotte smiled wanly. “You see, the family had always been overprotective of Edgar and myself. It all made sense now. I felt I had to tell him. I couldn’t hold it in any longer, especially because I knew how close our mother had been to Edgar as the baby of the family.”

  Fina asked, “When did you tell him?”

  “She told me last weekend,” said Edgar. “I suppose in my mind – subconsciously at least – I knew I was going to harm him. I had to have r–r–revenge. It wasn’t just the murder of my mother, you see, though that certainly would have been enough. Granville had always treated me badly. The fact that the family was protective of me only seemed to encourage him to mock me. This was the last straw. When you mentioned the poison that night, Ruby, it prompted me to act. You’re not responsible, though. I–I–I just thought that I would see what happened. I didn’t know how fast the poison would act, or even if he would die. I knew that he would feel pain, one way or another. When he died, I h–h–hoped that everyone would take it as an accident – or perhaps even suicide, though I hadn’t thought that far ahead to plan anything.”

  “How did you do it?” asked Julia.

  Edgar had nearly folded in on himself – shrinking with shame, thought Fina. “I dashed up to Ruby’s room after dinner and put the poison in my pocket. At that point, I wasn’t sure if I could go through with it – but it seemed like some sort of sign that you had announced you had a poisonous substance with you, Miss Dove.”

  Ruby remained motionless.

  “Then after I confronted my brother in the study, I went up to his bathroom and slipped the poison into his tooth powder tin and on his toothbrush. When Miss Dove and Miss Aubrey-Havelock saw me leaving the study that night, I appeared quite drunk. Though I’d had quite a bit to drink, I exaggerated how drunk I had been, just in case I happened across someone as I was executing my plan.”

  Some loose end was bothering Fina. Then she remembered. “There are two things I don’t understand. One is a thud Ruby and I heard after Granville had gone upstairs and the other was the damp rug in the study.”

  “What thud?” asked Ian. “I didn’t hear anything.” Nods of agreement went around the circle.

  “It’s possible none of you heard it because Fina and I were on the ground floor,” explained Ruby.

  “Yes, I think I can explain, Miss Aubrey-Havelock. You see, after I had put the poison in the bathroom – and after Granville went to bed, I went a little mad. I immediately regretted what I had done, but I had no way of knowing if he had actually died. I came back downstairs to get a drink to steady my nerves. I returned to the study. I just paced back and forth in front of the fire, picturing what was happening to Granville. I panicked. For another mad moment, I thought I co
uld just escape – Pauncefort and the murder. I opened the French doors – yes, I was unhinged at this point – and a small avalanche of snow cascaded into the study. That must have been the sound you heard. I was able to clear it enough away from the doors to close them, but was left with a large snow pile on the rug near the doors.”

  Cyril asked, “Why did you kill Leslie?”

  Edgar just stared at his hands.

  “I will hazard a guess,” said Ruby. “Fina and I both sensed that Granville and Leslie were lovers. The inordinate grief-stricken response of Leslie after Granville’s death seemed to confirm that supposition. I think Granville had confided in Leslie about killing his mother and the most recent fallout from the crime. He knew Edgar had begun to ferret out the truth. Leslie must have confronted Edgar about it. Edgar panicked and killed him – killed him the same way that he had killed his brother. It was risky, but he probably felt he had no other option.”

  Edgar nodded his head, now looking up at Ruby. “Yes… Leslie burst in on me that morning in my bedroom. H–h–he had found the locket in Granville’s room and said it was proof of my crime. He said that he was going to keep it and then turn me in once the police arrived. I panicked. I know nothing about how to murder people, so I just used the same method that had worked before. I am s–s–sorry about hitting you on the head, Fina, but I did have to keep a close eye on the bathroom to make sure no one found out. I watched you take the toothbrush, and I knew I couldn’t let you hand it over to the police, so I had to… to…” He bowed his head miserably.

  Fina gulped, but did not move her eyes from Edgar.

  “And you must have been the one to hide the poison – in plain sight – in my room,” said Ian.

  Edgar nodded.

  The Countess interjected. “Dear Edgar is distressed, Miss Dove, and doesn’t know what he is saying. You’ve got the poor child all in a state of terrible confusion. How could he have committed these crimes and then hit himself on the head? And what about the madman that Charlotte saw and the one who tried to enter my room last night to kill me?”

  Ruby smiled. “Your attempt at protecting your family is admirable, Countess, but futile. At some point during the last few days, you and Lady Charlotte must have realized what had happened. You were afraid for Edgar and wanted to protect him – as you always have. Thus you concocted this cock-and-bull story and orchestrated the attack on Edgar.”

  She turned to Charlotte. “You hit Edgar on the head – though he did not know it – for his own protection. Edgar could not have possibly hit himself on the head, so you knew suspicion would be diverted elsewhere. You also fabricated that story about seeing the madman in the corridor after your aunt so helpfully introduced it into our heads. You also searched for the Bluegate papers in the study, knowing that it created motives for the murder that focused on the family.”

  Ruby then turned to the Countess. “As for the Countess’ intruder, that was simply a clever trick by the Countess herself. I suspected as much and had my suspicions confirmed when I matched the green thread with the suit of the same textile I recognized in her wardrobe.”

  Charlotte let out a long, deep sigh. It was a sigh of relief, thought Fina. “Yes, you are correct, Ruby. Though my auntie and I dared not discuss it, we both sensed the same point – that Edgar had killed Granville. We played off one another quite nicely, I thought. Suspicion was diverted.”

  “Yes, it was a valiant effort. I think the madman story was a bit much, though. I can understand why you felt it necessary, however, as neither of you wanted to implicate any of the guests when the police arrived,” said Ruby.

  The Earl had his face buried in his hands. He looked up and said, “What do we do now? You said you had some sort of proposal?”

  Edgar, who now resembled marble in colour and posture alike, rejoined, “Need it – need it involve…” He stopped short.

  “Yes, I know. I think we all want to avoid a death sentence, Edgar. I shall explain. Fina and I first met and bonded over the trial and subsequent execution of her brother. We are both committed anti-prison and anti-death sentence advocates. We do not believe this solves any problems – it only creates more violence. That is why we are here this weekend, ultimately. We do not want any more deaths in St Kitts because of Lavington’s plantation. We know that Edgar will suffer quite enough in his conscience.” She looked benevolently down at Edgar’s trembling frame.

  “As for the family, we propose that once Lord Malvern passes away, you all immediately divest of all of your holdings overseas. I do not mean you should sell them to another rapacious business person, but rather that you should either close them entirely, or more preferably, turn it over to local control on the island. You shall make no profit from this scheme.”

  “Thank God. I didn’t want to run that bloody company anyway,” mumbled Edgar.

  Ruby continued on as if Edgar hadn’t spoken. “You will also turn over all relevant papers regarding the massacre in St Kitts, and any similar documentation about Nowgong, to the Badarur sisters. You will tell no one, quite obviously, your reasons for doing so. In exchange, no one here, including myself, shall ever divulge what we know of Edgar, Charlotte and the Countess’ part in these crimes. It is in the best interest of all here that you do so.”

  Cyril – ever the irritating guest, thought Fina – spoke up. “But why should we – the other guests – keep quiet?”

  Ruby’s eyes flashed in anger. “Because if you do not, you may easily find yourself in the dock, Professor Lighton. That goes for everyone here. If anyone dares to violate this agreement, you may find yourself at the centre of a police enquiry. Fina and I know, from first-hand experience, what can happen to the innocent just as much as the guilty. Besides that, do you really want to be caught up in such a scandal? As for the family, scandal is the least of your problems, especially as your social circles may change depending on your luck in the world of actual work and employment.”

  A deathly-pale Charlotte whispered, “This will ruin the family. It will ruin me. There is no way we can agree to this, Ruby.”

  Edgar looked at his sister and said, “I know, Charlotte. But think of it. It’s that or the gallows for me.”

  Turning to Ruby, he asked, “What would we actually tell the police if we were to follow your plan?”

  “I am not pleased with the pain this will cause Leslie Dashwood’s family, but I suggest the following. We tell the police that Leslie confessed to us that he killed Granville over a love triangle.”

  “What love triangle do you suggest, Ruby?” asked Ian.

  Ruby smiled. “If Julia is amenable, the story runs as follows. Julia had a dalliance with Granville, though she was seeing Leslie. Leslie found out about the affair and killed Granville in a jealous rage. In a fit of remorse over killing his best friend and political affiliate, he then committed suicide. Or at least that is what we all believe, since he confessed but did not leave a suicide note. I suggest Julia for the role because I believe whatever does get out at the inquest to the newspapers will be publicity for her career. What do you say to this, Julia?”

  She sighed, twisted her mouth in thought, and then looked at Ian. He sagely nodded his head. Julia let out a puff of air in exhalation. “I’ll do it,” she said. “Especially if it gets Edgar out of the dock. As far as I’m concerned, Leslie deserved everything he got.”

  The Countess looked every inch the fighter now. “Miss Dove, I am grateful for your proposal, but you can quite understand how the conditions are ones that must be discussed in a family conference, which I believe we should have in private.”

  Ruby shook her head. “I’m afraid not, Lady Snittlegarth. How do we have any assurances that the family won’t conspire against us with another concocted story to the police that will implicate one or more of your guests – most likely Fina and myself? The police are due to arrive any minute.”

  As if on cue, Grimston stepped forward and said, “Miss Dove is correct. Inspector Dolton from the local constab
ulary rang up ten minutes ago – now that the phone lines have been restored and Lord Snittlegarth had placed the call this morning. They said they would arrive in approximately twenty minutes.”

  Fina said quietly to the family, “I know you are all in a state of exhaustion and shock, but Ruby’s proposal saves Edgar’s life, and also saves the Countess and Lady Charlotte from disgrace and possible prison sentences. It is a gift from above. I suggest you agree.”

  A murmur of agreement arose from the other guests, whispering and urging voices, coaxing members of the family to agree to Ruby’s terms. Looking around at one another, the Countess, Earl and Lady Charlotte began to nod at one another. Edgar sat quite still, staring ahead, waiting for his sentence to be pronounced by his family. Charlotte leaned over and squeezed her brother’s shoulders. She put her head down on his shoulder and whispered, “It’s going to be all right, Eddie… we’ll take care of you.”

  It was not a moment too soon, thought Fina.

  They could hear footsteps approaching, insistent and urgent.

  More Ruby Dove Mysteries

  The Mystery of Ruby’s Port

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