by Anne Morice
(2)
‘Too late!’ Robin told me, when I joined him half an hour later in the dining room. ‘The visitor has departed.’
‘I know, I saw him go while I was doing my face, so there was no point in hurrying. What was it all about, do you know?’
‘No, most disappointing. No one has been dragged away in handcuffs, not even Lupus, unfortunately, and all the management and staff appear to be present, if not entirely correct. Presumably, he simply came to verify that Mr God was here while his house was being burnt down, though why that should be necessary I am unable to tell you. This is real coffee, by the way, it hasn’t come out of a bag.’
‘Does anyone know when the fire started?’
‘It must have been during the time we were undergoing that painful session in the bar. It had got a real hold by the time the party arrived home just after two.’
‘Hadn’t anyone reported it?’
‘No, but that’s not so surprising. The house stands in its own extensive grounds, as the estate agents are fond of saying, although one wouldn’t expect it to be standing in someone else’s grounds, and the nearest building is a farmhouse, about two miles away.’
‘No indoor staff?’
‘Not at present. According to Louisa, there’s normally a married couple who live in a flat over the garage, but one of their offspring has been lying at death’s door in Portugal and they weren’t due back until today.’
‘Perhaps the police suspect arson and it was the Fellowes they came to see this morning? You know, looking for similarities between their fire and this one. Although it’s hard to see what they could have to tell, seeing they were both out of the country when it happened.’
A few minutes later Avril answered some of these questions herself, having first appeared in the doorway, surveying the scene, before walking over to our table.
‘Oh, please don’t get up!’ she begged, putting a hand on Robin’s shoulder, presumably to make it plain that she was the kind of woman for whom men did get up, even when heavily engaged in eating fried eggs. ‘What a perfectly sickening day, isn’t it?’
‘Awful! Tessa and I had overlooked the possibility that it might rain on our holiday. We’ve been wondering how to adapt to it. Will you have some coffee? Toby isn’t down yet, so there’s plenty in the pot.’
‘Thank you, no. I’ve had my ration for this morning. Yes, it must be dreadfully disheartening for you. There’s a National Trust place not far from here, which you might find worth a visit. At least, you’d be under cover.’
‘What is there to see there?’
‘Oh, just some rather beautifully preserved old barns, which have been turned into a kind of rustic museum. You know the kind of thing, I’m sure? Wooden ploughs and curious shaped lumps of flint, which one couldn’t imagine having any useful function. But the barns are superb. They used to be part of the Poltdean estate, which Denzil Godstow now owns, curiously enough, but he very generously handed them over to the Trust. They’re some way from the house, so they won’t have been affected by the fire, and many people do seem to find them interesting.’
‘Is that how you intend to spend the morning?’ I asked.
‘Oh no, Charles and I have something much more exciting in prospect. At least, we hope it will be. That’s why I really wanted a word with your husband, if he can spare a moment?’
‘With pleasure!’ he assured her. ‘Any diversion is most welcome.’
‘We’ve had some amazing news, you see. We still feel there must be some mistake, which is why I was hoping for an expert opinion. We’ve just had a visit from one of the local bobbies and we can’t make it out at all.’
‘He brought you some news?’
‘Yes, indeed! I’m sure you remember my telling you about our own fire? Nothing on the scale of last night’s,, of course, but even so, we lost all our possessions. Some of the outside walls are still intact, but the inside was practically gutted. That’s why it took so long to raise the alarm.’
‘Yes, it can do a lot of damage, if there’s no one at home to smell burning. It was caused by some fault in the wiring, I think you said?’
‘That’s what they believe. It started in the linen cupboard, of all extraordinary places. If it’s true, I’m afraid we have only ourselves to blame. Some of the wiring really was rather old-fashioned and it was silly of us not to have had it seen to, but one tends to put off these things and we were planning to put the house on the market, in any case. It hardly seemed the moment to spend vast sums on inessentials. Neither of our boys, or perhaps I should say our daughters-in-law, had any desire to live there and it was becoming quite impractical to keep it going through the winter. Ironically enough, one of the major expenses was all that electricity burning away, but of course one saw that as a necessary investment.’
‘I suppose you had at least moved out all your valuable possessions, though, hadn’t you? Either taken them with you, or put them in store?’
‘No, Mr Price, foolish as it must sound to you, we hadn’t done either of those things. The silver, of course, and some of my jewellery were in the bank; but most of the rest, furniture, pictures, rugs and so forth, had been left just as they were. You may be surprised to hear this, but so few people seem to possess any imagination when it comes to buying a house. They see stark, empty rooms and they simply cannot visualise how they can be made to look when they are furnished.’
Contrary to her expectations, this news came as no surprise to either of us and Robin said:
‘I am afraid we have led you away from the point. Didn’t you say you had had some news?’
‘I did, because it now appears that not all the contents were destroyed, after all.’
‘You mean they have turned up alive and well and living somewhere else?’
‘Oh, Mr Price, how quick you are! I should hate to be a criminal at your mercy. But I daresay you have known this kind of thing to happen before?’
‘Not quite in this way. Were you given any details?’
‘We were told that, contrary to what most people believe, a lot of stolen property is sometimes recovered and there have been two cases recently where some quite valuable stuff has been traced back to owners whose houses had been burnt down when they were away, just like ours. So it has become part of the routine to check both kinds of insurance claims, fire as well as theft, when valuable objects are found in suspicious circumstances. Then, if there’s any doubt about their origin, they are put on display at the police station and the public can go along and inspect them, if they wish to.’
‘So now they think they may have found some of your possessions, which suggests that the house may have been broken into and stripped of its valuables before it caught fire? In other words, that there wasn’t necessarily any connection between the two events?’
‘So it would appear. Charles is convinced we shall be wasting our time and I expect he is right, but I still think it would be worth while having a look, from curiosity, if nothing else.’
‘I don’t see how you could resist it,’ I told her, ‘and, anyway, if you are in luck, I don’t see why it should rule out any connection with the fire. Why couldn’t one of the burglars have thrown away a lighted cigarette, for instance?’
‘Several reasons,’ Robin told me, ‘one being that professional burglars have more urgent matters to deal with than to stand around chatting and smoking, particularly not in the linen cupboard. There is no possibility, on the other hand, I suppose, that anything could have been pinched from the wreck afterwards? It occurred to me that, if some of your belongings had been stored in the cellar, for instance, they might have escaped damage altogether.’
‘No, as I told you, everything was left out, just as though we were still living there. The whole object was to present a home-like effect for the prospective buyers.’
‘So that offers another field for speculation, doesn’t it? How about these prospective buyers? Who showed them round?’
‘It varied,
you know. The house could only be viewed by appointment, naturally. My husband’s firm had charge of the keys and sometimes one of our sons took the job on. But if people wanted to see the house at the weekend, which they very often did, there was another arrangement.’
‘Which was?’
‘They had to apply to Mrs Crawley. She was the woman who came in twice a week to dust and air and keep an eye on the place. It wasn’t an entirely satisfactory arrangement, because the poor old dear isn’t very bright, although no one could be more trustworthy and reliable. She worked for the family for years, until Charles retired. Besides, the vast majority of people who came with orders to view weren’t serious buyers at all and one could hardly expect Irene or the boys to sacrifice their weekend to provide them with free Sunday outings.’
‘Irene?’
‘Gayford. Late of Winthrop and Gayford. The two firms were amalgamated about two years ago. You met her last night.’
‘Oh, yes. And so, apart from Mrs Crawley, only those three people had access to the keys?’
‘In theory, yes. I suppose almost anyone in the office could have borrowed them, if they’d wanted to, but what difference would that make?’
‘None at all, I daresay. All I can tell you is that it is the kind of question that you are likely to be asked, if it should turn out that some of your possessions were removed before the fire started.’
‘Oh no, really? But how very unpleasant! You really mean there might be a suggestion that someone we know, one of the employees, could have been involved in a fraud of some kind?’
‘I’m only saying that is one line they may decide to pursue.’
‘Oh, dear, I don’t care for that idea at all. Really, Mr Price, you have spoilt all the fun. I had been so excited by the thought of seeing some of our treasures again, after all this time. Now I can only pray that Charles is right and they will turn out to be someone else’s treasures.’
‘I’m sorry to be depressing, but you did ask for my opinion.’
‘Oh yes, and you mustn’t take me seriously, you know. It was just that this has been rather a shock. I had better find Charles and warn him what we may be in for. Oh dear, what a bore it all is, and why does life have to be so complicated?’
‘The trouble with people who keep complaining about how bored they are is that they tend to become rather boring,’ I remarked.
‘Let it be a lesson to you!’
‘I’ll try to, although I do see that she has more justification than most. It must be intensely boring to have gone to all the trouble and expense of escaping to some tropical paradise, far from the web of crime and intrigue which seems to be so rife in Chissingfield, only to be hauled back into it again through no fault of your own.’
‘Unless,’ Robin replied, ‘they should happen to be two elderly spiders returning to the web to gobble up a few more flies.’
(3)
The reception post was fully manned for once. In fact, keeping up with a trend which I was coming to recognise as the hallmark of this establishment, it had veered towards the opposite extreme and become somewhat overmanned.
Verity was by the switchboard, speaking on the telephone, with Louisa at her side, monitoring the conversation, while Jake, with his back to us, was tapping out a rhythm with one hand and turning the pages of the Visitors’ Book with the other.
Louisa turned her head as we reached the foot of the staircase, then, muttering something to the other two, lifted the flap and came towards us, asking if she might have a word.
‘Oh, certainly, by all means,’ Robin replied without enthusiasm, and I guessed that he too was wondering why ‘a word’ in this context should inevitably mean an unpleasant one. No one ever asks for a word in order to tell you that you look gorgeous, or have won a Weekend for Two in the Christmas raffle.
‘Perhaps if we might pop up to your room for a second? I won’t keep you long, but I’m afraid we have a slight panic on our hands,’ Louisa explained, treading another well worn path. ‘Too bad your cousin had to dash away like that,’ she added as we trailed upstairs again.
‘Toby? You mean he’s left?’
‘Yes, but he mentioned something about coming back this evening, Verity tells me. Didn’t you know? I suppose the silly girl forgot to pass on the message. Sorry about that, but we’ve got rather a lot on at the moment.’
We had reached the door of Number Two by this time and she stood aside to allow me to go first. Entering the room, I let out a wild scream, as Lupus leapt off the bed and sprang towards me, all fangs bared.
‘Get out, you brute!’ she said, giving it a friendly cuff to speed it on its way, whereupon it changed in a flash from bully to coward and slunk out of the room.
‘No need to be scared,’ she assured me airily, ‘he’s perfectly harmless, if you know how to treat him.’
‘I am not in the least scared. Just faintly taken aback to find him occupying my bed, particularly as I understand he has already bitten a lump out of an electrician this morning.’
‘Silly clot! Stuck out his hand to stroke him. You should never do that to alsatians, it makes them nervous.’
‘I shall try to remember,’ I told her.
‘Was there something you wished to say to us?’ Robin asked, bringing this polite exchange to a close.
‘Yes, that’s right. Mind if I sink down and take the weight off my feet for a minute? Well, here goes! The thing is, you see, we’ve run into a bit of a problem. I expect you heard about the fire last night?’
‘Yes, we did. Very bad luck and you must feel particularly sorry about it, in view of the fact that it started while the owner was having dinner here?’
‘You can say that again! And the worst of it is that we’ve now got to do a major reorganisation in double quick time. Panic stations all round.’
Guessing what was coming, I asked: ‘Does Mr Godstow now intend to move in here, then?’
‘Yes, and we’re delighted to have him, of course; and one can quite see that it doesn’t suit him to go back to London, with the races coming up next weekend, but it puts us in a bit of a fix. We were pretty booked up for those two nights. Jake and Verity are working on it now; trying to find an excuse to put people off, without giving offence.’
‘Not an enviable job,’ Robin said, ‘and now, I suppose, you’re looking for one to use on Tessa and me?’
‘Oh gosh, no, such an idea never entered our heads. It’s bad enough having to send our reputation up the spout with strangers, not specially recommended people like you two. And that includes your cousin, of course. The only thing is, though, you did say when you booked in that it might be for two nights and I wondered whether you’d come to any decision about that?’
‘Yes, we have. Perhaps I should have confirmed it with you, but since we’re now into the third day and I haven’t asked for our bill, I took it for granted that we could keep the rooms on.’
‘Oh yes, of course, couldn’t be more delighted, in fact,’ Louisa assured us, looking most unhappy about it.
‘And, as you were kind enough to ask us to let you know if there was anything we needed,’ he continued, sparing her nothing, ‘perhaps it would be possible to find a few more coat hangers, which have been promised us several times, but have never arrived.’
‘Oh dear, no one told me, I’m so sorry. I’ll see to it right away. Anything else?’
‘Only some sheets, if it wouldn’t be any trouble?’
‘Sheets?’
‘Yes, the beds look as though they’ve been made, but in fact there are no sheets on them.’
She had begun to look so terrified of what he might throw at her next that I took pity on her:
‘Oh, don’t worry, Louisa, I’m sure it was only a misunderstanding. Did my cousin say why he had to go hurtling off like that, do you know?’
‘Only that he’d rung his housekeeper to ask if there were any messages and she’d told him about something which had cropped up and he had to deal with right away. He did s
ay he hoped to be back this evening, though, and you were all going to the theatre.’
‘So perhaps all he wanted was a square meal?’ I suggested. ‘I suppose imaginary telephone calls to Mrs Parkes are the modern equivalent of sending oneself a telegram.’
‘Don’t blame him. I’ve often been tempted to send myself one.’
‘Honestly, Robin, I don’t understand you. Now you say you’d welcome an excuse to leave and yet a minute ago, when Louisa handed you one on a silver platter, you turned it down.’
‘That was because I don’t like being pushed around. They were on their knees to us when we first arrived. Now they’ve had a better offer, we can shove off and spend the rest of our holiday in a caravan, for all they care. I don’t approve of such methods and I’m not having it.’
I accepted this explanation, which sounded irrational enough to be true, although suspecting there might be another incentive at work too. Perhaps, like mine, his reluctance to leave sprang partly from the fact that life at Mattingly Grange was turning out to be so much more eventful than either of us had anticipated.
(4)
After the fortieth ring I was ready to give up, but Robin said I should learn to be patient, so I persevered and finally heard the click and a voice saying:
‘Oh, do go away, Tessa, you’re driving me mad.’
‘And what about me? Off you hop, without a word of warning, the minute my back is turned and then you have the effrontery to say it’s me driving you mad.’
‘Well, as you know, I’m a moral coward and, if I’d made my departure in a civilised way, you’d have bullied me into changing my mind. Anyway, what have you got to complain about? Robin’s still there, isn’t he?’