However, when he saw Hester"s pale face and unusually grim and bedraggled appearance, his composure was shaken, and ignoring Monk, he went forward anxiously.
"My dear Hester, whatever has happened? You look quite-distressed !"
It was nearly two months since she had last seen him, and then it had been more by chance than design. She was not sure how he regarded their relationship. In any formal sense it was professional rather than personal. She did not move in his social sphere at all. Yet they were friends in a deeper sense than most acquaintances ever were. They had shared pa.s.sionate beliefs in justice, spoken more frankly than perhaps either had to anyone else about certain things. On the other hand, there were whole worlds of personal emotions they had never touched on at all.
Now he was staring at her with obvious concern. In spite of his fairish hair, his eyes were very dark, and she was acutely aware of the intelligence in him.
"For goodness" sake tell him!" Monk said, waving his arm towards the office. "But not out here," he added, in case she should be absentminded enough to be so indiscreet.
Without looking at Monk, Hester walked in front of Rathbone and into the office. Monk followed her, and Rathbone came in behind and closed the door.
Hester began straightaway. Quietly and succinctly, with as little emotion as she could manage, she told him the elements of what had transpired.
Rathbone sat listening without interruption, and although twice Monk opened his mouth to speak, on each occasion he changed his mind.
"Where is this brooch now?" Rathbone said when at last she finished.
"With Lady Callandra," she replied. Rathbone knew Callandra well enough and no introduction of her was necessary.
"But she did not see you find it? Not that it matters," he added quickly, on observing her consternation. "Could you have misunderstood Mrs. Farraline on the subject of having left this article in Edinburgh?"
"I cannot think how. She had no reason to bring it, since the dress was stained, and she said quite specifically that it went with no other." She could not restrain herself from asking, "What do you think has happened?"
"Does your bag resemble any that Mrs. Farraline had, either with her or in the guard"s van? Or any that you observed in her dressing room in Edinburgh?"
Hester felt cold and there was a hard knot inside her.
"No. Mine was a very ordinary brown leather bag with soft sides. Mrs. Farraline"s were yellow pigskin, with her initials monogrammed on them, and they all matched." Her voice was scratchy, her mouth dry. She was aware of Monk"s growing irritation behind her. "No one could think mine was one of hers," she finished.
Rathbone spoke very quietly.
"Then I am afraid I can think of no explanation other than malice, and why anyone should do such a thing, I cannot imagine."
"But I was only there less than a day," Hester protested. "I did nothing that could possibly offend anyone!"
"You had better go and get this piece of jewelry and bring it to me immediately. I shall write to Mrs. Farraline"s estate and inform them of its discovery, and that we shall return it as soon as possible. Please do not waste any time. I do not believe we can afford to wait."
Hester rose to her feet. "I don"t understand," she said helplessly. "It seems so pointless."
Rathbone rose also, coming around to open the door for her. He glanced at Monk, then back at Hester.
"Probably it is some family quarrel we know nothing of, or even some malice directed at Mrs. Farraline which has tragically gone astray with her death. It hardly matters at the moment. Your part is to bring it to me, and I shall give you a receipt for it and deal with the matter as regards Mrs. Farraline"s executors."
Still she hesitated, confusion welling in her mind, remembering their faces: Mary, Oonagh, Alastair at the dinner table, the beautiful Eilish, Baird and Quinlan who so obviously disliked each other, Kenneth hurrying to his appointment, absentminded Deirdra, the man whose portrait hung in the hall, and drunken, rambling Uncle Hector.
"Come," Monk said sharply, pulling abruptly at her elbow. "There is no time to waste, and certainly none to stand here trying to solve a problem for which we have no information."
"Yes-yes, I"m coming," she agreed, still uncertain. She turned to Rathbone. "Thank you."
They rode back to Callandra"s house in silence, Monk apparently lost in thought, and Hester still wrestling with her memories of Edinburgh and searching for any reason at all why someone should have played such a pointless and malicious trick on her. Or was it on Mary? Or the lady"s maid? Was that it? Yes, that must be it. One of the maids was jealous, and trying to get her into trouble, perhaps even usurp her position, without actually stealing the brooch.
She was about to say this to Monk when the cab pulled up and they alighted, and the thought was lost in action.
However, the butler who opened Callandra"s door was pale-faced and totally unsmiling, and he led the way hastily, closing the door with a snap.
"What is it?" Monk demanded immediately.
"I am afraid, sir, that there are two persons from the police in the withdrawing room," the butler replied grimly, his expression conveying both his distaste and his apprehension. "Her ladyship is speaking with them now."
Monk strode past him across the floor and threw open the withdrawing room door. Hester followed after him, calmer and cold now that the moment had come.
Inside the room Callandra was standing in the center of the floor and she turned around as soon as she heard the door. Beside her were two men, one small and stocky with a blunt face and wide eyes, the other taller, leaner and foxy looking. If they knew Monk they gave no sign of it.
"Good afternoon, sir," the shorter one said politely, but his eyes did not widen in the slightest.
"Good afternoon, ma"am. Sergeant Daly, Metropolitan Police. You must be Miss Latterly, am I right?"
Hester swallowed. "Yes...." Suddenly her voice would not stay level. "What is it you wish? Is it regarding the death of Mrs. Farraline?"
"No, miss, not at present." He came forward, polite and very formal. His taller companion was apparently junior. "Miss Latterly, I have authority to search your baggage, and your person if necessary, for a piece of jewelry belonging to the late Mrs. Mary Farraline, which, according to her daughter, is missing from her luggage. Perhaps you can save us the necessity for anything so unpleasant by telling us if you have such a piece?"
"Yes she has," Monk said icily. "She has already reported the matter to her legal adviser, and we came here, on his counsel, to take the pin to him so that he might return it to Mrs. Farraline"s estate."
Sergeant Daly nodded. "Very wise of you, ma"am, but not sufficient, I"m afraid. Constable Jacks"-he nodded abruptly at the other man-"would you go with this gentleman and obtain the said article." He looked at Monk. "Perhaps you"d be good enough, sir? And you, Miss Latterly, I"m afraid you"ll have to come with us."
"Nonsense!" Callandra stepped forward. "Miss Latterly has told you what happened. She found the piece of jewelry that was missing and made provision to return it. You do not need further explanations. She has had a long journey to Edinburgh and back again, and a most distressing experience. She is not going anywhere with you, merely in order to repeat an explanation which is quite clear to you now. You are not a fool, man, you understand exactly what has happened."
"No, I do not understand, your ladyship," he said calmly. "I don"t understand at all why a respectable woman who cares for the sick should take from an old lady a piece of jewelry which belongs to her, but that"s unarguably what it looks like. Theft is theft, ma"am, whoever did it and whatever for. And I"m afraid, Miss Latterly, you will have to come with us." He shook his head gently. "And don"t make it harder for yourself by resisting. I"d hate to have to take you in manacles-but I will, if you force me."
For the second time that day, Hester felt shock and disbelief buffet her like a blow, and then they vanished, leaving only cold, bitter knowledge.
"I shall not make that necessary," she said in a very small voice. "I did not steal anything from Mrs. Farraline. She was my patient, and I had the highest regard for her. And I have never stolen anything from anyone." She turned to Callandra. "Thank you, but I think protest is of no value at this time." She felt herself painfully close to tears, and did not trust herself to speak anymore, least of all to Monk.
Callandra produced the brooch, which she had placed on the mantelshelf before Hester had left, and silently gave it to the sergeant.
"Thank you, ma"am," he said as he accepted it, and wrapped it in a large clean handkerchief which he took from his coat pocket. He turned again to Hester. "Now, miss, I think it would be best if you come along. Perhaps Constable Jacks can fetch your valise for you. You"ll already have everything you need in that, at least for tonight."
Hester was surprised, then she realized that of course they knew she would have them with her. They had known where to find her. Her landlady must have given them Callandra"s name. It was an educated guess. She had stayed with her often enough before, between cases. The knowledge was like a door slamming, closing her in.
She had time only to glance at Monk and see the burning anger in his face. The next moment she was in the hall, a policeman on either side of her, being taken inexorably towards the open front door and the street beyond, cold and gray with driving rain.
.4.
HESTER SAT in the back of the black closed-in police van between the constable and the sergeant. She could see nothing, in fact only feel the jolt and sway of movement as they drove from Callandra"s house to wherever they were taking her. Her mind was in a senseless whirl. It was as if her head were full of noise and darkness. She could not grasp hold of any thought. The moment she had it, it was whipped away from her. in the back of the black closed-in police van between the constable and the sergeant. She could see nothing, in fact only feel the jolt and sway of movement as they drove from Callandra"s house to wherever they were taking her. Her mind was in a senseless whirl. It was as if her head were full of noise and darkness. She could not grasp hold of any thought. The moment she had it, it was whipped away from her.
How had the pearl brooch come to be in her bag? Who could have put it there? Why? Mary had left it at home, she had said so. Why would anyone have wished Hester any harm? She had not had time to make an enemy, even if she were important enough to any of them.
The van came to a stop, but she could see nothing through the closed-in sides. A horse whinnied somewhere ahead, and a man swore. They jolted forward again. Was she merely the victim of some plot, some scheme or vengeance she knew nothing about? But what scheme? How could she defend herself? How could she prove any of it?
She glanced sideways at the sergeant, and saw only his rigid profile as he stared ahead of himself at the far wall of the van. The disgust in him was so palpable she could feel it like a chill in the air. She could understand it. It was contemptible to steal from a patient, an old lady, an invalid who trusted you totally.
It was on the tip of her tongue to say again that she had not taken it, but even as she drew breath, she knew it would be futile. They would expect her to deny it. A thief would. It meant nothing.
The journey pa.s.sed like a nightmare, and eventually they reached the police station, where she was taken into a quiet, drab room and formally charged with having stolen a pearl brooch belonging to her patient, Mrs. Mary Farraline, of Edinburgh, now deceased.
"I did not take it," she said quietly.
Their faces were sad and scornful. No one made any answer at all. She was taken to the cells, pushed in gently with a hand in the small of her back, and before she had time to turn around the door was closed with a heavy clang and the bolt shot home.
The cell was about ten or eleven feet square, with a cot on one side and a wooden bench with a hole in it, which obviously served the calls of nature. There was a single high, barred window above the cot, the walls were whitewashed and the floor blackened stone of some smooth, seamless nature.
But the most surprising thing was that there were already three people in it, one an elderly woman of perhaps close to sixty, her hair unnaturally yellow, her skin putty-colored and curiously lifeless. She regarded Hester expressionlessly. The second occupant was very dark, with long loose hair that hung in a knotted ma.s.s. Her narrow face was handsome in its own way. Her eyes, so shadowed as to seem almost black, looked at Hester with growing suspicion. The third occupant was a child, not more than eight or nine years old, thin, dirty, and with raggedly cut hair so it was impossible to tell at a glance whether it was a boy or a girl. Clothes were little help, being a conglomeration of adult clothes shorn down to size, patched, and tied around with a length of twine.
"Well, you look like a dying duck in a thunderstorm," the dark woman said critically. "First time, eh? What yer do? Thievin"?" Her sharp eyes took note of Hester"s borrowed dress. "Dollymop? You don"t look like no tail, not in that square-rigged thing!"
"What?" Hester was slow-witted, confused.
"You"ll never pull no gents dressed like that," the woman said contemptuously. "No need to stand on your importance wi" us, we"re all family." Her eyes narrowed again. "Which you ain"t-are yer." It was an accusation, not a question.
""Course she ain"t," the older woman said wearily. "She don"t even understand yer, Doris."
"Are you...related?" Hester asked slowly, including the child in her remark.
"No we ain"t related, yer dimwit!" The woman shook her head dismissively. "I mean we"re all professionals. Which you ain"t, are yer? Jus" thought you"d try yer "and and yer got caught. Watcha do...nick summink?"
"No. No, but they said I did."
"Oh. Innocent, eh?" Her sneer was totally disbelieving. "In"t we all! Marge "ere didn"t do no abortions, did yer, Marge? And Tilly "ere didn"t spin no top. An" o" course I don"t keep no bawdy "ouse." She put one hand on her hip. "I"m a decent, respectable woman, I am. Can I "elp it if some o" me clients is bent?"
"What do you mean, "spin a top"?" Hester moved farther into the small cell and sat down on the cot, about two feet from the woman named Marge.
"You simple or summink?" Doris demanded. "Spin a top," she said, and made a spiral movement with her fingers. "In"t yer never played wi" a top when you was a kid? Yer must "ave seen one, less yer blind as well as daft."
"You don"t go to jail for spinning tops." Hester was beginning to get annoyed. The gratuitous insults were something she could fight against.
"Yer do if it gets in people"s way," Doris said with a curl of her lip. "Don"t yer, Tilly, eh? Cheeky little sod."
The child looked at her with wide eyes and nodded slowly.
"How old are you?" Hester asked her.
"Dunno," Tilly said with indifference.
"Don"t be daft," Doris said again. "She can"t count."
"I can so!" Tilly protested indignantly. "I know "ow many"s ten."
"Yer in"t ten," Doris said, dismissing the subject. She looked back at Hester. "So what didn"t you steal then, my fine lady wot got caught at it?"
"A brooch with pearls in it," Hester replied tartly. "What are you respectable ladies doing that brings you here?"
Doris smiled, showing stained teeth, strong and regular. They would have been beautiful had they been white. "Well, some of us was letting gentlemen pay for their pleasures, which is only fair, as I sees it. But there was one in me back room as was screevin", and the pigs don"t like that, cos" the briefs don"t like it." She watched Hester"s confusion with evident complacency. "Or to put it fancy like, so your ladyship can understand it: they says I was taking money for fornication, and the geezer in the back room was writing recommendations and legal papers for people as wanted "em but couldn"t get "em the usual way. Very good wi" a pen, is Tam. Write anything for yer...deeds in property, wills, letters of authority, references o" character. You name it, "e"ll write it, and takes a good lawyer to know the difference."
"I see...."
"Do yer? Do yer now?" Her Hp curled. "I don"t think yer see anything, yer stupid cow."
"I see you in here the same as I am," Hester said. "Which makes you just as stupid, except you"ve been here before. To do it twice takes a real art."
Doris swore. Marge smiled mirthlessly. Tilly slunk backwards and crouched by the end of the cot, expecting a fight.
"You"ll get yours," Doris said sullenly. "They"ll put yer somewhere like the "Steel" down Cold Bath Fields for a few years, st.i.tching all day till yer fingers bleed, eating slops, "ot all summer and cold all winter, and n.o.body ter talk ter wi" yer fancy voice."
Marge nodded. "That"s right," she said dolefully. "Keep yer in silence, they do. No talking. An" masks, too."
"Masks?" Hester did not understand her.
"Masks," Marge repeated, dragging her hand across her face. "Masks, so yer can"t see n.o.body"s phys."
"Why?"
"Dunno. Just to make you feel worse, I suppose. So yer alone. Don"t learn nothing wicked from n.o.body else. It"s the new idea."
Hester"s day was taking on more and more of the proportions of a nightmare. This last piece of information lent it a quality of total unreality. Hester tried to imagine troops of women in gray dresses, silent and masked, faceless, laboring, cold, filled with hatred and despair. In such a world, how could they be anything else? And children who spun tops in the street and got in people"s way. She was choked with a mixture of rage and pity, and the almost hysterical desire to escape. Her heart was beating high in her throat, and her knees were suddenly weak, even though she was sitting down. She could hardly have stood, even if she had wanted to and there had been any point.
"Sick?" Doris said with a smile. "Yer"ll get used ter it. An" don"t think yer "avin" the cot, cos yer ain"t. Marge is sick for real. She gets it. Any"ow she was "ere first."
Early the following morning Hester was taken to a magistrate"s court and remanded in custody. From there she was taken to the prison at Newgate and placed in a cell with two pickpockets and a prost.i.tute. Within an hour she was sent for and told that her lawyer had come to speak with her.
She felt a wild surge of hope as if the long nightmare were over, the darkness dispelled. She shot to her feet and almost fell over in her eagerness to get through the door and along the bare stone pa.s.sage to the room where Rathbone would be.
"Now, now," the wardress said sharply, her hard, blunt face tightening. "Just be"ave yerself. No call to get excited. Talk, that"s all. Come wi" me, stay be"ind me and speak when yer spoken to." And she turned on her heel and marched away with Hester at her elbow.
They stopped in front of a large metal door. The wardress produced a huge key from the chain at her belt and placed it in the lock and turned it. The door swung silently under the pressure of her powerful arms. Inside was painted white, gaslit and relatively cheerful. Oliver Rathbone was standing behind the chair at the far side of the plain wooden table. There was an empty chair on the nearer side.
"Hester Latterly," the wardress said with a half smile at Rathbone. It was a sickly gesture, as if she were undecided whether to try to be charming with him or whether he was an enemy, like all the inmates. She looked at his immaculate clothes, his polished boots and neat hair, and opted for charm. Then she saw the look on his face at the sight of Hester, and something within her froze. The smile was a dead thing, fixed and horrible.
"Knock when you want to get out," she said coldly, and then as soon as Hester was inside, banged the door so the reverberations of metal on stone jarred in the head.
Hester was too close to tears to speak.
Rathbone came around the table and took both her hands in his. The warmth of his fingers was like a light in darkness, and she clung to him as tightly as she dared.
He stared into her face for only a few moments, gauging the fear in her, then as suddenly let her go and pushed her gently back into the chair closest to her.
"Sit down," he ordered. "We must not waste the time we have."