Chapter 21

Cecilia saw her husband through the wrought iron gate separating the hallway and the great hall. She had to smile at her husband’s curiosity. This time, he was studying the architectural elements of the room.

She pulled the gate open and hurried toward him. “James!” she said happily.

He grabbed her hands and kissed the backs of both. He smiled down at her. “I think you are looking better. Are you resting?”

She laughed. “No, not as you would wish me to,” she admitted. “However, I am feeling better. I am recovering, I promise you.”

“And your cough?”

“Much reduced,” she promised him. “I believe I am too busy to cough and that is my secret for recovery.”

“Cecilia!” James fairly growled with consternation. “You were still supposed to take the opportunity for rest.”

She laughed again. “No lecturing, please,” she said as she tucked her arm in his. “Let’s go outside, take advantage of the rare, pleasant weather this afternoon and meander about while you tell me what has been going on beyond Camden House.”

“Mr. Ramsay and I visited Mr. Ratcliffe and the magistrate this morning. The magistrate realizes he was hasty to arrest Soothcoor, and there is reasonable doubt as to his guilt, but he won’t release him. Says he’s leaving it in the hands of the assize, which should be next week for this area.”

Cecilia compressed her lips as she nodded, a furrow between her brows.

“Our meeting with Mr. Ratcliffe was also enlightening. He’s an odd one. He collects statues of nude men and boys. Primarily Greek replicas and cupids. His wife told us that running his hand across the marble is soothing to him. We witnessed him caressing the arse of a bronze statue on his desk.”

Cecilia looked up at James. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. And when we left, he was taking delivery of a new cupid with the face, Mr. Ramsay assures me, of Malcolm Montgomery.”

Cecilia shuddered. “I don’t know how Malcolm Montgomery’s mother could countenance that. She is the woman married to Mr. Ratcliffe, correct?”

“Yes. Worse, we discovered Mr. Ratcliffe controls Camden House.”

Cecilia nodded. “I know.”

“You know that?”

“We deduced that,” she amended.

“We?” he queried.

“Lady Stackpoole, Mrs. Vance, and I, with confirmation from Mrs. Worcham. She is unhappy with the control Mr. Ratcliffe now has over her husband. And she does not like Mr. Turnbull-Minchin, the man Mr. Ratcliffe put in place as the superintendent. I will tell you; he is a caitiff. We heard him having relations in Mr. Montgomery’s old room and saw it was reported to Dr. Worcham. The doctor captured him and locked him in a treatment room. We thought that would be the last of him. This morning, we find him back at his old position as if nothing had occurred—except for the smirks he sends our way.”

James frowned. “He had better not lay a hand on you.”

She shook her head. “He won’t. It appears Mr. Montgomery was suspicious of him, too. He took a ledger from the estate room that appears to show he was billing families of patients for additional services on the side. Those amounts are not part of the sanatorium regular books and I’d wager go directly into his own pocket.”

“You think he is betraying the man who put him in that position to spy and manage things for him?”

“Yes.”

“That’s rich and rather fitting.”

“The first assize of the quarter for this area is next week.”

Cecilia took in a deep breath then let it out slowly. “All right. Then it is a good thing we are near to determining his murderers.”

“Murderers?”

“Possibly, I believe so. Proving guilt will be the challenge,” she said, gently leading him the way Liddy had taken her that morning.

“What have you learned, Cecilia?” James asked severely.

She stopped near the wild thicket of trees and the tall rushes at the canal edge that Liddy had led her to. “Liddy told me that here is where Mr. Ratcliffe got into an argument with Mr. Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery sent her away, since it was after curfew, and to go into Camden House through his room. He had a door to the outside. Liddy did as he told her, but not before she also heard Mr. Turnbull-Minchin and Dr. Worcham join in the arguing. That scared her and she did go inside. She said she didn’t see anything that subsequently happened.”

“You say Dr. Worcham, Mr. Ratcliffe, and Mr. Turnbull-Minchin were all out here?”

“Yes.”

James studied the area. It had been ten days since Mr. Montgomery died. Little evidence would remain of a fight in the area. It was an area that would likely not be seen as it was at an odd corner to the house. He frowned.

“Show me where Liddy went into the building.”

“This way.” Cecilia led him along the canal as it paralleled the far side of the building. She was careful to encourage her husband to appear nonchalant as they passed the library windows so as not to call attention to themselves. Past the library, Cecilia cut in toward the building and the bank of windows that were for Mr. Montgomery’s room. She looked about then hurried her husband to the door and tapped lightly on the glass. Mrs. Vance opened the door to them.

“Welcome, Sir James, I’m Mrs. Hilda Vance,” Mrs. Vance said as she shut the door behind them.

“Pleasure,” he responded.

“This is Lady Julia Stackpoole,” Cecilia said drawing him further into the room. “And this is Miss Lydia Wingate.” Cecilia smiled at Liddy as she caressed the back of her head. “We call her Liddy. She knew Mr. Montgomery very well. We have learned a great deal from her.”

“Ladies, I am happy to make your acquaintance,” James said bowing to them. “This was Mr. Montgomery’s room?” He looked about the room. “It appears someone was certainly looking for something in here.”

“We’ve been tasked with straightening the room,” Julia said, “but, all we have managed to do so far is pick the books off the floor, put them haphazardly back on the shelves, and start picking up broken glass and porcelain.”

James looked at the floor. “Someone had a tantrum with the fragile objects in here.”

“More like a rage,” Mrs. Vance offered. “Very naughty.” She bent down to pick up a broken porcelain dog.

“Oh, no!” Liddy cried, coming over to Mrs. Vance. “They broke Weston!” She took the dog from Mrs. Vance.

“Weston?” Cecilia asked.

“That was Mr. Montgomery’s dog,” she said, cradling the porcelain pieces in her small hands. Her lips quivered. “Why did they have to fight with Mr. Montgomery? He just did what Dr. Worcham asked him,” she said, tears trailing down her cheeks.

The others in the room looked at each other, then back at Liddy.

“What do you mean, child,” Mrs. Vance said gently.

“I want to look in that room myself!” they heard the loud voice of Mr. Turnbull-Minchin from out in the hall.

“The ladies are straightening it!” Dr. Worcham protested.

“More likely finding things to steal,” argued Mr. Turnbull-Minchin.

Cecilia dragged her husband toward the corner of the bookcase and looked frantically for the mechanism Liddy used to open the hidden hall. Julia reached around her to press the small hidden lever. The bookcase swung open. Cecilia pushed James into the narrow space and joined him inside. Julia closed the bookcase and grabbed a book from the shelf to look like she was returning it to the shelf when the door opened.

Liddy’s eyes dried and she looked ready to laugh. Mrs. Vance grabbed her thin shoulder and gave it a warning squeeze. Liddy looked up at her. Mrs. Vance nodded her head slightly.

“Did you need something, Dr. Worcham?” Julia asked as she slid the book in her hand on to the shelf in front of her.

“Mr. Turnbull-Minchin wants to search the room.”

Julia laughed. “Someone already has! Is there something specific you are looking for, Mr. Turnbull-Minchin. Perhaps we have seen it.”

The superintendent frowned, his lower lip thrust forward. “I’m missing a ledger book.”

“As you can see,” Julia said, waving a hand at the bookshelf, “Mr. Montgomery had many books. I have not seen a ledger book in any of the books I have picked up off the floor and put back. It’s possible we will find more books under all that tossed bedding. Perhaps you have already reviewed that area?” she asked archly.

“You and Miss Dorn were in this room at least once before we came this morning,” Mrs. Vance said with her bird-bright manner. “Have you asked Miss Dorn?”

“Ladies,” said Dr. Worcham repressively.

Beside him, Mr. Turnbull-Minchin looked like he was ready to explode.

“Are you quite all right?” Mrs. Vance asked. She kept Liddy pinned to her side.

“Where is Lady Branstoke?” he asked suddenly, looking about.

“Her husband came to visit. She is with him,” Julia said.

“Harrumph. If you find a ledger book, bring it to my office,” he ground out.

Mr. Turnbull-Minchin stomped out of the room. Dr. Worcham turned to follow him but stopped at the door. “This room is in a worse condition than I thought it was,” he observed.

“Someone was not happy with Mr. Montgomery,” said Julia.

“If you find any estate books, bring them to me first,” he instructed.

Julia smiled. “Of course.”

He closed the door behind himself as he left. Mrs. Vance went to the door to ensure she heard him walking away then waved a hand at Julia to open the hidden door.

“Could you hear?” Julia asked as Cecilia and James came back into the room.

“Yes,” James said. “That space is lined with narrow shelves and old ledger books. I noticed a sliver of light at the other end. Is that an entry into the estate office?”

Liddy nodded.

“Does Mr. Turnbull-Minchin know about that door?”

“Mr. Montgomery said no,” Liddy said.

“Does Dr. Worcham know?” he asked.

“Yes! He showed Mr. Montgomery.”

“When did he do that, do you know?”

She thought. “About Easter?” she said. “He asked Mr. Montgomery to check the books. Mr. Montgomery was very smart with the maths. He was teaching me.”

“Yes, that is what Lady Branstoke told me. That was kind of him.”

She nodded enthusiastically then turned sad. “I miss him.”

“I’m sure you do. Were you with him the night he died?”

“Yes, until he sent me away.”

“Can you tell us about that night? Everything about that night?”

She nodded.

“You were outside with Mr. Montgomery?”

She nodded again. “Then the curfew bell rang just as Ratman came down the path, yelling for Mr. Montgomery.”

“Ratman?” James repeated.

“That’s what Liddy calls Mr. Ratcliffe,” Cecilia explained.

Liddy nodded. “I don’t like him and neither did Mr. Montgomery. He’s a Ratman. I started to run back to the house, but Mr. Montgomery grabbed my hand and told me to go through his room instead.”

“Why did he do that?” James crouched down in front of Liddy, gently taking her hands in his.

“So no one would know I was still outside when I wasn’t supposed to be.”

“That was kind of Mr. Montgomery.”

She nodded. “He was like that. Then I heard Mr. Turnbull-Minchin and Dr. Worcham yelling for Mr. Montgomery. They sounded angry. I hid behind the bushes, right there,” she said, pointing right outside the door.

“So, you didn’t come in immediately like Mr. Montgomery told you to?” James asked.

She hung her head. “No.”

“It’s all right. I’m sure Mr. Montgomery would forgive you. What happened then?”

“Mr. Turnbull-Minchin said he wanted his book back. Said he knew Mr. Montgomery took it, but Mr. Montgomery wasn’t there then. Archie was there and he lied and said no, he didn’t have it.”

“Mr. Montgomery didn’t have it outside, did he?”

She tilted her head to the side. “No-o-o.” she said slowly, drawing the word out.

“Then he didn’t lie; he didn’t have it with him.” James advised somberly.

Liddy perked up at that and smiled. “Yes!” She sobered again. “Then Ratman told Mr. Turnbull-Minchin to go away. That he needed to speak to his cousin. Mr. Turnbull-Minchin didn’t listen, he came up to them and punched Mr. Montgomery.”

“Mr. Turnbull-Minchin punched Mr. Montgomery?”

She nodded. “Well, it wasn’t Mr. Montgomery it was Archie. He shouldn’t have done that. It made Archie mad.”

“What happened then?”

“Archie hit and hit Mr. Turnbull-Minchin. Ratman and Dr. Worcham tried to stop them. I got really scared then and ran into Mr. Montgomery’s room. I saw the book on the bed. I didn’t want Mr. Montgomery to get into any more trouble so I took it.”

“And you put it in the cupboard in our hall,” said Julia. “Why there?”

“Mr. Montgomery never went to your hall. Mr. Turnbull-Minchin wouldn’t think to look for it there,” she said simply with a small shrug.

“That was very clever, Liddy!” said Cecilia.

She grinned.

“It doesn’t sound like anyone deliberately set out to murder Mr. Montgomery,” Julia said.

“I don’t know,” said Mrs. Vance. “He was found in the canal in the morning. How did he get there?”

James and Cecilia acknowledged Mrs. Vance’s observation. “As far as Liddy knew before she ran away, all four men were involved,” Cecilia clarified.

“Possibly manslaughter,” James said. “Or this Mr. Turnbull-Minchin could have killed him because of the ledger. I don’t think Mr. Ratcliffe would have wanted Mr. Montgomery dead.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because of the will with the new executor?” Mrs. Vance suggested.

“Yes,” James agreed. “According to Mrs. Montgomery and Soothcoor, Mr. Ratcliffe has been handling the estate properly.”

“As far as they knew,” said Cecilia.

“Yes, as far as they knew,” James conceded. “Mr. Ramsay will need to review everything to determine if that is true or not.”

“There is probably an executor’s fee associated with the estate,” Mrs. Vance said.

“Yes, but I can’t see that being a big enough reason to frame a man for murder,” James said.

“Would Mr. Ratcliffe stay the executor if Soothcoor was found guilty?” Cecilia asked.

“I could see the courts doing that,” James said.

“I wonder if he’s leveraged the Montgomery estate in an investment scheme?” Mrs. Vance said slowly. “My husband almost lost everything in investments outside of the cent per cents twenty years ago.”

James stared at Mrs. Vance. “Mrs. Vance, you are a genius. I would wager that is precisely what he has done and why he can’t afford to allow the estate to go into another’s hands!”

“And Camden House Sanatorium is the investment, which isn’t doing as well as he’d thought it would because Dr. Worcham does charity work—” Cecilia said.

“—And his superintendent is embezzling,” Julia added.

“He can’t let the estate go out of his control, at least not until he can stop the investment failing,” Cecilia said.

“But he doesn’t know about Mr. Turnbull-Minchin’s activities,” Julia said.

“Not yet, he doesn”t know. He soon will,” James said.

After James left,the women made short work of finishing Mr. Montgomery’s room, except for the bed linens as they hadn’t received instructions on the bed linens as yet. They did remove all the bed linens for laundry, carefully inspecting every piece for a hidden note or item. They found nothing.

Liddy had become engrossed in arranging the broken pieces of porcelain statues, carefully trying to put them back together. Julia knelt next to her. “Maybe I can ask my son to get us some glue to repair these. Would you like that?”

Liddy shrugged. “It won’t be the same. It will never be the same,” she said sadly.

“No, they won’t; however, they will be gentle reminders of Mr. Montgomery for you and your treasure box. Where is your treasure box? I thought it was in the hidden room.”

Liddy shook her head. “No. It’s outside. In a safe place with Mr. Montgomery’s,” she said with a smile as she moved pieces of a statue together for the best fit.

Cecilia and Julia looked at each other. Cecilia knelt on the other side of Liddy. The child ignored her, continuing to arrange the broken pieces. She hummed as she played with the pieces.

“Liddy can you show us where Mr. Montgomery’s treasure box is? It might have important papers in it.”

“Maybe,” Liddy said, and went back to humming.

Cecilia inhaled deeply. Cecilia thought Liddy was in her world of memory, a safe place in her unsafe world. She didn’t blame her. She remembered times she’d spent hours with her good memories, blocking out her reality.

“Liddy, I have one more thing to do before dinner and I’d like your help,” Cecilia told the child. “It is something that will help Mr. Montgomery tell the truth about Mr. Turnbull-Minchin. Can you help me?”

Liddy stopped humming. Her hands stilled. Her eyes filled with tears, and her lip quivered.

“Liddy! What is it? I didn’t mean to make you cry! Oh, come here!” Cecilia pulled Liddy into her arms.

Mrs. Vance rested her hand on Liddy’s shoulder and Julia edged closer as she handed her a handkerchief. “Liddy!” she said.

Liddy’s tears suddenly became a torrent, and sobs wracked her thin body.

Cecilia rocked her gently. “It’s all right, little one,” she said. “We’re here for you. We care about you. Sh-h-h. Whatever it is, we are here for you.”

Liddy sniffed. “But he’s gone and he’s never coming back!” she wailed.

“Oh,” Mrs. Vance said. “She’s mourning…Finally.” She dropped to her knees beside them.

The three women wrapped their arms around Liddy, tears streaming down their cheeks for Liddy and Mr. Montgomery.