Page 115 of The House of Hopes and Dreams
But there was more than just relief in Carey’s eyes when they met mine. He gave me a wordless hug and then made me sit down before putting a mug of coffee laced with rum, and a cheese sandwich cut into small triangles in front of me. He added two aspirin and a glass of water.
‘There, if you get those down you, you’ll feel a lot better. I’ve eaten my sandwich.’
I hadn’t thought I was hungry, but once the rum stopped the shivering I found I was and wolfed down the food.
‘What have you done with the packet?’ I asked, when I’d finished it.
‘It’s on my desk in the studio. I think it’s a rolled document of some kind, but it can wait till you’re feeling better,anduntil we’ve sorted out what to do about Ella. If itwasElla. Like you, I can’t really imagine who else would have done it.’
‘And I definitely didn’t fall in by accident, bang my head and close the panel up while unconscious.’
‘I think we can rule that scenario out.’
‘I suppose wecouldreport it to the police and they might find her fingerprints on the bedhead, but that wouldn’t prove anything anyway, would it? It would be my word against hers.’
‘That’s what I thought, and that the first thing to do was to let Clem know what had happened,’ Carey said. ‘I rang him at the Lodge while you were upstairs and he said there was no sign of Ella, even though she’s always got his lunch ready by now. Her car was still there, though.’
‘Did you tell him exactly what happened?’
‘Yes, and at first he tried to insist that she wouldn’t have done anything like that, and you’d just banged your head and imagined the rest.’
‘Yeah, right!’
‘I told him that was impossible and he’d better find her, so we could sort this mess out once and for all, and get her the help she needed. It was that, or call the police in.’
‘It had to be her – we know it and Clem must know it, too.’
‘I’m sure he does, he just doesn’t want to admit it. But he begged menot to call the police and said he was going to search the grounds and any unlocked outbuildings. Vicky’d just arrived, so she’d help.’
A nasty thought struck me. ‘You don’t think she’s done anything stupid, do you? Perhaps we should go and help look.’
‘Clem’s ringing back when he’s searched, and you need to sit quietly and recover for a bit. You might even have concussion. Maybe I should have taken you straight to hospital?’ he added, looking at me anxiously. ‘How many fingers am I holding up?’
‘The one with the Greek seal ring on it, you imbecile,’ I said. ‘Of course I’m not concussed! In fact, I feel fine now, apart from a slight headache.’
And also an unusual disinclination to be on my own …
I began to write out Lady Anne’s confession that very night and quickly became accustomed to her erratic spelling and odd – to my modern eyes – turns of phrase. The beginning only described her first marriage and how she came to marry again – which was as far as I got before overwhelmed by sleep. These sudden descents into the arms of Morpheus seem to be yet another annoying effect of pregnancy …
Next day, there had evidently been yet another breach between my husband and Mr Browne. Ralph flung himself about the house all morning, restless and ill-tempered: he is such a different man from the one I married!
Later he spent several hours closeted with his man of business, which did not sweeten his mood. Perhaps if the breach with Mr Browne were to be permanent, then he might listen to good advice? There is the child to think of now, after all. Yet I do not know what is to come of us if, as I now suspect, Ralph has run up so many debts that Mossby may have to be sold.
Having started in a straightforward way, Lady Anne’s tale took a strange and disturbing turn that evening! I could hardly believe my eyes …
Though shocked and upset, I would have read on despite my tiredness and physical discomfort, but sleep soon set my head nodding, whether I would or no.
Mr Browne returned from wherever he had spent the night – as I came downstairs this morning I heard him talking to Ralph and again attempting to persuade him to build a house in the Lake District. Ralph, to my relief, was adamant that he could not afford to do so – and at this juncture they caught sight of me and turned and moved away with one accord, as if my advanced pregnancy might be some vile and contagious affliction.
40
Broken
I wandered into the studio with my second cup of coffee to look at my find and Carey followed. ‘It’s not the Jewel – it’s too light to be anything but papers.’
‘I came to that conclusion when I found it. It’s been sewn into a sort of heavy linen material,’ I added, turning it over in my hands. ‘It’s odd that two different shades of thread have been used to sew it up. See, this side is a slightly darker colour.’
‘She probably ran out of the first one – assuming itwasLady Anne who hid it there.’
