The Outcast's Redemption (The Infamous Arrandales) (12 page)

‘I doubt it.’ Wolf frowned. ‘He was hovering about when I came out of our lawyer’s offices yesterday. If you didn’t tell him I was in England—’

Richard scowled. ‘Since you had not deigned to tell me you were here I could hardly do so!’

‘Well, someone told him I was in England,’ said Wolf. ‘He asked me about Annie Meesden, my wife’s dresser.’

‘Perhaps he thinks she knows something,’ suggested Grace.

‘It is possible, I suppose,’ agreed Richard. ‘I saw her soon after she had moved to London and she appeared to be genuinely distressed about the death of her mistress. She blamed you for it, Wolf.’

‘That does not surprise me.’

‘If you did not do it, could it have been an accident?’

Wolf shook his head. ‘The more I have thought of it the more certain I am that someone pushed her over that balcony. Florence hated carrying my child, she was always complaining of her swollen body, and how ungainly it made her, but I do not think she would have taken any risks. And I think Urmston is involved in this somehow. His coming up to me yesterday was just too convenient.’

‘Well, I never liked the fellow,’ stated Richard. ‘I suspected him at the start, especially when I discovered he had come into a fortune within a week of the necklace going missing.’

‘Did he now? That is something I did
not
know, and it sounds very promising.’

Richard raised one hand. ‘Sorry to disappoint you, but it appears there is nothing in it. I made my own enquiries into the matter. Oh, I know it was some years later, but the facts are indisputable. The day after the tragedy Urmston left Arrandale and went to Newmarket. He met a young man there, a Lord Thriplow. He had just inherited the title and arrived in Newmarket eager to spend his money. Urmston took his whole fortune in one sitting. Poor boy blew his brains out the next day, but that didn’t worry Urmston. It’s an unedifying tale, but there are plenty of witnesses to it.’

Wolf grimaced. ‘Yes, people remember that sort of thing.’

‘Thriplow’s money did not last him very long,’ Richard continued. ‘Urmston soon gambled it away, as he did his wife’s dowry.’

Wolf’s brows rose. ‘So he married, did he?’

‘Aye, but his wife died soon after the wedding,’ said Richard. ‘Rumour has it he mistreated her. One thing is certain, he has no fortune now.’

‘And he told me he thought Meesden had taken the diamonds.’ Wolf frowned. ‘Perhaps he is not our villain after all.’

‘Or he and Meesden were in it together and she tricked him,’ suggested Richard.

Lady Phyllida shuddered. ‘I do not know Sir Charles Urmston well, but I never liked him, and not merely because he wanted to seduce my stepdaughter. I could easily believe he would steal from his own cousin.’

‘And at the time he did not
know
he was going to win a fortune at Newmarket, did he?’ Grace reasoned.

‘That is true,’ Wolf conceded. ‘But if Meesden did hoax him, why wait until now to find her?’

There was a soft tap on the door and Mrs Graham peeped in.

‘Grace, my love. Lord Hathersedge told me you had been taken ill.’ She came in, carefully closing the door behind her.

Wolf jumped up. ‘Pray be easy, ma’am, your niece is very well. Her
malady
was a ruse to throw our host off the scent of what could have been an embarrassing meeting.’

Mrs Graham’s anxious look disappeared as he made the introductions.

‘I would not have recognised you,’ she said, smiling at Richard. ‘But then, I have not seen you since you were a schoolboy. I hope you will be able to help your brother, sir.’

‘Aye, if he will let me.’

‘I would rather none of you were involved in this,’ declared Wolf quickly.

‘Pho,’ cried Richard. ‘That is uncharitable of you, Brother.’

‘None of you seem to appreciate the danger of associating with a felon.’

‘You have not yet been proven guilty.’

Grace’s gentle reminder did nothing to alleviate the black mood that was gathering like a storm cloud over Wolf. Richard had a wife and baby now. What right had he to involve him in his problems? It was bad enough he had already involved Grace.

‘Well, I have news about Annie Meesden,’ declared Mrs Graham. She hesitated and looked at Wolf. ‘Perhaps you would rather wait until we are away from here.’

‘By no means,’ said Richard firmly. ‘Tell us now, ma’am. You may depend upon our discretion.’

Wolf sighed and put up his hands in a gesture of defeat. ‘Very well. What did you learn, Mrs Graham?’

The widow sat down on a chair, beaming widely.

‘I think I managed it very well,’ she said. ‘I talked to Mrs Payne about the hospital, pledged a little money then discussed with her the difficulties of finding a clever needlewoman to do one’s mending these days. As I hoped, she immediately suggested Mrs Meesden. It appears the woman has sunk very low and lives in a single room in Leg Alley, off Long Acre, north of Covent Garden. A very insalubrious area, but it seems one of the reasons Mrs Payne uses the woman is that not only is her sewing excellent, but she charges very little.’ Her mouth turned down in a little grimace of distaste. ‘I was shocked at her nip-farthing ways, but I thought it best not to say so.’

‘No, indeed, Aunt,’ said Grace. ‘And how clever of you to find out her direction so adroitly.’

‘Yes, thank you, ma’am,’ said Wolf. ‘I am in your debt. I shall call in Leg Alley first thing tomorrow.’

‘You should lie low and let me go,’ offered Richard.

‘You do not know the woman, Brother. No, I must speak with her.’

‘But you should not go alone, sir,’ said Grace.

‘Of course, alone.’ Wolf gave an impatient huff. ‘It will not be the first time I have ventured into such a place.’

She shook her head at him. ‘That is not what I mean. When I talked to the maid she told me Mrs Meesden dislikes men. She was turned off for insolence towards Mr Payne. I do not think she will talk to you.’

‘Wolf will make her talk,’ said Richard grimly.

‘I am sure he could do that,’ murmured Grace. ‘But will it achieve the result we want?’

Wolf scowled. ‘Then what do you suggest, Miss Duncombe?’

‘Let me come with you. She does not know me, but she will know my father, from her months at Arrandale, and she may be more willing to talk to me.’

Wolf acknowledged the truth of this. Even after ten years he could still remember the dresser’s barely concealed contempt for him. She was unlikely to fall upon his neck and reveal all. He might use threats or bribes, but even then he could not be sure she would tell him the truth.

‘Very well,’ he said at last. ‘We will go to see her together.’

‘You must take my carriage,’ put in Mrs Graham. ‘And I shall send a footman. No, two. Those alleys around Covent Garden are little better than rookeries.’

Grace looked at Wolf. ‘Come to the house tomorrow at ten, sir, and we will set off from there.’

Mrs Graham sighed. ‘Oh, dear, perhaps I should not let you go, my love. What your father would say if he knew of it I do not like to think.’

Grace laughed. ‘It was his idea that I should help Mr Arrandale, ma’am, so he could hardly complain!’

* * *

The carriage drew to a halt at the entrance to a grim little alley. It was so narrow Grace doubted the sun ever reached the lower windows.

‘You do not have to do this,’ muttered Wolf.

She squared her shoulders. ‘Nonsense. We are agreed.’ She picked up the package beside her. ‘I have brought one of my old gowns that needs mending. It is the perfect excuse for seeking out Annie Meesden.’

Filth and detritus covered the cobbles and blocked the gutter that ran through the centre of the alley. Grace wrinkled her nose, thinking how much worse the place would smell in high summer. A slatternly woman with a baby at her breast was sitting in a doorway and Wolf asked her if she knew of Mrs Meesden.

‘She is a mending woman,’ added Grace, indicating the package in her hand.

The woman sniffed and jerked her head.

‘Next door but one. Top floor.’ She grabbed the coin Grace was holding out to her and a sly look came in her bloodshot eye. ‘Thank ’ee, madam. That’ll buy some milk for the babe, but if you could spare a few more pennies, I ain’t eaten fer a week.’

Wolf pulled Grace away.

‘It will only go on gin,’ he muttered.

‘I know.’ Grace sighed, glancing back at the woman, who was already making her way unsteadily along the alley. ‘I thought we had suffering enough in Arrandale, but it is nothing to this.’

She followed him to the house where they hoped to find Annie Meesden. The door was open and they went in. If there was a landlady she was nowhere in sight.

‘At least the stairs have been swept,’ Grace remarked. ‘That is a good sign.’

There were two doors on the top floor, one stood open to reveal a wretched woman sprawled on the bed and snoring loudly. Wolf looked at the woman’s face, then knocked at the closed door. A female voice demanded to know who was there. Wolf nodded to Grace.

‘Mrs Meesden?’ she called. ‘I have some mending for you.’

The door opened a fraction to reveal a small, thin woman in a white cap. Her eyes widened when she saw Wolf and she tried to close the door, but his arm shot out and stopped her.

‘What’s wrong, Annie?’ he drawled, pushing his way in. ‘Are you not pleased to see me?’

The woman stepped back as he moved into the room. Grace followed him.

‘What do you want?’

The woman retreated behind her little table, hissing like a wildcat. Grace closed the door.

‘Please, Mrs Meesden, we mean you no harm. I am Grace Duncombe. You may remember my father, he is the vicar at Arrandale.’

Grace noticed a worn Bible on a shelf by the bed and she hoped the information would reassure the woman. Meesden spared her no more than a quick, contemptuous glance before turning her attention back to Wolf.

‘How did you find me?’

‘That is not important. I want to know the truth about what happened to my wife.’

The woman glared at him and Grace was chilled by the hatred in her eyes.

He said again, ‘How did she die, Annie?’

‘It’s your fault,’ she spat. ‘If she hadn’t married you she would be alive now.’

‘But I did not kill her, Annie, so who did?’

‘If
you
didn’t, then it must’ve been an accident.’

The woman sat down on a chair, her mouth stubbornly closed.

‘And what happened to the necklace?’ Wolf demanded. When she did not reply his fist banged on the table. ‘Did you steal it and use the money to set up your milliner’s shop? If so, you were sadly duped. It was worth more than enough to keep you living comfortably for the rest of your days.’

‘No, I didn’t take it,’ she said, goaded. ‘Like I told ’em, my uncle died and left me money to buy the shop.’ Her face twisted into a look of disgust. ‘Only it wasn’t enough to keep it going through the hard times. Still, it was more than I got from the Arrandales. My mistress never left me a penny, not that she was expecting to die so early, poor lamb.’

‘Mayhap you thought the necklace would recompense you for that.’

‘I tell you I didn’t steal it.’

‘But you know who did.’

‘I don’t know anything. Miss Florence dismissed me early on the night she died, but when I left her the necklace was in her jewel box. I saw it. The next time I went to her room it was missing. ’Tis the truth.’ She waved her hand at them. ‘You can leave now. I’ve nothing else to tell you.’

Wolf shook his head. ‘You know more than you are saying, Annie.’

‘No, I don’t.’ She wrapped her arms around her skinny frame. ‘I told you, I don’t know anything. Now go away and leave me in peace.’

She sniffed, staring doggedly at the floor.

‘Very well, we’ll go.’ Wolf hesitated, his fingers tapping thoughtfully on the table. ‘My lawyer is presently arranging pensions for staff at Arrandale who were turned off when the house was closed up. I will instruct them to add you to the list.’

Her eyes flew to him, a mixture of hope and suspicion in her ravaged face.

‘Are you trying to bribe me?’

‘You will not be paid one penny until you have told me the truth about the night my wife died.’

‘Let him help you, Mrs Meesden,’ Grace urged her, coming up to the table.

‘What’s it to you?’

The question was flung at her with such malice that Grace flinched, but she kept her voice calm as she replied.

‘I want to see justice done and I would like to see you move on from this place.’

‘Justice? That won’t bring my mistress back. And you...’ her hate-filled eyes fixed on Wolf again ‘...you are as guilty as anyone. No.’ She hunched on her chair. ‘My mistress’s secrets will go with me to the grave.’

‘Even the name of her killer?’ said Wolf.

Grace saw a flicker of fear in the woman’s eyes.

‘And what of the necklace?’ he went on. ‘Who stole your mistress’s diamonds?’

With a cry that did not sound human the woman flew out of her seat.

‘No one stole the diamonds!’
She stood behind the little table, her thin chest rising and falling with each angry breath. ‘Get out before I screams the house down. That wouldn’t look good for you and Miss Charitable Duncombe here, now would it?’

‘Think it over, Annie.’ Wolf moved to the door. ‘I know you could help me and you would. You can leave a message for me at the—’

‘I’ll see you hang first.’

‘Surely you do not mean that,’ exclaimed Grace and felt the full force of those malevolent eyes turned upon her.

‘Oh, yes, I do. Miss Florence never loved him. She shouldn’t have married him. She would’ve been happier with—’ Her voice broke and she dragged up the corner of her apron to wipe her eyes. ‘A curse on all men! Go away, the both of you. Get out.’

Grace reached into her reticule.

‘I hope you will reconsider Mr Arrandale’s offer,’ she said quietly. ‘But whatever you decide, this may help.’

She placed a silver coin on the table and the woman stared at it. Grace stepped away, wondering whether she had offended her even more.

Annie Meesden nodded to the parcel Grace was carrying. ‘What’s that?’