The Ravenscar Dynasty (28 page)

He did as she asked and seated himself on the loveseat, gazing at her intently. ‘You look like a rose in full bloom, Lily, your skin is perfect, your eyes are sparkling…simply ravishing, that you are. But a little different somehow.' Leaning forward, he kissed her on the cheek, and sat back. ‘Well, you asked about my day, and I can only say that it's been a bit hectic. Aubrey Masters died last night, very suddenly.'

‘Oh my goodness!' Lily's eyes narrowed, and she went on swiftly, ‘Wasn't he the head of the Mining Division? The one you had the huge argument with about your father's office?'

‘He was indeed.'

‘Was he ill?'

‘Oh no—well, as far as we know he wasn't. John Summers told us that Masters had chest pains last night, and that by the time the doctor arrived he was gone.'

‘Masters wasn't very nice to you…' Lily slowly shook her head. ‘My mother always said God doesn't pay his debts in money,' she added pithily.

Before Edward could respond, there was a light knock on the door and Mrs Dane poked her head around it. ‘Dinner's ready, madame,' the housekeeper said, and added, ‘Good evening, sir.'

‘Evening, Mrs Dane,' Edward responded, smiling, and stood up, offered his hand to Lily, brought her to her feet.

As they went across the hall to the dining room, Lily murmured, ‘I asked Mrs Dane to make some of your favourite things—roast leg of lamb and roast potatoes, and I had Fortnum and Mason deliver their best Scotch salmon and Russian caviare, Beluga actually, I—'

‘Lily, I'm afraid you're spoiling me!' he cut in, put his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the room together, smiling down at her.

After supper they retreated to the drawing room, and for a few minutes Lily fussed with pouring Edward a cup of coffee and then a balloon of Napoleon brandy. As she was doing so she said in a casual almost offhand way, ‘I'm thinking of buying a house in Kent, it's not far from Stonehurst Farm and is rather charming. Fortunately, it's in good condition, not a wreck like Vicky's farm was when she bought it.'

Edward looked at her, his eyebrows drawing together in a jagged line. ‘That's always a blessing, not having to engage in remodelling and such. But Lily, why on earth do you want to have a house in Kent? I never realized you had a partiality to the country. Or that you would ever contemplate living there.'

Lily realized at once that he was genuinely puzzled, and she replied quickly, ‘Oh, I do enjoy being out of town for part of the time, Ned, as long as there are friends nearby. However, I have another reason for buying the house.' She cleared her throat, sat down on the small sofa, and continued, ‘There's something I want to tell you, but please, I don't want you to be upset. I'll take care of everything, you won't have to do a thing, I promise you.'

Frowning again, Edward asked in a puzzled voice, ‘Lily, what
are
you talking about?'

‘I'm pregnant, Ned,' she announced calmly in a strong, steady voice. ‘I'm expecting your baby—our baby.'

He gaped at her in astonishment, and instantly experienced an extraordinary rush of emotion, a sudden sense of happiness. A huge smile spread itself across his face. ‘Lily, darling! We're having a baby! And that's what is different about you.' He grinned from ear to ear. ‘You've put on weight, not a lot, but you are definitely a little plumper. Not that I mind, it's rather charming.'

Rising, he went to sit next to her on the loveseat, encircled her in his arms and kissed her on the cheek in the most loving manner. ‘
A baby
. Well, fancy that, we're having a baby.'

‘You're not angry with me, are you?' A look of worry crossed her eyes.

‘How could I possibly be angry with you of all people?' Drawing away, gazing deeply into her face, he murmured, ‘I'm just as responsible as you are for making this child, and I will always feel and
be
responsible for him, or her.'

‘You don't have to be, I mean in a financial way,' Lily assured him. ‘And I do understand you can't possibly marry me, I'm much too old for you. You will have to make an important marriage one day, you know. But, of course, it would make me happy if you could see our child, spend time with us, visit us.' A gentle smile flitted across her face. ‘You must understand I'll never make any demands on you, Ned. Never ever.'

There was an odd expression on his face, and he took her hand, brought it to his lips, kissed it, and held it between his own. ‘You're the most extraordinary woman I've ever met. You are very special to me, my darling Lily.'

‘I'm certainly glad you've recovered from that nasty little attack upon your person, Mr Deravenel,' Inspector Laidlaw said in his hearty voice, shaking Edward's hand with a firm grip. ‘I'm afraid we came to a dead end on that, sir, no suspects, as you know. Mind you, we've not closed the case. It remains open.'

‘I'm perfectly certain you'll never be able to pin it on anyone, Inspector Laidlaw,' Edward replied and chuckled. ‘Those boyos were long gone that very night, wouldn't you say?'

‘I would indeed.'

‘Now, Inspector Laidlaw, I would like you to meet my colleagues, Alfredo Oliveri and Robert Aspen. They both worked rather closely with Aubrey Masters, for a number of years. They'll be happy to answer any questions you have, as will I.'

‘Pleased to meet you, gentlemen,' Inspector Laidlaw said, shaking Alfredo's hand and then Rob's. ‘I do have a few things I would like to discuss with you both, and Mr Deravenel.'

The four men were standing in the middle of Edward's
office at Deravenels, and he now said, ‘I think we might be more comfortable over there near the window where we can all sit down.' As he spoke he walked across the room and seated himself on the sofa; the other three men followed and each took an armchair arranged in a grouping close to the big leather sofa.

‘By the way, Inspector, do you have the results of the autopsy yet?'

‘Yes, I do, Mr Deravenel. Mr Masters died from the ingestion of digitalis.'

‘Isn't that a heart medicine?' Rob Aspen asked in surprise, looking at the Inspector. ‘I didn't think one could die from it. My mother has a heart problem and the doctor prescribed digitalis last year.'

In his late thirties, Rob Aspen was a pleasant-looking man who appeared much younger than his years and wore his clothes with a bit of a dash. Women found him attractive, wanted to mother him, but so far he had eluded all of them and was still single.

‘It is indeed a heart medicine, Mr Aspen,' the Inspector answered. ‘And that was one of the things I wanted to talk to you all about. Did Mr Masters suffer from a heart condition, do you know?'

‘I don't think so,' Alfredo answered, ‘but then Aspen would know better than I, because he works here in London all the time. I go back and forth to Italy, to Carrara, to be exact.'

Rob exclaimed, ‘I'm pretty certain he was in the best of health. He appeared to be, at any rate. On the other hand, how can I be sure? We were business colleagues not close friends, and he did not confide in me. Surely Mrs Masters would know about his health?'

The Inspector nodded, leaned back in the armchair, a reflective look on his face. After a moment's considered thought, he continued slowly, ‘Mrs Masters insists that her husband did not have a heart condition, and therefore was
not
taking digitalis. She was most definite about this. I've also spoken to his physician, Dr Fortescue, and went to see him at his surgery. In fact, we had a long chat. The doctor cannot explain the reason Mr Masters took digitalis. He, too, is most baffled. Certainly he did not prescribe it, because Mr Masters did not have a heart condition. The doctor was most firm about that.'

‘Could there be another doctor involved, Inspector Laidlaw?' Edward asked, giving the policeman a hard stare. ‘Perhaps Aubrey Masters wanted a
second
opinion, if he thought he had a health problem, and certainly he wouldn't have wanted to offend Dr Fortescue. Or perhaps he didn't want his wife to know he had developed a heart condition, and
secretly
went to see another physician or specialist.'

‘Or any kind of condition,' Rob volunteered.

‘What are you suggesting, Mr Aspen?' the Inspector asked, his eyes on the other man.

‘It's something I've just remembered—' Rob left his sentence unfinished, shaking his head. ‘No, no, it's a long shot, I'm sure there's nothing to it.'

‘To what?' the inspector asked.

‘A remark Masters made to me about six months ago. I thought it was an odd comment, and quite out of character, not at all like him. Out of the blue one day, he muttered that life was so much easier for women, that all they had to do was lie down, whereas men had to
stand to attention.' Rob shook his head. ‘I was being something of a dunce that afternoon, I suppose, because I didn't get the innuendo at first, not until he chuckled and winked at me. Frankly, I was astonished. I realized he was making a reference to his…sexuality, or perhaps I should say lack of it. About a week later I took some papers to his office, but he was out. I placed the files on his desk and it was then I noticed a writing pad on which he had drawn a number of hearts in red pencil, doodles really, and just below the hearts was the name Dr Alvin Springer. I thought nothing about it at the time, it just came back to me now.'

‘I will have that name checked out, Mr Aspen. Thank you very much indeed,' Inspector Laidlaw said. ‘There's a possibility that Dr Springer
is
a heart specialist, in view of those scribbles.'

‘It might be a clue, yes,' Rob responded. ‘On the other hand, the doctor could be one who specializes in sex therapy. There are a few now practising in London, I hear from a friend of mine, who suffers from…well, er, shall we say a certain inadequacy. He has also been going to a psychiatrist, and, in fact, Dr Springer might well be a doctor who treats problems.'

Edward, who had been swallowing sudden and unexpected laughter, now glanced at Inspector Laidlaw. Immediately he saw the laughter in the policeman's eyes, although his expression was one of total solemnity.

Rising, Edward walked over to his desk, trying to turn his spluttering laughter into coughing. A moment later, fully in control he said, ‘Do excuse me, I'm so sorry.'

The Inspector looked across at him, obviously suppressing
his
laughter, and said, ‘Do you need a glass of water, sir?'

Edward walked back to the sofa, shaking his head. ‘No, no, thank you, I'm fine.'

Laidlaw now said, ‘Mr Aspen, you've been very helpful, and I will personally speak to Dr Springer.' Clearing his throat several times, he then went on, ‘I don't suppose any of you would know if there was—well, another woman in his life?'

Edward thought he would burst into laughter at the preposterousness of this idea, but he managed to control himself, as did Oliveri and Aspen. Both of them looked as amused as he was; they simply shook their heads, as did Edward, and kept their faces straight.

After a moment, Edward turned to the Inspector. ‘If Aubrey Masters
did
have a heart condition, and had been prescribed digitalis, which is a heart medicine, then why on earth did he die because he took it?'

‘It was an overdose, Mr Deravenel. I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear at the outset of this conversation. Accidental or on purpose, we don't know yet. And this leads me to another point, and that is Mr Masters's demeanour. How was he in the last few weeks? Sad? Despondent about anything? Did he appear worried? Or did he perhaps behave differently in some way?' He looked at Alfredo in particular.

‘He was totally normal, Inspector,' Alfredo announced in a firm and positive voice. ‘Actually, he was in an especially good mood on Monday, although in a bit of a hurry to get away from the meeting we were having. He explained he didn't want to be late
for an appointment out of the office. The following day, Tuesday, we bumped into each other in the corridor here, and he was very cordial. But I must admit, he did appear to be preoccupied. That's all I can tell you.'

‘He was
very
preoccupied, Inspector,' Rob volunteered. ‘And I agree with Oliveri in that I myself thought he was in a good humour on Monday, and certainly normal in everything he did.'

Inspector Laidlaw nodded. ‘It's probably all very simple really. No doubt he did have a heart condition he was hiding from his wife and everyone here at his place of work. He must have gone to Dr Springer for that reason, who put him on digitalis. The other night he more than likely misjudged the dose, took too much.'

‘Is there going to be an inquest?' Edward asked.

‘Oh yes, of course, sir. It will be held next week according to the coroner.' Standing up, Inspector Laidlaw thanked them for their cooperation. ‘I'll be in touch with you, gentlemen, as soon as I have more information.'

Edward left his office with the Inspector and escorted him down the corridor in the direction of the grand staircase. As they walked along side by side, Edward said, at one moment, in a low voice, ‘There is the possibility he committed suicide, isn't there?'

‘Yes, indeed, Mr Deravenel.'

‘I didn't know Aubrey Masters well, but he didn't strike me as the kind of man who would misjudge the amount of medication he should take. He was rather precise,' Edward confided in the same quiet voice. ‘And yet he did take an overdose, didn't he?'

The policeman nodded, and murmured in an equally
low tone, ‘If you have any more thoughts or information to pass on, you can reach me at Scotland Yard, Mr Deravenel.'

When Edward walked back into his office a few minutes later, Alfredo and Rob were laughing hilariously.

‘What's the joke?' he asked, and then began to laugh himself. When he finally sobered, Edward said, ‘Honestly, Aspen, I thought I was going to explode. There you were, mincing your words, trying to be careful around the Inspector, being ever so discreet. You could have just come out with it and said Masters couldn't get an erection. The Inspector was striving to suppress his own laughter. I saw that immediately.'

Alfredo pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes. ‘You sounded like your own maiden aunt, Aspen.'

‘I know,' Rob admitted, looking chagrined. ‘It was foolish of me, but I was simply trying to say what I had to say without being—bloody vulgar.'

‘Inspector Laidlaw's one of the boys, a good sport, I can tell you that,' Edward remarked, grinning again. ‘I think he would have appreciated a good laugh, in fact.'

Alfredo walked over to the window and looked down into the Strand for a moment, then swung his head and said to Edward, ‘I think Masters might have committed suicide, because of the
skimming
. You and I both think he might be involved in that, and so does Aspen, by the way.'

Rob, who was leaning against the desk nonchalantly,
nodded his head. ‘It's bound to come to light in the next few months—unless there's a real cover-up, unless they make it go away. It'll be miraculous if they do.'

‘You're correct in that,' Ned answered, and went and sat down behind his desk. ‘I told Inspector Laidlaw that I'll be in touch if anything comes to mind, so put your thinking caps on, my lads, and think hard. I'd like to help Laidlaw, if I can. He's a nice chap.'

Alfredo said, ‘I couldn't believe it when the Inspector asked if Masters had another woman. Can you imagine that—Aubrey Masters and a lady of the night.'

‘Please don't,' Ned muttered, grimacing. ‘It's certainly not something I want to think about, I can tell you that. Masters was rather a strange duck in my opinion, and also quite ghastly, actually.'

Rob chuckled. ‘You're right, and it's certainly hard to envision him as a ladies' man, even when the lady isn't a lady. Think of that.'

‘God forbid!' Ned exclaimed.