Yew Tree Gardens (21 page)

Her companion shuddered. ‘But Judson’s bound to say something. He may even report her to the police for attacking him.’

‘Just let him dare! Hmm. I suppose I’d better speak to him before I leave for Brighton. He definitely ought to be locked away for what he did, but how can anyone prove it? Perhaps we can use the threat of revealing all to stop him laying charges against Irene, though, make him think someone saw everything.’ She looked severely at the other woman. ‘I’m assuming you would be prepared to bear witness to his attack on her, if necessary? Did you see much?’

Miss Pilkins nodded. ‘Not the actual attack, but I heard what he said. I hid nearby and saw him go into the storeroom. Then I heard Irene screaming for help. It was terrible. He taunted her. He’s a wicked creature. Then he 
yelled in pain and she ran out with her clothing all torn.’

She gulped and mopped her eyes again. ‘I was terrified he might kill her. I waited till they were out of sight and crept after them. I hid in that alcove on the fire stairs landing and saw him come in and out of the stairs. I think he must have searched every floor. But I didn’t see Renie again.’

She bent her head and said in a muffled voice, ‘I’m so ashamed of myself.’

‘No time for that now. Pull yourself together. You’ll have to take over from me at the hotel while I go down to Brighton to see the Carlings. And don’t say a word about what really happened, not a single word to anyone.’ Mrs Tolson got up, then stopped to ask, ‘Oh, what about Irene’s other possessions?’

‘They’re in her trunk in the attic, I suppose. I emptied all the things from her drawers into an old suitcase a guest had left behind.’

‘The others will be quite safe in the attic. We’ll leave them there till she sends for them.’

‘How do we explain her absence?’

‘Did the others know about her sister?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then it’s easy to explain. She’s gone to her sister. I’ll tell Judson
I
helped her get away. I doubt he’ll ever dare to come back here.’

She looked at her fob watch. ‘I must hurry up and pack now. I doubt I’ll be able to get back from Brighton until midday tomorrow. I’m trusting you to keep everything quiet in the meantime.’

‘I’ll do my very best … unless
he
comes back.’

At the nearby hospital, to which Judson had been taken, Mrs Tolson was shown to a ward with several beds down each side. He was lying in one of them with a big bandage round his head, covering one eye. She asked the nurse in charge if he could be put in a wheelchair and taken somewhere private, since she had some bad news to tell him and he might make a fuss. To her relief, that was agreed. From the looks they gave him, he wasn’t a favourite patient.

She waited in a side room until he was wheeled in and made sure she was nearer the door than him, in case he attacked her. Though he didn’t look at all well.

He squinted up at her. ‘What do
you
want, Tolson?’

‘To speak about what happened and arrange what to say.’

‘As soon as they let me out of here, I’m going straight to the nearest police station to lay a complaint about Irene attacking me. There’s no
arranging
needed. I only have to tell the truth. The bitch has blinded me in my left eye.’

Eunice abandoned any attempt to reason with him. He looked so wild, she was glad there were people within call. ‘If you do that, I’ll lay a few complaints against
you
on behalf of young women who work at the hotel. Whether the police can prove anything or not, I think my reputation is such that I’ll be able to make sure you never get a job in a decent London hotel again.’

He gaped at her for a moment, anger colouring the pallor of his face suddenly, then he banged his clenched fist on the arm of his wheelchair. ‘I’m
not
letting her get away with blinding me. I’m definitely going to the police and if
they
don’t arrest her and charge her with attempted murder, I’ll track her down and see how she likes it with only one eye.’

The chief nurse poked her head round the door. ‘Keep your voice down, if you please, Mr Judson.’ From the look on her face, she’d overheard what he said.

He scowled and waited till she’d gone to continue more quietly, though no less viciously. ‘I meant what I said.’ He plucked at the bandage as if it hurt, then studied her sourly. ‘She came to you for help, didn’t she?’

‘Yes. I helped her leave the country. It seemed best then and you’ve confirmed that for me with what you’ve just said.’

‘
What
?
You interfering old biddy. I’ll remember that and make sure
you
regret crossing me. And I’ll still find out where she went. See if I don’t. I’m not … not giving up. Not after this.’ He fingered the bandage.

Clearly nothing she said or did would persuade him to change his mind. He was flushed, starting to ramble. She’d done her best, so stood up. ‘I’m going down to see the Carlings. I think you can be sure you’ll lose your job. If they’d still been in charge, you’d not have lasted this long at a Rathleigh hotel.’

She left to a hail of curses, thanked the nurse in charge, then went to Victoria Station and took the train to Brighton. She’d known the Carlings for many years and thought they’d listen to her about Judson, but she also had to protect Irene, so couldn’t tell the complete truth to anyone.

She didn’t know for certain where the poor young woman was now, though she hoped Mr Rycroft would keep an eye on her.

She was going to do her best to convince everyone that Irene had left the country, even the young woman’s own family, if they ever turned up. 

Judson was a very dangerous man when crossed. If he went round making enquiries, she had to make sure he got the same answer everywhere.

Renie woke with a start, wondering for a moment or two where she was. Then she remembered and snuggled down again in the big, soft bed. She was safe. With Gil. And he’d said he meant it about marrying her.

Surely Judson wouldn’t be able to get to her here?

She lay there until she heard people stirring, then got up, washed quickly in cold water and went downstairs, following the sound of voices into the dining room. She hesitated in the doorway, still feeling a little shy.

When Gil noticed her, he got up with a beaming smile to kiss her cheek and lead her to the seat next to his. ‘Did you sleep well?’

‘Better than I have for ages. Ooh, something smells wonderful.’

She let him serve her with a plate of fried eggs, bacon and kidneys. ‘Isn’t Beth up yet?’

‘She has her breakfast in the schoolroom, then does lessons all morning.’

‘Oh. I was looking forward to seeing her again.’

He grinned. ‘We can always interrupt them. I do that sometimes on fine days, because I think children should get plenty of fresh air.’

‘Could we interrupt them today? I’d like to make sure I get on with her.’

‘Good idea.’

His eyes were so warm on her face she felt herself blushing. Walter winked at her from across the table. 

There was one person still missing. ‘Isn’t Horry coming to breakfast?’

‘He’s been and gone. He’s an early bird, our Horry. He wanted to check the car and then work on an idea he has for an improved motor car engine.’

‘How clever he must be!’

After breakfast Gil took Renie up to the schoolroom, where Beth was reading a poem aloud. She didn’t notice them and they stood in the doorway to listen:

Beth stopped reading. ‘That’s silly.’

‘It’s meant to be,’ her governess said. ‘It’s meant to make you laugh. We’ll start reading
Alice in Wonderland
next.’

‘I love that story,’ Renie said without thinking.

Beth turned round and clapped her hands. ‘Good morning, Miss Fuller. Are we going for a walk, Uncle Gil?’

‘Whatever makes you think that?’

She got up, so sure of her welcome in his arms that Renie’s eyes grew moist. This was how children should be treated.

Beth turned to her. ‘Did you really like the story, Miss Fuller?’

‘Yes, I did. I never did anything that was fun when I was at school, and I went to work in the laundry as soon as they let me leave school. My father wanted the money and he didn’t believe in educating women. Thank goodness for libraries! My sisters and I were always borrowing books. 
You’re lucky to be able to read stories that are fun.’ She smiled at the governess as she spoke.

‘Well, we have plenty of books here, so if you want to read some more nonsense verse, I can find you several books of it. Miss Bennerden must have had a wry sense of humour.’ Gil turned to the governess. ‘Would you mind if we interrupted for just an hour, Miss Bramber? I promise to bring Beth back then.’

‘Would it matter if I did?’ She waved one hand dismissively, an indulgent smile on her face.

He held out his good hand to his niece. ‘Come along, young lady. We’ll show Miss Fuller the gardens.’

They walked out through the French windows in the sitting room.

Renie stopped almost immediately. ‘Oh! Look at all the flowers! Already! And everything’s so green.’

She followed Gil past flowers, shrubs, through a vegetable garden, with neat rows of young plants, to a swing hanging from a big old tree. There were wooden seats here and there, tempting you to sit.

‘I shan’t recognise all the flowers and plants because I’ve never spent much time in gardens.’

‘Beth and I will teach you. You could bring a book out here this afternoon and sit reading in the summer house. It catches the sun nicely. I’m afraid I have to see someone, so can’t join you.’

After luncheon, Renie did just that, sitting in a delightful little summer house, feeling guilty at not working. She didn’t intend to go into the village until her face got better, though. She didn’t want people to see her looking like this.

She found herself dozing and gave in to temptation, 
leaning her head back. Just as she was nodding off to sleep, she thought she heard footsteps and jerked awake again. But when she glanced round outside, she could see no one.

That was strange. She was sure she’d heard something in the bushes.

Then Gil called her name. He came across to join her from another direction so it couldn’t have been him she’d heard moving about.

She forgot about the footsteps in the pleasure of chatting to him. They never seemed to run out of things to say.

She was already sure that if he didn’t change his mind, she’d accept his proposal.

He didn’t love her, just wanted to find a wife. But he liked her, felt comfortable with her and maybe he’d grow fonder of her as time passed. She’d grown to love him, though. How could she not, when he was so wonderful? She’d been foolish enough to dream about him since the very first time they met.

As for Beth, she was a delightful child. It would be a pleasure to help raise her, and other children too, perhaps.

Could life really be this good?

If only Renie could find her sisters again, it’d be more perfect than her wildest dreams. 

Eunice arrived in Brighton, deeply worried about what she had to do. The older Carlings lived in a suite at the Brighton Rathleigh and she was shown straight up to it.

To her dismay she found Dennis Carling visiting his parents.

He stood up and gave her a dirty look, not even having the common politeness to suggest that she sit down.

‘Perhaps it’s as well you came, Mrs Tolson. We need to do something about the vicious attack on Mr Judson.’

She was startled by this and had to catch her breath before she could respond. ‘It’s the other way round: it was he who attacked a young woman.’

‘He told me about her claim. They always say that. It’s only her word against his. I’m afraid she’s taking you for a fool.’

Maurice Carling cleared his throat. ‘Just a minute, Dennis. You’ve only heard one side of the story, and that was on the telephone, not face to face. And what a way to greet a visitor, who’s also an old friend. My dear Eunice, do please sit down. May we order some tea for you?’

‘I’d rather settle this matter first, if you don’t mind, Maurice.’ She looked at him and his wife. ‘Have you ever known me lie to you?’

It was Lois Carling who answered that without hesitation. ‘Never. Nor are you a fool.’ She frowned at her son when he started to speak and he snapped his mouth shut.

‘There was a witness to what happened,’ Eunice said. ‘Judson didn’t know about that when he concocted his tale. Unfortunately, the witness was too frightened of him to intervene.’ She explained what had really happened.

Dennis sat frowning. ‘It’s still the young woman’s word against that of a man I know and respect. And I gather she was rather lax in morals.’

‘She was not! She was a quiet and hard-working young woman.’

‘She had you fooled there. She was leading Mr Judson on all the time.’

‘He’s lying. I’ve known him for several years, have worked with him before, and he’s annoyed other young women during that time. I’ve had to speak to him about it more than once. Some of them even left our employment because they were frightened of him.’

‘That’s a very serious allegation, Mrs Tolson. Are you quite sure of this?’

‘I’d stake my life on it being true.’

He was speechless for a moment.

‘Is the young woman all right?’ Lois asked. ‘Do we need to help her?’

‘She’s all right, though her face is somewhat battered from where Judson beat her.’ Eunice found the next lie came more easily than she’d expected. ‘She’s terrified of him, though, so 
I helped her escape to France, where she has a friend.’

‘France?’ Lois looked at her in shock.

‘I was afraid Judson would go after her. After all, his job is at stake … surely?’

‘He can hardly go after anyone at the moment,’ Dennis said. ‘His injured eye needs attention. That’s why he telephoned me from the hospital to ask my help. And, I might add, what sort of woman slashes a man’s face with a piece of broken glass? That’s not a sign of respectability.’

‘On the contrary. Irene had no other weapon and was in danger of being raped. I’d have done the same myself.’ She saw Lois suck in her breath at this blunt speaking, so pressed the point. ‘I firmly believe he’ll go after her again once he recovers.’

‘Of course he won’t!’ Dennis glared at her.

‘He said he would when I went to see him in hospital. He was … very unreasonable.’

‘Well, I’ll believe you over him any time,’ Lois said. ‘You have no reason to lie to us and we’ve known you for more than thirty years. That poor girl! I can’t bear to think of this happening to her in our hotel.’

‘Judson must be dismissed,’ Maurice said. ‘We can’t have such people working for us. What if he attacks a customer?’

‘He’s a good manager,’ Dennis insisted. ‘I’ll talk to him about it, make sure he changes his ways.’

‘I’ve already talked to him more than once and so did Mr Greaves. When Judson was younger and working at the various hotels in a lesser capacity, he spent some time at the London Rathleigh. Mr Greaves spoke to you then, I believe, Mr Carling, worrying about him, without telling you his name. And you said to give him a second chance.’ 

‘I’d forgotten that,’ Maurice said. ‘Was it him? Are you sure?’

‘Yes. It was at my instigation.’

She looked at Dennis as she added, ‘Each time we spoke to him, he promised not to behave like that again, but he didn’t change much, simply became more cunning.’

‘But he’s such a good manager,’ Dennis protested. ‘Makes the hotel very profitable.’

She glared at him. ‘Don’t you care about the women he’s upset, or the women he’ll continue to upset?’ When he didn’t answer, she said firmly, ‘I regret to tell you that if Judson continues to work at any of the Rathleigh hotels, I shall tender my resignation.’

‘She’s right, and I’ve spoken to you before about this,’ Maurice told his son. ‘Money isn’t everything. The man must go. And if I ever hear of anyone else in our employ molesting the young women who work for us, I shall myself take action against them.’

‘Think if it were your sister, Dennis dear,’ Lois said.

He turned to Eunice. ‘You’re sure of your facts about this incident?’

‘Absolutely certain.’

‘Then Judson was lying to me.’

‘We can’t leave Miss Fuller on her own overseas, surely?’ Lois asked. ‘She must be brought back and reinstated.’

‘I think it’d be best to leave her where she is. She’s with friends who’ll protect her. Even if he’s dismissed, I fear Judson will still seek revenge if he can find her.’

Eunice stayed the night at the hotel, dining with the older Carlings. In the morning she went back to London. Dennis accompanied her. He was to go and see Judson at the
hospital and dismiss him, then take over at the hotel till a new manager could be appointed.

Eunice watched him bustle around. She could have done the manager’s job, knew more about it than Dennis, but even Mr and Mrs Carling would never consider a woman for that post. Life wasn’t fair.

Two days after their arrival at Oakdene, Mr Mortlake sent a messenger with a letter from Chapman’s lawyer, again demanding a share of the inheritance. Mr Mortlake’s note said:
I was so sure of what you would want me to do, I’ve written back to say we do not accept their view of the situation and you won’t be paying out any of your inheritance to Chapman.

Gil told the others what had happened, then frowned. ‘Why do I feel we’ve not heard the last of this?’

‘Because Chapman’s a villain,’ Horry said.

The next day Gil was accosted by Chapman in the village. The fellow must have been waiting in the garden to speak to him when he went out for his usual early morning stroll.

‘What do you want here?’ he demanded.

Chapman glared at him. ‘I want my inheritance.’

‘You’re not legally entitled to anything.’

‘I’m morally entitled. I was her only close relative.’

‘So closely related that no one can trace the connection.’ Gil turned to leave.

Chapman moved to bar his path. ‘You may find you change your mind. You wouldn’t want those you love getting hurt, would you? Think about it.’

He smiled, then walked off without a backward glance, leaving Gil still gaping in shock.

He hurried to tell the others what had happened, adding, ‘Don’t go outside in the garden on your own, Renie, or let Beth go, either.’

A few days passed and nothing happened, but Renie took care not to leave the garden when she played with Beth because she couldn’t bear it if anything happened to such a delightful little girl. Just before teatime on a day of showers and cloudy skies, the sun came out.

‘Can we play catch?’ Beth begged.

Renie looked outside. ‘Just for a while.’

When she grew breathless, she insisted they needed a sit down. ‘I’m not young like you.’

‘I’ll go and pick us an apple each,’ Beth said. ‘It’s still a long time before dinner and they’re delicious straight from the tree.’ She didn’t wait for an answer but hurried off down one of the narrow paths through the garden.

Renie had just sat down on the bench when she heard the child cry out. But the cry was cut off abruptly.

Had Beth fallen?

‘Beth? Are you all right?’

There was no answer, but there was a scuffling sound beyond the bushes.

Worried, Renie rushed down the path Beth had taken. ‘Beth? Beth, answer me!’

As she turned into an open space near the kitchen garden, she saw Beth struggling in the arms of a man who had a sack over his head with eyeholes cut in it. ‘Stop that! Let her go, you brute!’

He picked up the child, still keeping one hand over her mouth.

‘Help! Someone help me! He—’

Someone grabbed Renie from behind and a heavy hand was clasped over her mouth. She tried to kick the person, but it wasn’t possible to kick hard enough in a backwards direction and the man was so big, he was easily able to control her.

She couldn’t believe this was happening a second time. Had Judson tracked her down? Or was this to do with Chapman?

Her attacker threw her to the ground and pressed her face down so hard she got a mouthful of earth. She struggled in vain, half smothered, as he tied her hands behind her back, then he stuffed a piece of cloth in her mouth, still keeping her face down. All she could see of him was his boots, heavy working boots, one tied with a piece of twine.

She waited, terrified of what he was going to do next, but nothing happened. When she rolled over, there was no sign of her attacker … or of Beth.

It was difficult to get to her feet with her hands tied behind her back and it took her a while. The cloth was tied so tightly she couldn’t remove it to call for help, even when she rubbed her face against a tree.

Staggering, shocked, terrified for little Beth, she stumbled along the path towards the house, moaning in relief when she heard someone cry her name.

Within seconds, Gil was there. He managed to untie the gag, but the twine that tied her hands was knotted so tight it was digging into her flesh.

‘Never mind me. They’ve taken Beth.’

‘
What?
’

‘She went to pick some apples and I heard her cry out.
When I ran to see what was wrong, I saw a man carrying her away. Another man pushed me to the ground and tied me up. I didn’t even see his face.’

Gil lost every vestige of colour. ‘Let’s get that rope cut off your hands.’

‘You get Horry and go after her. Someone else can help me.’

He insisted on going with her to the kitchen. ‘Help Miss Fuller. She’ll tell you what happened.’ Yelling for Horry, he hurried off back towards the path.

Lizzie, who was having a cup of tea with Madge, got a sharp knife and cut the twine. It took a while. ‘The brutes! They didn’t need to tie it so tightly. It’s dug right in and cut you. You’ll have bruises on your wrists.’

‘I don’t matter.’ Renie explained that someone had kidnapped Beth.

There was dead silence in the kitchen, then Lizzie stood up. ‘I’m going to look, too.’

‘You can’t do much against a strong man,’ Renie said. ‘You might make it worse.’

Lizzie stopped for a moment, frowning in thought, then said, ‘I can get my brothers out looking, though. If my little love is still in the village, they’ll find her, if anyone can. They’re into everything, the little monkeys.’

She was gone before anyone could stop her.

Gil followed Horry into the village, unable to keep up. When he got to the green, he found Horry questioning an old man.

‘No one came this way,’ the fellow was insisting. ‘I’d ha’ seen ’em, for sure.’

‘But they must have come through here.’

‘There are all sorts of ways through the village, zur. In and out of gardens, through the back of the churchyard. All sorts.’

Gil laid a hand on his friend’s arm. ‘We’ll go straight to see Chapman. We’ll beat it out of him if we have to.’

‘He’s in the pub,’ the old man called. ‘Went in there an hour or more ago. Hasn’t come out that I’ve seen.’

‘That means he’s got someone else to do the dirty work,’ Gil said.

‘What’s the matter?’ the old man asked.

‘Someone’s kidnapped my niece.’

The man jerked upright. ‘That little lass as ’as lost her parents?’

‘Yes. My fiancée saw someone kidnap her, but they tied Renie up so she couldn’t follow them.’

‘Dear-oh-Lord, whatever will happen next?’ He raised his voice. ‘Jem? Jem, get out here this minute.’

A man looked out of the smithy, a burly fellow with a big hammer in his hand. ‘What’s up, Granddad?’

Gil left the old man to explain and led the way into the pub. Chapman was sitting there with a couple of men from the village.

Gil marched up to the table. ‘What have you done with her?’

Chapman gave a knowing smile. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘My niece. What have you done with her?’

The landlord came across to join them. ‘We don’t want no trouble, Mr Rycroft.’

‘This fellow’s kidnapped my niece. If she’s hurt in any way, I’ll make sure he pays for it.’ 

Chapman laughed. ‘You couldn’t fight a scarecrow, let alone someone who can fight back. And if you continue to threaten me, I’ll complain to the police.’

The landlord frowned. ‘When did this happen, Mr Rycroft?’

‘About a quarter of an hour ago.’

‘Well, then, there’s one thing certain: Mr Chapman couldn’t have done it. He’s been sitting here for an hour or more. I’d ha’ known if he even went out to the privy.’

‘Then he’s arranged for someone else to do it.’

‘I can see you need convincing.’ Chapman stood up. ‘Let’s go to my house. You can search it from top to bottom and you’ll find no one there.’

Which meant, Gil guessed, that Beth wasn’t being held there. But he still had to search, in case it was a bluff. ‘Very well.’

Chapman turned to the landlord. ‘I’d be grateful if you’d come with me, Ozzie. I don’t intend to put up with being manhandled, and I want this matter settled once and for all.’

In grim silence, the group of men walked out of the pub and across the green, then down a short lane to Chapman’s house. To his chagrin, Gil again couldn’t keep up.