She closed her eyes at first, as if it made speaking less painful. 'I'm not at my best. I don't know what to say about him-Rupert Darby. Since I heard about his death, I've been trying to understand him, if not forgive him. At the time of the various incidents at the meetings, I was incensed by his behavior. I felt sure he really set out to persecute me. Now that, em-'
'Now that he's dead?'
'Yes. I'm less certain. I can't be sure. Possibly what happened with the dog was due mainly to negligence on his part.'
'Failing to control the dog, you mean.'
'Yes. He couldn't really have known that it would run straight to me and leap on me. So I'm trying, I'm beginning, I'm wanting… to take a more charitable view of what happened. Do you understand?'
By Miss Chilmark's lights, this was a turnaround on a par with Count Dracula turning out to be the tooth fairy. Was it Rupert's passing that had prompted it? Diamond wondered. Or had a much larger crisis put the incidents into a new perspective?
She said, 'I had no idea he was suicidal.'
Diamond told her, 'I wouldn't worry about Rupert if I were you.' He changed his posture. Instead of leaning forward, demonstrating concern, he rested his back against the chair. 'It wasn't anything to do with Rupert that brought you here, was it, ma'am?'
A little shudder went through her. 'No, it was another matter.' Then, silence.
'You may not feel you want to speak about it,' Diamond spoke the obvious, 'but if you do, I think it may become easier to live with. Locking it in is not the best way.'
She said with a penetrating stare, 'You know, don't you?'
'A certain amount, ma'am, enough to understand how difficult this is for you. But it can't go on, can it? The cost-'
'How did you find out?'
Swiftly he changed tack. He didn't want her knowing he'd tricked her bank. 'I was going to say the cost in stress is more than you can bear.'
The evasion was transparent. Miss Chilmark closed up again. 'Anyway, I don't see that my private affairs have anything to do with the police.'
The story had to be coaxed from her. He wished he had Julie with him instead of Halliwell standing there like the recording angel. 'Keith, I may be getting a call downstairs. Do you mind?'
Halliwell had the sense to leave.
Diamond smiled faintly, wanting to convey encouragement. 'See it from my point of view, Miss Chilmark. Darby died last night. You went missing. I'm bound to be concerned. I accept that the two events weren't connected, but I have to ask your reasons. I believe someone has been taking advantage of you. Threatening you, perhaps. Am I right?'
She gave a convulsive movement, a sob like a hiccup. From her sleeve she produced a paper tissue and put it to her face, and sobbed several times more.
Diamond waited uneasily.
Finally Miss Chilmark looked at him intently through a film of tears. 'If I tell you, will you promise not to pursue it?'
Without knowing what she was about to say, how could he give such an undertaking? He answered, 'If it doesn't bear on the matters I'm investigating, I wouldn't wish to get involved.' A 'promise' worthy of Machiavelli, but she scarcely seemed to be listening, she was so distressed.
In a voice threatening any second to dissolve into weeping, she began to tell her story. 'It goes back to when my parents were killed in an accident, a car crash in France, in 1961. A head-on smash with a lorry near Rouen. It was dreadful. They were in their early fifties, both of them. I was twenty-six, their only child, very naive. I'd been given an extremely sheltered upbringing. You may imagine the shock, and the problems, the responsibilities, I had thrust upon me. I was at a loss, quite unable to cope.'
'Anyone in your shoes…' Diamond murmured.
She went on, 'There was all the complexity of the inquest and of getting them home. I knew Mummy and Daddy would have wished to be brought home and buried here. As often happens in a crisis, someone came to my rescue, a solicitor who worked with Daddy. Did I say Daddy was the senior partner in Chilmark, Portland, and Smales? This young man-I'd rather not give his name-shouldered the whole thing. I was nominally the executrix, but he arranged everything for me. Went to France and brought them back. Saw to the funerals, the wills, the shares. Advised me on how to invest my legacy, which was considerable. I couldn't have got through without him. And he was only a name to me before. I don't believe Daddy had ever mentioned him-but then he never spoke much about his work. And I have to say that his behavior to me in all this time-vulnerable as I was-was impeccable. He was the perfect gentleman.'
She reached for the whiskey. 'Do you mind? I must. My voice.'
'Take your time.' He suspected it was not so much the voice as the gentleman under discussion who made the long sip of whiskey a necessity.
Miss Chilmark continued in a low, confidential tone, 'The next thing that happened was a mystery to me at the time, and not at all unpleasant. I received a Valentine, the only proper one I've ever received. Oh, people sent silly, jokey things at school, but this was beautiful, like a Victorian card, with lace edging and a silk ribbon. There was a lovely verse inside, but no clue to the sender. Nothing. I was deeply curious, of course. I would lie awake wondering who sent it, hardly daring to hope it might have been the young man who had done so much to solve my legal problems. Then about six weeks after, he phoned me with the good news that the probate had come through. At last I could invest the money, write checks, and so on. Not that I had any great plans, but it was a kind of landmark. I suppose I looked on it as the end of my parents' tragedy. I could look forward now, and think of my own life.'
'Were you working at this time?' Diamond asked.
'In employment? No. Daddy didn't want me working. He belonged to that generation that thought women of good class should not go into employment. I worked hard in the house and garden, but not for a wage.
'I was telling you about the probate. My kind solicitor said we ought to celebrate with a meal out the same evening. I didn't know what to say. I knew enough about the profession to be sure that my father would never have suggested such a thing to a client, but he was another generation. Part of me wanted to accept. He'd been so kind throughout, and now that the legal part was over… Well, to cut the story short, I went out to dinner with him the same evening at the Hole in the Wall, which at that time had a reputation unrivaled in Bath. He was a charming companion. He wasn't terribly good-looking, or anything, but he had an unusually attractive voice, like an actor's. He bought champagne, and toward the end of the meal he told me the Valentine had come from him. Of course I was overwhelmed by the whole thing. I had no experience of men. I think the champagne affected me, too.
'After the meal, he walked me back to the Paragon. It was raining, and he had an umbrella, and he asked me to take his arm while he held it over both our heads. I was extremely happy. As we approached the house, he said he hated mixing business with pleasure, but he had a couple more papers for me to sign. I half knew it was just an excuse for him to come inside, but I wanted the excuse. I don't condone my behavior.'
'It's all in the past,' said Diamond.
She lowered her eyes. 'You won't need telling what happened. I was a willing participant, and I have to say that he was considerate. Gentle and understanding. People's attitudes to such things have undergone a revolution since then, but by the standards of that time, we were wicked. That evening I didn't care. He didn't stay for more than an hour, I suppose. If I'm honest, I was relieved he didn't spend the night with me. I don't think I was ready to sleep with a man, literally sleep with him, I mean. He left before midnight, and I sank into my bed and slept until quite late next morning, when I woke and felt like a scarlet woman. These days the only thing that makes a young woman feel guilty seems to be eating a bar of chocolate.'
He gave an encouraging smile. To make a remark even faintly resembling a joke, she must have been feeling calmer.
'That evening wasn't the only occasion,' Miss Chilmark went on. 'He came to the house at other times in the weeks, that followed. He was usually there on some pretext. A letter about my bank arrangements, or something. I have to say that I invited him as often as he suggested coming. We would go to my bedroom, and… he never stayed long. We didn't really go out together, and I suppose that made me suspicious that there was a reason why
