“Any surviving family?”
“None as far as I know. I think the estate went to the Crown.”
“Good. Daisy is his long-lost daughter. She fell on hard times. Her mother had reverted to her maiden name of Levine. You rescued her. All respectable. You discovered her true identity after she had been working as your daughter’s maid and promptly elevated her to companion in respect for your old friend, Sir Percy. She is a strong, moral girl and will keep a guard of Lady Rose.”
“I sometimes think,” put in Lady Polly, “that it might be an idea to give Rose just a taste of the asylum to discipline her.”
“But think of the scandal,” said Harry. “She would be lost to you and damned as mad for the rest of her life.”
“Oh, very well,” said Lady Polly. “But I will hire a lady’s maid for her and one that will keep a strict eye on her as well. Rose has some very odd ideas about going into society again. She insists on going to some boring lecture given by Mrs Angela Stockton.”
“Mrs Stockton,” said Harry, consulting the papers he had taken from his office, “is fabulously wealthy and of good family.”
“But a lecture…!”
“And has a son of Rose’s age.”
Both the earl and countess looked at Harry. “Now that’s different,” said the earl. “Nothing up with money in the family, hey.”
? Hasty Death ?
Five
G.K. Chesterton
The fact that the earl and countess agreed to their daughter’s attending Angela Stockton’s lecture accompanied only by her new companion was prompted by parental weariness. Where had they gone wrong? They had supplied her with the best governess – or so they had believed – and the fact that they saw very little of her until she became of an age to be a debutante could not surely have created any problem, for she had been brought up as a lady of her class.
They had enjoyed their visit to Nice, the long miles separating them from their unruly daughter having largely served to put Rose out of their minds. Angela Stockton’s lecture seemed a safe enough place for her to be seen. Also, there was the carrot of Mrs Stockton’s marriageable son.
Luncheon was to be served before the lecture. Mrs Stockton’s impressive home was in Knightsbridge. Daisy, self-conscious in her new grand clothes supplied from Rose’s wardrobe, felt she would have enjoyed the outing better had not Lady Polly sent her lady’s maid, Humphrey, to keep an eye on them. Daisy was conscious the whole time of Humphrey’s hot and jealous eyes.
A fork luncheon was served in a long dining-room. The other guests were women of indeterminate age, some of them wearing very odd clothes, consisting of cotton embellished with cabalistic designs. There were a few men, mostly reedy and starved-looking.
Mrs Angela Stockton greeted them warmly. She was dressed in black velvet with stars and moons embroidered in silver around the hem of her gown. A heavy silver belt was around her waist and silver necklaces jangled from her thin neck. She had hair of an improbable shade of red, piled up and held in place with what looked like two ivory chopsticks. Her heavily rouged mouth was surrounded by a radius of wrinkles. Her eyes, outlined in kohl, were very large and pale blue.
“I am flattered that one so young and beautiful should grace my humble home,” she said. “May I introduce my son, Peregrine.”
Daisy reflected that Peregrine looked like a stage-door Johnny. He had thick black hair, well-oiled, and a thick luxuriant black moustache. His waistcoat was a violent affair of red and gold silk.
Rose and Daisy moved on into the dining-room. “Rabbit food,” hissed Daisy.
They helped themselves to nut cutlets and salad. There was no wine, simply jugs of water.
Daisy and Rose sat down at a table. “It’s quite tasty but they might at least have served the nut cutlets hot,” complained Rose. “And this house is abominably cold.” She signalled to Humphrey and asked her to fetch her fur coat from the ante-room where they had left their outer wrappings. “Miss Levine’s coat as well.”
Humphrey glared at Daisy and then went off, returning shortly with their coats.
“That’s better,” said Rose. “I think we should hear what the lecture is about and then talk to Mrs Stockton afterwards. We cannot ask her outright about the ten thousand pounds or she will ask how we came by our information. But we can get to know her and find out if there is anything about her, any weakness, that would cause her to be blackmailed.”
“You could get close to that son of hers easily enough,” said Daisy. “He’s leering at you across the room.”
“I don’t think I could bear it.” Rose speared a lettuce leaf and looked at it gloomily. “I am going to be quite hungry after this. Did you see any bread?”
“Not a bit.”
“Then it’s more nut cutlets, I’m afraid. Oh, look, they are serving coffee and tea at that other table.”
They helped themselves to more cutlets, but found that the tea was camomile and the coffee, dandelion.
“I’m sure it’s all very healthy,” mourned Daisy. “What I’d give for a pint of beer and a meat pie.”
At last they were summoned to the lecture, which was to take place in a drawing-room on the first floor.
“Who is Rudolf Steiner anyway?” asked Daisy as they took their seats.
“I asked Jarvis this morning. Pa’s secretary is a fund of knowledge. He said that Steiner is an occult philosopher.”
“Occult? Witches and warlocks?”
“No, something to do with the world of the spirit.”
Mrs Stockton stood on a stage which had been erected at the end of the room. “My lord, ladies and gentlemen,” she began. “As you know, like Mr Steiner, we are all dedicated vegetarians. Meat corrupts the body and banishes us from the world of the spirit.
“As our great teacher said, ‘The soul which gives itself over to the inner illumination recognizes in itself not only what it was
“What does that mean?” whispered Daisy.
“Blessed if I know,” said Rose, burrowing deeper into her furs.
Despite the warmth provided by the fur coat given to her by Rose, Daisy could feel the tip of her nose turning pink and her feet were like two blocks of ice.
