Edwardian Murder Mystery 02; Hasty Death

now.”

¦

Later that evening, armed with a letter of introduction from an old army friend, Brigadier Bill Handy, Harry visited the late Freddy’s father. Colonel Hugh Pomfret read the letter carefully. Then he said, “Of course I want to find out who murdered my son. But what can you do that the police cannot?”

“I have more freedom to go about in society than the police and to find out what enemies your son had.”

“Very well. Go ahead.” Then, with a slight edge of contempt in his voice. “I suppose you want paid for your services.”

“No, because I came to you and not the other way round.”

“Very good of you,” said the colonel gruffly.

“Did your son keep any letters or correspondence with you?”

“No, the only time he came here was to ask for money, and when he got it or didn’t get it, he would leave. He came to the family place in the country at Christmas. Apart from that, we barely saw him.

“My wife is distraught. Like all mothers, she remembers him as a small boy now, but truth to tell, our son had become a nasty, jeering sort of person whenever we saw him. He didn’t like the fact that I haven’t a title. He hung around the fringes of the Kensington Palace set. He wanted me to buy him a title. That was in January. When I told him I had not that kind of money and if I had I would not spend it on such rubbish, he stormed out.”

So that’s what he wanted the money for, thought Harry. Who would have thought that such a lightweight young man could be so ferociously ambitious?

¦

“So you let them send you away?” Lady Polly demanded of the quaking Humphrey.

“I couldn’t do otherwise, my lady. It’s my nerves.”

“You know, Humphrey, I am tired of those nerves of yours. Mrs Cummings was telling me that there is a very good nerve doctor.” She rummaged in a capacious reticule and found a small notebook and flicked it open.

“Here we are. Dr Thomas McWhirter. He’s in Harley Street. Get Jarvis to phone and make an appointment for you and then perhaps we’ll hear less about your nerves.”

Lady Polly felt quite noble. She believed in looking after her servants. She did not know that she was setting in train a course of events that would put Rose in danger.

¦

The following afternoon, Rose and Daisy visited Angela Stockton. Rose was disappointed to find Mrs Stockton’s son, Peregrine, there as well. Fennel tea was served and some jaw-breaking biscuits.

“I found your lecture very interesting,” said Rose, averting her eyes from Peregrine, whose hot gaze was fastened on her face.

“Oh, go on with you,” laughed Peregrine. “Pretty creature like you. Got better to do with your time, hey?”

Angela put down her cup with an angry little click. “Peregrine, I wish to talk to these ladies alone.”

“I’ll tootle off, then. Don’t know how you can drink that muck.”

Peregrine left the room and Rose heaved a sigh of relief. “You must forgive Perry,” sighed Angela. “Such a naughty boy. So handsome, don’t you think?”

“Mmm,” murmured Rose, not wanting to encourage her. Then it suddenly dawned on her that if there was nothing about Angela that made her vulnerable to blackmail, there might be something about her son, and surely a rich and devoted mother would pay anything to suppress a scandal about him.

“But you were asking about my lecture,” Angela went on. “Mr Steiner is of peasant stock, which makes him more in touch with the earth, the soil, the birds and the bees. But the point of vegetarianism is that it cleanses the body and leaves us free to contact the spirit world. Animals have souls, too. Think of all those poor sheep, pigs and cows slaughtered to feed us.”

“But if we all stopped eating meat,” said Rose, “all those animals would have to be slaughtered, apart from a very few which would be kept in zoos. Samuel Butler said that if you carry that argument to its logical conclusion, then we would all end up eating nothing but cauliflowers which had been humanely put to death.”

Rose tried not to look at Daisy, who was surreptitiously pouring her tea into a potted plant.

“And,” Rose went on, “the perception of female beauty would need to change. One is really required to be plump to be considered a beauty.”

“But you see, you are talking of things of the world,” said Angela eagerly. “We, in my Vegetarian Society, eschew such frivolities.”

“What do the spirits say to you?” asked Daisy. “I mean, is it like ghosts?”

“No, no.” Angela gave a patronizing titter. “I shall quote the great Mr Steiner. ‘Common sense which is not led astray can decide of itself whether the element of truth rules in what anyone says. If someone speaks of spiritual worlds, you must take account of everything: the manner of speaking, the seriousness with which things are treated, the logic which is developed, and so on, and then it will be possible to judge whether what is presented as information about the spiritual world is charlatanism, or whether it has foundation.’”

“I don’t understand,” said Daisy.

“Oh, I do,” Rose put in quickly. “This is fascinating. Is your son a vegetarian as well?”

“Alas, no. But he will come round. We females mature very quickly and can grasp metaphysical concepts much better than gentlemen can. May I hope you will join our society?”

“I should like that very much.”

“The subscription fee is two guineas.”

“I will get my father’s secretary to send you the money,” said Rose.

¦

“You want Jarvis to do what?” roared the earl at dinner that night.

“It’s a very interesting concept, Pa. I think we would all be better off eating vegetables.”

“If you are interested in her son, I would drop that interest now,” said Lady Polly. “Mrs Barrington-Bruce telephoned me to ask how you were and I told her you were visiting Mrs Stockton. ‘Keep her away from that place’ is what she said. ‘The son is not to be trusted.’”

“But I promised!”

“Then un-promise.”

The earl glared at his daughter. He felt he was almost beginning to dislike her. She was so beautiful and yet all she did was run around behaving in a weird way and putting her reputation at risk. He signalled to the butler. “Nothing but vegetables for Lady Rose and Miss Levine from now on.”

“Very good, my lord.”

? Hasty Death ?

Six

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know

Lady Caroline Lamb

Three weeks went past without Harry finding a single clue. Rose went to parties and the theatre, wondering all the time what Harry was doing and why he had not tried to contact her.

Lady Polly had not hired a lady’s maid for her, saying that Humphrey would help out. Everywhere that Rose and Daisy went, Humphrey went too, watching, always watching.

It was useless to complain. Lady Polly was delighted that her daughter was at last behaving like a debutante, and as Humphrey was quick to claim the credit for this, she praised her lady’s maid and urged her on to further effort.

She did not know that Humphrey had a sinister reason for watching her daughter closely.

Humphrey had been attending the consulting rooms of Dr Thomas McWhirter in Harley Street. He was a handsome middle-aged man with thick white hair and a square, tanned face. He had very piercing blue eyes which