He drew her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her and turned her face up to his. “Oh, Rose,” he said and bent his mouth to kiss her.
“Just what is going on here?” demanded Aunt Elizabeth.
Harry held firmly on to Rose. “Congratulate us. We are to be married.”
“No, that you are not. Not without her father’s permission. Leave her alone until then. There’s a telegram for you.” She held it out.
Harry released Rose and took it from her. He read it and swung round to Rose, his eyes shining. “They got him. They caught Jeffrey Biles. You have nothing to fear any more.”
“Where did they find him?”
“It doesn’t say. I’ll go back to Inveraray and phone Kerridge.”
“I’ll come with you,” said Rose.
“Oh, no, you won’t, miss,” said Aunt Elizabeth. “Not while you’re under my care.”
“It’s all right,” said Harry. “I won’t be long.”
¦
Rose waited impatiently for the next few hours. At last Harry came back. Rose would have rushed to meet him but Aunt Elizabeth made her wait with Daisy in the drawing room.
He came in and smiled at her. “Jeffrey Biles was arrested at a lodging house in Dumfries. He’d put on a false moustache and a maid at the lodging house caught sight of him gluing it on. She told her mistress, who reported him to the police. Biles tried to say he was doing it for a joke, but the Dumfries police had a description of Jeffrey Biles and so they put him in the cells and contacted Scotland Yard. He’s on his way south. He’ll be charged first with the murder of his sister and then with the murder of Madame de Peurey. I sent a wire to your parents, Rose, to say we would all be returning to London.”
“Lady Rose cannot go with you to London without a chaperone,” said Aunt Elizabeth.
“There is Miss Levine,” protested Harry, “not to mention her lady’s maid.”
“Miss Levine is married to your servant and is therefore not a suitable chaperone.”
Harry suddenly smiled. “If you want to come with us to London, why not just say so?”
“Well, I would so like to go. I have become used to all the company and excitement.”
“Splendid!” said Rose. “But we cannot all fit into your car, Harry.”
“I will drive you, Lady Elizabeth and Hunter to Glasgow in a few days’ time to catch the London train and then Becket, Daisy and I will follow you by road.”
Charlie, the footman, entered the room. “Cook wants a word, my lady.”
“Send her in.”
Mrs Burridge came in, followed by a small ragged boy. “Iain here is the pot boy. He said that drain didn’t go into the cesspool but in a pipe down into the river. He ran down there and guess what the lad found in the river. Show them, Iain.”
The boy triumphantly held up Rose’s ring.
“Oh, how wonderful.” Rose took the ring from the boy. Harry handed Iain a half-sovereign. “Too much!” exclaimed Aunt Elizabeth, but Iain had seized the coin and scampered off.
Harry took the ring from Rose and solemnly put it onto her finger. “I’ll keep it safe this time,” said Rose.
¦
The logistics of moving themselves to London proved more complicated than Harry had expected. Aunt Elizabeth had a great deal of luggage. At last, they decided to hire a removal firm from Glasgow to deliver the heaviest trunks to London.
Rose felt happy and carefree on their last night at the castle. Becket played the concertina and Daisy sang music-hall songs, much to the delight of Aunt Elizabeth. The villain was locked up and Rose felt she had nothing more to fear.
? Our Lady of Pain ?
Nine
–
by Eline Canter Cremers-van der Does
London again. Rose felt she had been away for years. After the bustle of arrival, of seeing Aunt Elizabeth settled in her rooms, Rose was summoned by her parents.
Rose’s first remark was, “Why, Ma, you are quite brown!”
Lady Polly screeched in horror and rushed to the mirror. “I can’t be,” she wailed. “I kept under a parasol the whole time we were in Cairo.” She turned to her husband. “Am I brown?”
“A trifle,” he said. “I wouldn’t worry aboutit. It’ll fade.”
Daisy, sitting discreetly in a corner of the room, marvelled again at the attitude of Rose’s parents. They now knew the perils their daughter had endured, and yet all Lady Polly seemed concerned with was the colour of her skin.
“Lemon juice,” muttered Lady Polly. “This is awful. I shall need to make my calls veiled.”
She turned reluctantly away from the mirror and faced her daughter. “Well, Rose, we shall need to decide what to do about you. We may as well make use of the Season now you are here. A few discreet calls at first, I think. Good heavens, child, what is that ring doing on your finger?”
Rose braced herself. “I have decided to marry the captain after all.”
“Bad connection,” said the little earl, reluctantly casting aside the newspaper he had been reading. “Nothing good will come of it except more nasty adventures and scandal in the papers. Give him his ring back.”
“I can’t,” said Rose defiantly. “He could sue me for breach of promise.”
“No, he can’t. He hasn’t got our permission, so there. You are not marrying Cathcart.”
As if on cue, Brum announced from the doorway, “Captain Cathcart.”
“Look here,” said the earl. “You’ve got no right to creep around behind our backs. You ain’t marrying Rose, and that’s that.”
“I have pointed out to you before,” said Harry, “that your daughter has a knack of getting into trouble and she will need someone like me to protect her.”
“I have to marry him,” said Rose. She threw back her head. “I am carrying his child.”
“Oh, Gawd,” said Daisy from her corner.
The earl turned puce. “You rat!” he shouted. “I should have you horse-whipped.”
Harry tried not to laugh. “Rose,” he begged. “This won’t answer. Tell them the truth.”
Rose’s shoulders drooped. “Oh, well,” she said. “I tried.”
“You mean you’re not up the spout?” demanded her father.
“No. But I do think you should let me marry the captain,” said Rose. “We could elope. How would you like that?”
“Rose, please,” begged Harry. “This is not helping.”
“The subject is closed,” roared the earl. “Rose, go to your room. You, Captain Cathcart, are not welcome in this house any more.”
When the earl and countess were left alone, Lady Polly asked her husband, “What if they do elope?”
“So what? Save us the cost of a wedding.”
“But the scandal!”
“Only one more attached to Rose’s name. Oh, take her to a few parties and get her mind off Cathcart. There are plenty of respectable men out there.”
¦
Upstairs, Rose said goodbye to Daisy again. “I hate leaving you,” said Daisy, “but I’ve got to get back to my
