she could see the silver locomotive nestling inside. It glinted in the late afternoon sunshine. Winifred was overwhelmed with joy.
‘Here, here,’ she said, holding out the money. ‘Count it if you must but please let me have my coffee pot.’
‘All in good time, Mrs Tomkins,’ he said, closing the bag. ‘I’ll want rather more than the money from you.’ He turned the pistol on the coachman and barked a command. ‘Get down before I shoot you!’
The coachman jumped down instantly to the ground. The man used the weapon to motion them off behind the trees then he ordered Winifred to give him the money. When she did so, her hands were shaking so much that she dropped some of the banknotes. She scrambled to pick them up. Without bothering to count them, he thrust the money into his pocket then told her and the driver to turn their backs. The next thing they heard was the departing carriage.
‘We’ll have to walk back,’ protested the coachman.
‘No matter,’ she said, hurrying over to the leather bag. ‘We have what we came for – I’d have walked a hundred miles to get this.’
Opening the bag, she took out the silver locomotive to gloat over it but the moment she felt the object, she knew that it could not be silver. It was far too light. Now that she could see it properly, she observed that the workmanship was poor and the detail wanting.
‘We’ve been tricked!’ she bellowed. ‘This is made of
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Nigel Buckmaster was impaled on the horns of a dilemma. He had always planned to entice Laura Tremaine into bed at some time in the future yet, now that they were alone in a hotel room, he held back from taking advantage of her. Recognising her obvious talent, he felt that he could develop her potential to the point where she was capable of taking on major roles. Eventually, he had hoped, she would replace Kate Linnane as his leading lady and as his mistress. Laura had the same freshness, the same burning ambition and the same eagerness to work hard at her craft that Kate had once possessed. She also had two things that the older woman now lacked – a readiness to obey his every wish and the incomparable beauty of youth.
As he looked at her now, beaming up at him with undisguised infatuation, he had a fierce urge to take her. What held him back was the thought that a large audience would be gathering that evening to watch him repeat his magical performance as Macbeth. An hour’s pleasure with Laura Tremaine was an hour’s less rehearsal time. It might also stir up her emotions in a way that would adversely affect her performance onstage. Buckmaster was in a quandary. Should he surrender to lust or put the needs of the company first? Should he drown his anxieties in sensual abandon or prepare a young actress for the biggest test of her career?
While not understanding its implications, Laura could see the indecision dancing in his eyes. She was troubled.
‘Is something wrong, Mr Buckmaster?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ he replied with a deep sigh. ‘I’m afraid that there is, alas.’ He lowered his voice. ‘I must tell you this in the strictest confidence. I know that I can rely on your discretion.’
‘I won’t breathe a word, sir.’
‘I will give out that Miss Linnane is indisposed but the truth of the matter is that she has been abducted.’
‘Abducted!’ she echoed in alarm.
‘Have no fear,’ he said, allowing himself to take her reassuringly by the shoulders. ‘You are not in any danger. I’ll see to that. A search is being conducted for Miss Linnane and I have every confidence that she will return to us. Until then,’ he said, letting his hands slide gently down her arms, ‘you must step into the breach. We owe it to our audience to carry on and we owe it to ourselves to rise above this temporary setback.’
Laura was resolute. ‘I am ready, Mr Buckmaster,’ she said. ‘I’ll do anything you ask of me.’
Desire coursed through him again and he had to fight an impulse to enfold her in his arms and enjoy that first, long, tender, exploratory kiss. She was ready to play Lady Macbeth but was she ready to be his? Buckmaster controlled himself. The time to make that decision was after that evening’s performance and not before. If they could wrest success out of misfortune, they could celebrate together. He became businesslike, moving the furniture to the margins of the room to create a space.
‘Are you nervous?’ he asked.
‘A little,’ she confessed.
‘There’s no need to be. If we can harness your talent properly, you will play the part to perfection. I have no qualms.’
‘Thank you, Mr Buckmaster.’
‘You know the lines – I’ve been through them with you often enough – but what we do need to address are the deeper aspects of the character. Lady Macbeth is no mere monster. She’s a complex woman whose emotions need to be understood and communicated to the audience.’
‘Miss Linnane does that superbly.’
‘I mean this as no disrespect to a fine actress,’ he said, ‘but we must dismiss Kate Linnane from our minds. It is Laura Tremaine who will play Lady Macbeth now. That and that alone is all that concerns us. This afternoon, we’ll rehearse at the theatre with the rest of the company. What I wish to do now in the privacy of this room is to go through your scenes line by line. Think of me as Macbeth, your loving husband. I want you to grow towards me in every way.’
‘Yes, Mr Buckmaster.’
‘You must convince
Laura quivered with pleasure. Under his direction, she was ready to throw herself body and soul into a role she had always coveted. Aspiration momentarily got the better of her. She was glad that Kate Linnane had been abducted and had no sympathy for her. If anything, she felt a suppressed glee. Laura believed that it was her destiny to replace the other actress and she intended to do it on a permanent basis.
‘Here I am, sir,’ she said, spreading her arms in a gesture of submission. ‘Instruct me.’
Winifred Tomkins was inconsolable. The humiliation of having paid out a substantial amount of money for a worthless object was like a stake through the heart. After trudging all the way back home, she took to her bed. Her husband was infuriated by what he heard. He sent immediate word to the police station. Colbeck and Stockdale arrived to find him still aflame with righteous indignation.
‘It’s not my fault!’ he asserted, arms flailing. ‘I take no blame at all for this, gentlemen. I did warn my wife. I did caution her against rash behaviour.’
‘Then why didn’t you stop Mrs Tomkins going?’ asked Colbeck.
‘I was deceived, Inspector. I was never shown that second letter. How was I to know that the instructions had been changed?’
‘You would surely have been told of the new arrangements had you provided the money required, sir. That seems to be the crux of the matter here. Mrs Tomkins only acted on her own because you refused to supply the sum demanded.’
Tomkins reddened. ‘I won’t be criticised in my own house!’
‘Inspector Colbeck is only pointing out the true facts of the situation, sir,’ said Stockdale. ‘There was a loss of trust between you and Mrs Tomkins. She was driven to act unilaterally and has paid the penalty. The financial loss incurred is hers.’
‘And mine,’ insisted Tomkins. ‘Who do you think paid for the carriage and horses? I’m the victim of a robbery as well.’
‘But you did not have to face a loaded pistol.’
‘That’s beside the point, man.’
‘I don’t agree, sir,’ said Colbeck. ‘Mrs Tomkins has lost more than her money. She underwent a frightening ordeal. That was why it was imperative for trained police officers to be with her at the time of the exchange. Had I been hidden in the carriage, I could have waited for the moment to catch the man off guard and overpower him. Nothing would have been stolen then and Mrs Tomkins would not have been tricked by this.’
He indicated the coffee pot locomotive that stood on the table. It had a clear resemblance to the item
