The Daughters of Gentlemen (3 page)

Frances wondered why the prominent Bayswater solicitor had come calling. He was also her own family’s solicitor and a friend to her father, who had given them much sympathetic assistance during the recent distressing time. She knew that he had two young daughters and thought it possible that they were pupils at the school.

‘He says it’s very important,’ added Matilda.

From her expression, the headmistress was clearly unhappy about leaving the room. She glanced at her watch and sighed. ‘Very well, show him up to my study.’ She rose and handed Frances a sheet of paper, on which she had been writing during the interview the list Frances had required of staff, pupils and servants. ‘Charlotte – the next lesson is deportment and will take place in
one minute
. Do not be late!’

As soon as Mrs Venn had departed, Frances managed to fold her tall frame into one of the girls’ chairs, so that she was more on a level with Charlotte.’ Just one or two more questions,’ she said. ‘When you found the pamphlet, you began to read it, didn’t you, because of course you were curious to know what it was.’

Charlotte began to look afraid again. ‘Yes, but – I don’t remember anything!’

‘I am sure,’ said Frances, soothingly, ‘that your Papa and Mama are
very
pleased to know that you recall nothing of what was in the pamphlet, and Mrs Venn shares that view. I, on the other hand, am very sorry to hear it, as it would help me a great deal.’

Charlotte frowned and contemplated her feet.

‘Perhaps if you could try to remember just a little. I am told that the title was “Why Marry?” Is that correct?’

‘Yes, I think so,’ said Charlotte grudgingly. ‘I didn’t really understand what it meant.’

‘And had the author been courageous enough to put his or her name to it?’

‘No. There was no name, only – A Friend to Women.’

‘I see,’ said Frances, smiling encouragement, ‘how very interesting! I wonder what that charitable person had to say? I would be
most
entertained to find out!’

The girl’s lips moved but no sound emerged.

Frances leaned forward and spoke in a confidential tone. ‘You have my promise that I will say nothing of what you tell me.’

Charlotte glanced quickly over her shoulder at the door, then took a deep breath. ‘It said – that before a woman marries she should discover all of the man’s character – but that many women, on finding it out, would choose not to marry at all. But I don’t know what that means and I didn’t read any more!’

Frances felt quite sure that Charlotte had read more, but was also certain that this was all she would tell.

When Charlotte had scurried away to her lesson, Frances made some notes and considered what she had learned. For a person to enter the schoolroom and distribute the pamphlets by simply placing one in each desk was a task that could be accomplished in less than a minute. To extract a booklet, put the pamphlet inside and then conceal it between the pages of a book and then tuck it securely away, and do this twelve times, was altogether a lengthier operation. The culprit must have had the leisure to do it, with reason to feel confident that he or she would not be interrupted, and might also have been someone who would have been able to explain away their presence should another person unexpectedly appear. Frances looked at the timetable. After the Tuesday arithmetic lesson ended at twelve the class had been split into two, the older girls remaining in the schoolroom for history with Mrs Venn and the younger transferring to the front room for music with Miss Baverstock. Following this there was an hour when the girls and staff all took luncheon together. In the afternoon there had been four lessons, but at no time had the schoolroom been unused. Lessons ended at five o’clock, when the pupils who did not board had been collected and those who did had afternoon prayers then made their ablutions, had supper, and went to bed. The obvious time to put the pamphlets in the desks was between five, when classes ended for the day, and nine the following morning.

The list provided by Mrs Venn showed that only three pupils boarded, the daughters – aged twelve, thirteen and fifteen – of a gentleman called Younge. The only servant who boarded was the housemaid, Matilda, and of the teaching staff, only Mrs Venn, Miss Baverstock and Miss Bell. Mlle Girard and Mr Copley (botany, painting and drawing) resided elsewhere.

She was deep in thought when Mrs Venn returned. ‘I would like to view the rest of the premises and see where those who reside here are accommodated,’ said Frances.

‘Of course,’ said Mrs Venn with glacial politeness.

Mrs Venn, Frances found, slept in a small but comfortably appointed room that adjoined her study, which also served as a washroom and dressing room. On the same floor was a bedroom for the accommodation of Miss Baverstock and Miss Bell, a water closet, a wash room, and a common room where the girls did needlework and informal study and had tea. On the second floor was a girls’ dormitory, a storeroom, and a small room for Matilda. The basement was divided into two, a kitchen and a room where meals were taken. There were twelve places set at a long table for the pupils and a smaller table for the teaching staff. The servants, after bringing in the meals, ate in the kitchen. Frances thought it very possible that one of them might have been able to slip away to the schoolroom for a few minutes without arousing suspicion.

Matilda and Mrs Robson were working in the kitchen, the former stirring a pot of soup and the latter, with heavily floured arms, putting the finishing touches to a large, thick-crusted pie of savoury aspect. Mrs Robson stopped what she was doing as the headmistress and Frances entered, and stood respectfully by the table, but Matilda simply looked around briefly and went on stirring.

‘I trust that that is all you need to see?’ enquired Mrs Venn.

‘It is,’ said Frances, sitting down. ‘And after such hard work I would welcome a cup of tea.’

Mrs Venn paused a little longer than was necessary. ‘Matilda,’ she said at last, ‘please provide Miss Doughty with a cup of tea before she departs.’ Without a word, Matilda put her spoon down and went to fetch the teapot.

Frances glanced at the timetable. ‘I will return after two o’clock to speak to Mr Copley, Mlle Girard, Miss Baverstock and Miss Bell. I would be grateful if a private room could be provided. At five I would like to see the three girls who board here.’

‘Of course,’ said Mrs Venn, with an effort at being accommodating, ‘I will make the arrangements.’

‘This is all about those silly papers in the girls’ desks, isn’t it?’ said Mrs Robson, when Mrs Venn had left. ‘I hope you don’t think
we
had anything to do with it?’

‘Not at all,’ said Frances. ‘But you may be able to help me by letting me know what visitors came to the house between twelve on Tuesday and nine the next morning?’

‘Mr Sandcourt came on the Tuesday,’ said Matilda, bustling with the teapot, which Frances saw was being filled for more than one, ‘and then Mr Fiske with Mr Miggs.’

‘And they all had appointments?’

‘They did, and I took them straight up to see Mrs Venn, and showed them out when they went.’

‘No one else was here? No one who might have waited in the hallway?’

Matilda shook her head. Mrs Robson put the pie in the oven and opened a box of currant biscuits and they all sat down to tea.

‘Were there any visitors on the Wednesday morning?’ asked Frances.

‘Not at the front door, no,’ said Matilda.

‘There were the usual delivery men at the kitchen door, and Mrs Armstrong, who collects the linens to go to the washhouse,’ said Mrs Robson, ‘but none of them even came inside let alone went upstairs.’

‘And Davey came to see me,’ said Matilda with a superior smile. ‘My intended. I gave him a cup of tea.’

‘Mrs Venn has no objection to your young man calling here?’ asked Frances with some surprise.

‘None at all,’ said Matilda, firmly.

‘Can you think of anyone who might have had the opportunity to put something in the girls’ desks – or who might have wanted to do such a thing?’

Both the servants shook their heads. ‘I can’t see what all the fuss is about,’ said Mrs Robson.

‘What was in the papers?’ asked Matilda, with a sly little laugh and a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. ‘It wasn’t one of those romance stories with pirates and brigands? Can I see one?’

‘They were not stories at all, so I understand,’ said Frances, ‘but they have been burnt so I have not been able to examine one.’ Matilda looked disappointed.

‘Well,’ said Mrs Robson, ‘If Mrs Venn has burnt them then it must be for the best.’ She gave a firm nod, gulped the rest of her tea and went back to work.

There was no more to be discovered so Frances finished her tea and departed. Thus far, she reflected as she walked home, her enquiries had resulted in the conclusion that those people who had the opportunity to put the pamphlets in the desks were the very ones who had no motive to do so. She was left with two very important questions. At some point in the future she would firstly have to ask Mrs Venn for the real reason she had destroyed the pamphlets, and, secondly, what it was that she was afraid of, but that time had not yet come.

F
rances returned to her almost desolate rooms in Westbourne Grove and ate a simple dish of boiled eggs, then Sarah conjured a wonderful pudding from old bread, apples and sugar. She had not yet succeeded in finding a suitable apartment, and Frances gathered from Sarah that the cost of respectable lodgings for two was greater than she had supposed and more than Frances could reasonably spare from her carefully hoarded resources. Nevertheless, when the meal was done, Sarah voyaged forth again with a tangible air of optimism, leaving Frances to study the notes of her interviews. Alone, with her few possessions packed in boxes around her, Frances contemplated her future, and hoped that she had not given Sarah false hopes of success. One commission was all very well, but she had not given any thought as to how she was to find another. She wondered about the cost of putting an advertisement in the
Bayswater Chronicle
. ‘Lady detective. Discretion assured.’ If nothing else that would attract the ladies in Bayswater who had bad husbands, and Frances felt confident that there would be many of those.

For the present her thoughts revolved around the possible motives for the placement of the pamphlets in the school. Mr Fiske had already told her of Mrs Venn’s impeccable history, but she wondered if there was something to be learned from the circumstances of the three governors – not what they proudly showed to the world, but those matters on which they preferred to remain silent.

When Sarah returned she brought with her two unexpected visitors. Charles Knight and Sebastian Taylor. ‘Chas’ and ‘Barstie’, as they were familiarly known, were two businessmen, as inseparable as brothers, who had befriended Frances very recently. She had wisely decided quite early in the acquaintance not to ask them the nature of their business. While their fortunes ebbed and flowed, sometimes with startling suddenness, the one thing that remained constant was their abject fear of an individual who they knew only as ‘The Filleter’. Frances had only encountered him once, a black-clad, repellently odorous and greasy young man with a thin sharp knife at his hip. The mere mention of his name was enough to put them to flight.

When Frances had last seen them, they were smartly dressed, but leaving Bayswater as fast as their legs could carry them. Today, while glad of their company, she was sorry to see that they were clad in garments which, while once worn proudly by gentlemen of fashion, would nowadays be rejected by all but the most desperate pawnbroker.

Frances greeted them warmly, and, noticing a jaded look which they were polite enough to try and conceal, sent Sarah to bring them tea, bread and potted meat, which they consumed with considerable relish.

‘I will be taking new apartments soon,’ declared Frances. ‘When I am settled, I would be very pleased for you to call. I hope that you intend to remain in Bayswater?’

‘We are even now in search of suitable accommodation in this immediate area,’ replied Barstie, waving a languid hand as if all the amenities of the district were laid out for his choosing. ‘Bayswater is quite the pinnacle of gentility for those of us who prefer to live useful lives.’

‘We have the strongest possible reasons to be drawn to its opportunities, its multitudes and its delights,’ said Chas. The tea and food had restored his strength and his rounded face glowed pink with energy. ‘My friend has an ardent romantic nature and wishes to lay his heart at the feet of a young lady with considerable financial expectations. The young lady, sadly, is immune to his protestations – in short, she will not have him. But he will not abandon his quest.’

‘Now don’t pretend that
your
heart is unengaged,’ said Barstie. ‘Bayswater also holds the key to your happiness.’

‘Happiness is a full purse, and something in the bank,’ said Chas. ‘All my business is here, and no man, not even a
certain person
whose name I will not mention for fear of soiling my lips, will keep me from it. I mean to make my fortune, Miss Doughty, and then I hope to be worthy of a young lady of exceptional qualities. A young lady who knows the value of things – who I can entrust with my heart, my life, even my books of account.’