The Trouble at Wakeley Court (An Angela Marchmont Mystery Book 8) (23 page)

‘Ah!’ said Angela, as the other two exclaimed in surprise. That explained why the fake Irina had seemed so much older than her years: she was not a schoolgirl at all, but a grown woman. ‘But Florrie, who knew about all this? Miss Bell and Mr. Hesketh were not informed, I take it.’

‘No,’ said Florrie. ‘My father thought it better to tell as few people as possible, so only he and I, and my cousin Paul and the Everichs knew about it. If anyone else had known they’d have felt bound to keep a close eye on me, and then it would have been obvious who I was. And I wanted to be treated like a normal girl too, so I was happy enough to agree to it. The two of us started at Wakeley Court at the same time, but Natalia arrived by motor-car with an official escort from the British Government, while I came up on the train from London with a woman from the Moranian Embassy who didn’t know who I was—only that I was the daughter of someone high up in the Civil Service and was to be looked after.’

‘I say, it was rather brave of Irina to impersonate you,’ said Barbara. ‘Especially since it ended up in her being kidnapped. It’s just her good luck that they let her go when they might easily have killed her. She must have convinced them somehow that she wasn’t you.’

‘What do you mean?’ said Florrie, staring. ‘She wasn’t kidnapped, was she?’

‘Yes,’ said Barbara, ‘and that’s probably why nobody found you sooner—everyone was far too concerned with finding her because they thought
she
was the real Princess Irina. Nobody even noticed you were missing until yesterday. It’s a good thing Violet and I decided to start a search for you, or you might never have been found.’

‘But I don’t understand. Who took Natalia?’ said Florrie.

‘Edwards the gardener. Oh! Isn’t that funny?’ said Barbara, suddenly remembering. ‘I
said
he was a foreign spy, didn’t I? And you told me off for scaring Irina.’

Florrie said nothing, but there was a puzzled frown on her face.

‘So why
were
you in the attic?’ said Violet. ‘Did the kidnappers lock you in?’

‘Of course not,’ said Florrie. ‘I ran in there and the handle fell off, just as you saw.’

‘Is that when you were running away from them?’ said Barbara. ‘Did you and Irina go out together?’

‘Yes,’ said Florrie. ‘We arranged to meet outside at half-past two and go to the summer-house together, but in the struggle we got separated and I ran back into the building. I only meant to hide for a little while, but then I got stuck and couldn’t get out. So Natalia went missing, did she?’

‘Yes, but she’s back now. I don’t know exactly what happened—Angela can probably tell you that.’

Florrie turned her eyes questioningly towards Angela, who said:

‘She told rather an odd story about being taken to a house in Percham and held prisoner. She says she escaped yesterday evening when her captors left the door unlocked.’

Florrie snorted.

‘Rot!’ she said. ‘I don’t believe a word of it. She probably said it just to get herself out of trouble.’

‘That’s hardly kind, when she put herself in danger for your sake,’ said Barbara, who was very fair-minded.

‘Put herself in danger for my sake?’ said Florrie. ‘Don’t be an ass, Barbara. Haven’t you been listening?’

‘Of course I have,’ said Barbara. ‘But I haven’t understood much yet. Do you mean Irina was lying about where she was?’

‘Yes, you idiot,’ said Florrie. ‘She’s been lying all along. She came here to betray me, and she very nearly managed it.’

Angela left Florrie in the care of Barbara and Violet, with strict instructions to allow no-one to enter the room, while she hurried downstairs to fetch Mr. Hesketh. They had all been kept in the dark for far too long now, and it was vital that he be informed immediately of the real situation. The girl they had believed to be Irina was not the Princess at all, but the wife of Morania’s Head of Intelligence, who had lured Florrie into a trap, presumably with the intention of killing her. Only Florrie’s natural wariness and quick thinking had allowed her to escape. Had she not then become trapped in the attic, the Everichs might now be safely under arrest.

Florrie’s story was simple enough. After the attempt on the Grand Duke’s life, she had been all for going straight to Mr. Hesketh and confessing her real identity to him, for she wanted to get back to Morania as quickly as possible to be at her father’s bedside. But Natalia Everich had persuaded her not to do it, saying that there was danger all around, and that it was more important than ever for the secret to be kept. Raul would be here tomorrow, she said, and he would take them home, but in the meantime the assassins were still at large, and so it was vital that the Princess remain in hiding for the present. Florrie was unhappy at this, but obeyed, since, after all, Natalia
was
there to protect her, and presumably knew what she was doing.

On Saturday Everich arrived, but Florrie was unable to speak to him for more than a minute or two. He told her to be patient, and that she should hear from him before the day was out. He then went off to Percham with Natalia—presumably, as it turned out, for the purposes of putting the finishing touches to the plot against the Princess. Late that afternoon Natalia returned from Percham with a note from Everich. The note said that they were all to return to Morania that night, and that Florrie must come out to the summer-house with Natalia to meet Everich there. She was not to bring anything since she was going to be smuggled out of the country and there would be no room for luggage. This all seemed rather odd to Florrie, who still did not understand why they should not tell Mr. Hesketh and employ the assistance of British Intelligence, and so perhaps she was more suspicious than she might otherwise have been. She decided to take her own precautions, and before she crept out of the dorm concealed in her sleeve a knife which had been a parting present from her father.

She met Natalia as instructed, and they went to the appointed meeting-place together. Florrie’s feeling that something was wrong intensified as they walked, for Natalia was nervous and on edge, and gave only short answers to Florrie’s questions. When they arrived at the summer-house Natalia stood back to allow Florrie to enter first, whereupon Florrie smelled a rat and suggested they wait outside. Natalia urged her on, saying that they had better hurry, or Miss Bell would wake up and notice she was missing and then the plan would be ruined. She was so insistent that Florrie went in, and was immediately set upon by two men, one of whom tried to clap a handkerchief drenched in something sweet-smelling over her nose. Unfortunately for him, Florrie had been half-expecting something of the sort and had her knife at the ready, which she stuck as hard as she could into his hand. He yelled and loosened his hold, while the other man retreated for an instant at the sight of the knife, giving her the opportunity to escape. She shot out of the summer-house and back towards the school building, intending to raise the alarm, with one of the men in pursuit. She glanced behind her, saw the moonlight glinting off his fair hair, and knew for certain then that it was Everich and that she had been betrayed.

She had thought she would be safe when she reached the school building, but to her horror he followed her inside, into a wing well away from all the teachers. She crouched behind a cupboard in one of the corridors, listening to her pursuer open first one classroom door then another in search of her, and wondered where she might go, but in her fear the only place she could think of was the attic. Everich was getting closer, and so she waited for him to open another door and under cover of the sound made a dive for the stairs across the way. She reached the attic, congratulating herself on having shaken him off, and intending to come out in daylight when there were plenty of people about, but to her dismay, when she shut the little door behind her the handle came off in her hand, and she found herself trapped. And there she had stayed until Barbara and Violet had come to find her, oblivious to all the uproar over the disappearance of the fake princess. Now she was safe—or would be once the Everichs had been unmasked as the traitors they were and put under arrest.

Angela ran to the classroom where she knew Mr. Hesketh would shortly be taking the Fifth for Latin, and found him just about to begin. Natalia Everich was sitting at the front of the class, her expression inscrutable. She looked up as Angela entered.

‘I beg your pardon, Mr. Hesketh,’ said Angela, ‘but I have an urgent message for you.’

Hesketh gave a glance at Natalia, and came out, shutting the door behind him.

‘What is it?’ he said.

Angela explained the situation in a few words, and he clutched the door handle and went pale.

‘If I didn’t know better, Mrs. Marchmont, I should say you were joking,’ he said, aghast.

‘It’s no joke, I’m afraid,’ said Angela.

Hesketh’s mouth opened and closed once or twice, but no words came out. Finally he found his voice and swore inventively, much to the astonishment of a passing First Form girl, who squeaked and ran away. He apologized immediately.

‘That’s quite all right,’ said Angela, secretly entertained at the sight of the even-tempered Mr. Hesketh losing his head. ‘It was a surprise to me too. But there’s no doubt of it: we have been protecting the wrong girl all along.’

Mr. Hesketh waved his hands.

‘Those Moranians!’ he exclaimed. ‘Why must they make things so unnecessarily complicated, with all this cloak and dagger stuff? If we’d known from the beginning then we might have done something about it, but instead they’ve made fools of us all
and
put their Princess in danger.’

‘Well, it would have been a good plan had the Everichs been trustworthy,’ said Angela fairly. ‘It was just Florrie’s bad luck that her father happened to choose the wrong people to look after her.’

‘So it’s Mrs. Everich, is it? That little—’ said Hesketh. He broke off without completing the epithet. ‘Why, she’s had us all out scouring the whole of Norfolk for her, and arresting perfectly innocent men for no good reason.’

‘Shh! We mustn’t let her know we suspect her,’ said Angela. ‘The police will have to deal with her and her husband, but in the meantime you’d better come and see Florrie. It’s lucky for us that Count Paul has arrived. We might have had some difficulty in convincing people that she is the real Princess, but he must surely know of the deception.’

‘Yes,’ said Hesketh. ‘I wonder why he has said nothing.’

Just then they saw the Count himself, accompanied by Miss Bell, approaching them. The Count looked very serious, and to judge by the headmistress’s face it appeared as though she had just heard some terrible news.

‘Oh, Mr. Hesketh!’ she exclaimed. ‘His Excellency has just told me the most extraordinary story. It appears we have all been labouring under a terrible misapprehension.’

‘Yes,’ said Hesketh. ‘Mrs. Marchmont has just told me about it. I know Irina is not the real Princess.’

The two newcomers both regarded Angela in surprise.

‘But how did you know, Mrs. Marchmont?’ said Miss Bell.

‘Mainly because Irina’s English is not good enough for someone who was supposed to have spent all her childhood years in England,’ said Angela. ‘There were one or two other things, but when Irina came back and Florrie didn’t, it occurred to me that perhaps we had been looking for the wrong person.’

‘Yes,’ said Count Paul. ‘I deeply regret having deceived everyone, but His Highness the Grand Duke and I thought it was the best way to keep his daughter safe. Evidently we were wrong, for she has disappeared all the same. I have spoken to Natalia Everich this morning and she can tell me nothing of where Her Highness has gone. It is a complete mystery, and I am beside myself with fear for her fate.’

‘There’s no need for that, Your Excellency,’ said Angela. ‘She’s upstairs in my room, quite safe, if a little grubby and probably very hungry.’

‘What?’ exclaimed Count Paul. ‘You are joking, surely.’

Angela swiftly assured him that she was quite serious and explained where Florrie had been, and a smile of great relief spread across his face, which was quickly followed by a frown.

‘Then—but—does she know who attacked her?’ he said.

‘It was Everich,’ replied Mr. Hesketh. ‘It appears that he and his wife have been playing a part all along.’

‘Everich?’ said Count Paul in wonder. ‘But he is our most trusted man.’

‘Not any more,’ said Hesketh dryly.

The Count opened his mouth then closed it again.

‘Please, I should like to see Her Highness at once,’ he said. ‘Her
real
Highness, that is.’

‘Certainly,’ said Angela. ‘I left her in my room with Barbara and Violet, who rescued her from the attic. I think Barbara was going to fetch her some food from the kitchen.’

Abandoning the Fifth Form to their own devices, the four of them hurried up to Mrs. Marchmont’s room. As soon as they arrived at the top of the stairs, however, they knew that something had gone very wrong, for the first thing they saw was Violet Smedley running towards them along the passage, white-faced and terrified.

‘Everich’s got Florrie!’ she exclaimed when she saw them. ‘He’s got a gun. Quick, you must catch him!’

Barbara arrived just at that moment, carrying some rolls and butter.

‘What’s going on?’ she said in astonishment, looking from one horrified face to another.

Violet sank to the ground and wrung her hands.

‘It’s all my fault!’ she cried. ‘He knocked—three then two, just as we arranged, and I thought it was you, so I opened the door. Florrie had put her knife down and she didn’t have a chance to grab it before he got hold of her and dragged her off. Didn’t you see them when you were coming up?’

‘No,’ managed Hesketh, who looked as though he were on the point of combustion.

‘Then they must have gone down the other staircase,’ said Miss Bell.

Hesketh said no more but ran off, followed by Miss Bell and Count Paul.

‘But how did he know how to knock?’ said Angela.

Barbara looked crestfallen.