I said: “You kept private documents in there yet you let Oliver Gerson have access to them.”
He stared at me in amazement. “No. Never,” he said.
I went on: “He was here in that locked room.”
“When?”
“Not very long ago. I heard noises there and I made Mrs. Emery get her key. We went there and he was there with some papers before him … at the bureau. He said you had given him your key.”
He was incredulous. “He must have got hold of Mrs. Emery’s key.”
“No. She had hers. We had gone in with that and found him there. He had locked the door on the inside.”
“I can’t believe this. My key has never left the ring on which I keep it.”
“Well, it was not Mrs. Emery’s because she had hers.”
“I am astounded, Rebecca. I can’t imagine how this could happen. There are only two keys.”
“If one of them had been in his possession for a while couldn’t he have had another made?”
“That’s the answer. He must have stolen one of the keys at sometime.”
“It seems the only reasonable solution.”
“And he has been examining papers …”
“Does that make any difference to what he can bring against you?”
He shook his head. “You know so much now, so let me tell you this. The clubs which my grandfather started and owned for many years brought him great riches. He was a clever man who loved adventure. Life without risks would not have been exciting enough for him. He enjoyed what he did. Some would say he was a rogue … but many loved him. I have realized that we are different. I am not of his caliber. I have inherited some of his qualities … but not all. You know my ambitions are great. They mean more to me than that fortune which comes through questionable channels. For some time I have been working on disposing of the clubs and concentrating entirely on politics. As you know I made a fortune from the goldmine. I still have a small interest in that. Money is no problem. It was just the thought of more that tempted me. Now I am following the advice which she gave me … all those years ago. I shall dispose of my interests in the clubs. That is what Gerson does not know. He has worked for me for some time. He is ambitious. He plans to have a big share by acquiring a partnership … well, you’ve heard all that.”
“And this attempt to blackmail you, what harm could it do you?”
“This Devil’s Crown which I was considering adding to the others … is more than just a night club. There are activities going on there which are quite unsavory. I think it is possibly the haunt of drug traffickers. It was that which decided me that I wanted to get out.”
“So you are not caught up in anything of that sort yet?”
“Nor do I intend to be. I shall not be acquiring The Devil’s Crown, I think.”
“Then Oliver Gerson’s threats are groundless. He could bring nothing against you.”
“Well, he could always remind people of my connection with the clubs.”
“And that would harm you?”
“If I were in the Cabinet, perhaps.”
“So you think it wise to get out?”
“I should have listened to your mother long ago. But I am so pleased you are not involved with him.”
“There was never any intention on my part to marry him, but if there had been …”
“Oh yes,” he said with a faint smile, “you would have rejected my advice. I anticipated conflict so I am only too delighted that there is no need for it.”
“But if I did decide to marry …”
The smile deepened. “You would not be prepared to listen to me.”
“I should expect to make my own decision.”
“And if your choice had fallen on an unsuitable person such as Oliver Gerson, I should have done everything in my power to prevent the marriage because … well, I should feel it would be what your mother would have wanted. I wish …”
I looked at him waiting for him to go on.
“I wish,” he continued, “that I knew how Gerson got that key. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you are not involved with him. That pleases me more than anything.”
He meant that. I was amazed.
It was a turning point in our relationship.
Missing Person
LEAH WAS IN THE garden with the children and I was just about to join them when a telegram arrived.
I glanced at it and saw that it was addressed to Leah. I took it to her at once. She was startled and took it from me with trembling fingers. Like most people who received them she was immediately thinking of bad news.
She read it and stared at me.
“Is something wrong, Leah?” I asked.
Belinda ran to her and took the telegram. “ ‘Your mother very ill,’ ” she said. “ ‘Asking for you. Come if possible.’ ”
I snatched the telegram from her. Belinda had read it correctly. “Oh Leah,” I said. “You must go at once.”
Leah looked round in a bewildered way. “How can I? The children …”
“Of course we can manage. Don’t you think you should go? She is asking for you.”
Leah nodded dumbly.
“You could catch the evening train,” I went on. “It would get you to Cornwall in the morning. Someone will meet you. Don’t worry about what’s happening here. We can manage.”
She seemed very undecided but at length she agreed that she must go.
I kept thinking of Mrs. Polhenny … ill. I wondered what had happened to her. The last time my grandmother had mentioned her, everything seemed as it always had been.
A few days later I had a letter from my grandmother.
“We are all a little shocked by the death of Mrs. Polhenny,” she wrote. “She was so much a part of the place and it is hard to imagine that we shall not see her any more. She was riding home from one of her cases when the wheel of her old boneshaker seems to have come into contact with a stone of some sort. It must have been a sizeable one. Unfortunately she was at the top of Goonhilly Hill and she came hurtling down. You know how steep it is. She fell and cracked her skull. They got her to the hospital in Plymouth but by the time she reached there she was in a bad state. A messenger came to tell me that she was asking for me … urgently. She wanted to say something very important to me. They had already sent for Leah.
“I scarcely recognized her when I saw her. She did not look in the least like the Mrs. Polhenny we knew. She looked old and frail lying there wrapped up in bandages.
“They left me with her, for somehow she implied that was what she wanted. I was surprised that it was allowed but I think she was too far gone for anything to matter. It was so strange, Rebecca, she seemed really afraid. You know how we used to say her place was secure in Heaven. She was always the virtuous one, you remember, on very special terms with the Almighty. We used to say she had her place booked in the Heavenly Choir. And then … there she was. There was no doubt in my mind that she was a very frightened woman.
“She put out a hand to me. I took it. Hers was cold and clammy. She was very feeble but the light pressure on her fingers told me she wanted me to be there. She kept saying, ‘I want … want … want …’ I replied softly, ‘Yes, Mrs. Polhenny, I am here. What is it you want? I am listening.’ ‘Have to … have to …’ I could not make out what she was trying to tell me but I knew it was something on her mind. Then she started to make queer gurgling noises. I thought she needed help so I called for the nurse. I was sent out of the room and the doctor came in. That was the end, and I never knew why that urgent call had been sent to me. I waited at the hospital and a little while later they came out to tell me she was dead.