The Shadow of the Sycamores Read online

  Fay nodded tearfully. ‘We don’t know what to do and that’s the truth. We can’t let anyone know she’s here and she’s not fit to go up to the Covenanters’ hidey-hole.’

  Nessie took over now. ‘Never mind. You make a pot o’ tea and I’ll think and think till I come up with something.’

  It was not long until ‘something’ did come up in her mind. ‘If I mind right, Fay,’ she began, ‘you once told me everybody at Craigdownie and The Sycamores knew Henry had a sister here in Ardbirtle.’

  ‘Yes,’ Fay faltered, wondering what was coming.

  ‘But nobody knows he has a father here and all?’

  ‘No, I don’t think so.’

  Andrew interrupted them now, running through and saying loudly, ‘Auntie Janet’s woke up.’

  ‘Good!’ Nessie was in the parlour before the other two realised what was happening. ‘I’m sorry to come in on you like this, Janet,’ she said, softly, ‘but did you know Henry’s father bade here in Ardbirtle?’

  Janet shook her head weakly, not understanding the reason behind the question. ‘No, Henry never spoke about his father.’

  Nessie beamed happily. ‘Well, that’s the answer! Willie’s got a four-wheeler in just now, something wrong wi’ the axle, so I’ll go and tell him to get it ready as quick as he can and come and collect Janet.’

  ‘But she’s not fit to …’ Fay pointed out.

  ‘Ach, Willie’ll easy lift her. She’s nothing but skin and bone.’ Nessie sailed out, a ship on the high seas ready for anything the elements would throw at her.

  Fay looked at Janet now. ‘I’m sorry. That was Henry’s stepmother and she’s one of those people who won’t take no for an answer.’

  ‘She’s a good woman, though, that’s clear.’

  Fortunately for Fay, her baby daughter woke up at that point, late for her ten o’clock feed and letting them know, loudly and clearly, that she was ready for it. The waiting time was, therefore, taken up by the changing, the feeding and a little cuddling.

  Andrew, tearing himself away from this fascinating sight, suddenly rushed over to the window. ‘A cart, a cart!’ he cried and in the next breath, ‘Granda, Granda!’

  Willie strode in, followed by Nessie who demanded, ‘Have you got all her things ready?’

  ‘She didn’t have any things,’ Fay murmured.

  ‘Just my coat,’ Janet reminded her.

  ‘We don’t want anybody to see her,’ Fay pointed out so Nessie went to the door to watch for the right moment.

  ‘Excuse me, Janet,’ Willie said softly and he rolled her inside the blankets, making sure that every inch of her was covered, then scooped her up in his brawny arms as if she were a bag of feathers.

  ‘Now,’ ordered Nessie and out he went with his precious cargo and swung her up to Nessie who had already jumped on board. In little more than a couple of seconds, Janet was settled into the compartment and, in another five minutes, she was inside Oak Cottage.

  Fay’s heart had barely settled back to its normal rhythm when someone else knocked on her door – three loud, imperative raps that told her this was trouble.

  ‘Ah, Mrs Rae,’ Innes Ledingham said, with a fawning smile, ‘I am sorry to come bothering you but can tell me anything about the whereabouts of my wife?’

  Fay held on to the doorpost in case her knees gave way with the lie she was about to tell. ‘No, Mr Ledingham. Is she not at The Sycamores?’

  He looked askance at her, then said, ‘I am sorry to have to ask you this but may I take a look round your house?’

  ‘So you do not believe me?’ She dredged the strength up from somewhere deep inside her. ‘Well, look all you want to. There is no one here.’

  ‘Me, Mother!’ Andrew grabbed her hand and looked at the man doubtfully.

  Ledingham bent down to him. ‘What is your name, little boy?’

  ‘Andrew and …’ pointing to the cradle, ‘she’s Mara.’

  ‘Samara,’ his mother corrected.

  ‘Tell me, Andrew, has a lady been here today?’

  Fay’s stomach went into a spasm of fear as her son thought for a moment, then he smiled broadly. ‘Grandma.’

  Knowing that the man would realise that where there was a grandmother there would likely be a grandfather, Fay said, ‘Yes, my mother was here.’ At least he already knew about her mother and father.

  ‘I see. Well, if you do not mind, I will get Andrew to show me around.’

  She managed to keep her voice steady. ‘I do not mind. Show Mr Ledingham the parlour, Andrew, and take him up to see the bedrooms.’

  When they went upstairs, Fay stood at the bottom, listening to everything that was said. ‘That’s Mother and Father’s bed,’ Andrew was saying.

  Hearing the two sets of feet crossing the landing to the other bedroom, Fay thought that would be the end of it but Andrew was taking his duty as guide very seriously. ‘More,’ he stated and Fay listened to him leading the Superintendent up the narrow wooden steps to the attics. She heard the first door creaking open and then the second, which always gave a peculiar little squeak.

  ‘Well, that’s it, I suppose,’ came the deep voice but Andrew’s treble followed, ‘Nother door.’

  Fay couldn’t help smiling. Ledingham would find nothing in the closet, either, thank goodness. When man and boy came down, she said rather tartly, ‘Are you satisfied now?’

  Ledingham’s face was livid with frustration. ‘She is not here.’

  ‘I told you.’

  She sat down with her hand on her heart when the little trap drew away and her son came to stand beside her. ‘Me a good boy?’

  She lifted him on to her knee. ‘Yes, a very good boy.’ She had resented Nessie for taking over, had felt that she was being manipulated, but thank God it had been so. If Janet had been left here, Ledingham would have found her and goodness knows what would have transpired.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ‘I am absolutely sure that Henry Rae had something to do with it.’ Innes Ledingham was pacing the floor of his sitting room like a lion padding round his cage.

  Gloria, still known to everyone in The Sycamores as Mrs Rattray, looked somewhat irritated. ‘You told me you had searched his house and there was no sign of Janet.’

  ‘That does not mean a thing. He could have hidden her away somewhere else.’

  ‘I thought you had contacted all the people he might have gone to?’

  ‘I asked Roderick Emslie, Janet’s brother, if he knew anything but he seemed as shocked as I was to learn that she had disappeared. They have not been close for some time – not since their mother died. Then I remembered that Rae had a sister who also lives in Ardbirtle so I asked at the Post Office and got her address. It took some time because she is married and has a different surname now and she, too, looked genuinely surprised by my question.’

  Gloria regarded him through narrowed eyes. ‘Couldn’t the woman just have wandered off by herself? You said that she wasn’t quite …’

  ‘For God’s sake! Have some sense, Gloria. Janet would not have been capable of getting to the bedroom door, never mind going down the stairs and walking away. I tell you, someone must have helped her.’

  ‘Who, then?’

  ‘That is what I am trying to find out! No one outside these walls could have known of her condition. She has not been able to hold a pen for weeks now, so she could not have communicated with anyone.’

  ‘You think it was someone here?’

  ‘It must have been. The problem is, which of the staff was it?’ He sat down now, but the drumming of his fingers on the arm of his chair told of his continuing, even increasing, agitation.

  After a moment’s silence, Gloria murmured, ‘Are you sure it was one of the staff?’

  Her husband looked at her incredulously. ‘You cannot possibly think that it was one of the guests?’

  ‘Why not? You said that Janet was quite friendly with all of them but perhaps there was one, or more than one, that she was very
close to. Would two able-bodied women have managed to carry her out?’

  ‘Do you know, Gloria,’ he said, icily, ‘I sometimes fear for your sanity. None of these ancient relics would have had the strength to carry her anywhere.’

  ‘They’re not all ancient,’ she protested. ‘There are a few in middle age and slightly younger who would have managed.’

  He considered this carefully, obviously trying to pinpoint those with the physical ability, and then he shook his head. ‘No, those whose bodies are still in prime condition do not have the mental ability … and vice versa.’

  ‘Innes, forget about her. She has gone and that’s what we wanted, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, that is what we wanted but I would like to know where she has gone and how. Until I learn that, I will be constantly looking over my shoulder in case she turns up again … as you did.’

  This last dig did not please Gloria. ‘You knew I was still alive so don’t try to pretend otherwise. You got round that woman by telling her I was dead so you can’t make out you’re an angel. I know you, Innes Ledingham, and, to be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me if you had something to do with her illness – if illness is what it was.’

  ‘And what do you mean by that?’

  His tone was so nasty that she raised her voice now. ‘You know perfectly well what I mean. She had served her purpose, I had come back into your life and you wanted rid of her. I know you acted the worried husband, taking up her meals yourself. So what did you put in them? Arsenic? There is plenty of that in the gardener’s shed, I’ve seen it.’

  The man’s face had gone from angry red to pure white and he had difficulty now in forming his words in his temper. ‘So you knew? And you held your tongue? In the eyes of the police you would be considered as having aided and abetted.’

  ‘Who said anything about the police? I am not vindictive, Innes. I do not begrudge you your few years of passion with your mistress. I had some very close male acquaintances myself … very close. Just hear me out,’ she added as he jumped up furiously. ‘However Janet got away – and I am practically sure that nobody helped her, that she had been feigning much of her illness because she knew what you were trying to do – I believe that she will stay away. She will try to get as far away as she can and it would not surprise me if we hear in quite a short time that her body has been found somewhere.’

  Innes sat down again, biting his bottom lip. ‘Is that what you really think or are you trying to pacify me? Mind you, I suppose it is a possibility. I have done all I can, in any case, so perhaps I should leave it for the time being … until we see if anything turns up.’

  Getting to her feet, Gloria said, ‘I had better get back to the kitchen or else the tongues will be wagging.’

  Her husband watched her go out. She was still a damned good-looking woman and she had calmed down a lot since she had been away. There had been no repeat of the blazing rows they used to have – she was always willing to do whatever he told her. Or was she trying to convince him that she was a better wife than Janet? She certainly was more exciting in bed.

  Was it possible, though, that she was right about how Janet had disappeared? Not the doing it alone bit but with the help of two of the guests? It was more likely to have been one of the staff … or more than one. Had there been a conspiracy? If Gloria had suspected that he was dosing Janet with arsenic, some of the brighter nurses or servants could also have had doubts. Men, especially men of the working class, were not so quick at noticing things.

  ‘I still can’t understand why that man came here.’ Abby Laing looked at her husband as if she were expecting an explanation. ‘I’ve never met his wife … and why would she have run away? And how did he know I was Henry’s sister?’

  Pogie, who was stouter now, made an even more impressive figure to lead the funeral corteges. He held out his hands, palms up. ‘I am as much at a loss as you, my dear, but I will do my best to figure out some answers. You say he had already searched Henry’s house? That means Henry must have been his prime suspect. It follows, quite logically, that Ledingham would then think of the person nearest to Henry. You, his sister.’

  ‘But how did he know where I lived?’

  ‘Ardbirtle is quite a small town. It would be easy to ask around until he found someone who knew you. Henry, or Janet, must have mentioned that he had a sister. As to why the woman ran away, I can only think that they must have had a bad quarrel or he had been abusing her for some time and she could stand it no longer.’

  ‘He didn’t look the kind of man to abuse his wife,’ Abby protested. ‘He was wearing an expensive suit and a beaver hat with a turned up brim.’

  ‘How little you know of men, my dear Abby.’ Pogie rose to lift their tiny son who had awakened from a rather restless sleep and was mewing like a kitten in pain.

  ‘Is it too early for his next feed?’

  ‘It’s not due for another hour and a bit.’

  ‘Can’t you just let him have a little drop to settle him?’

  ‘It’s not supposed to be good for them … but, ach, it’s the only way.’

  ‘You know, Abby, I think we should call the doctor in again. He never seems to get any better.’

  * * *

  ‘Oh, my God!’ Nessie Rae adjusted her spectacles and read the note again.

  ‘What’s wrong, Nessie?’

  ‘It’s from Pogie. They’ve lost their baby. I thought it must be bad news when their neighbour handed it in. I’ll have to go to Abby but … will you be all right on your own, Janet?’

  ‘I’ll be fine. Off you go.’

  Giving her face a quick swill but not bothering to take off her overall, Nessie was on her way within five minutes, issuing one last instruction. ‘Don’t go trying to let anybody in if you hear a knock, mind.’

  Janet just nodded. It was almost a week since she had been taken to Oak Cottage and she felt a bit better. Not in the best of conditions but certainly much improved. She had been put straight into the downstairs bedroom when she arrived, in a bed far more comfortable than Henry’s couch. Nessie, of course, watched her like a hawk but there was no reason why she couldn’t test herself out a wee bit. Turning down the blankets, she swivelled round, letting her legs slide over the edge of the bed. Even that little movement was an effort so she sat there for a while to recover. It crossed her mind that it would take all her remaining strength just to swivel back again but not yet. She wanted to prove herself.

  It took fully ten minutes for her to feel able to move again, this time sliding her bottom right to the edge and feeling her toes touch the floor. That was something achieved at any rate. In another ten minutes or so, she took hold of the bed knob with her right hand, steadied herself with her left hand pressing against the mattress, then tried to take her weight on her feet. She should have known. Neither her arms nor her legs were strong enough for this and, with a low moan, she slid down to the floor, the brass ball in her hand instead of on the bedhead.

  Her heart chugging like a railway engine breasting a long hill, she took stock of her position. There was no pain so she hadn’t broken anything – that was a blessing. She had landed on her rear end, which was well enough padded to absorb any shock. Her legs were out in front of her … and she could wiggle her toes. No damage there, then. Her arms seemed to move in the normal way, though it remained to be seen if she could coax her legs to get her on to her feet.

  After several attempts, interspersed with short periods of rest, she had to concede to failure. She would have to sit here like a sack of tatties, on the floor, until Nessie came back or Willie came in for his supper. She glanced at the clock. Only five to two. Willie didn’t usually appear until round about six. Four whole hours to sit like this?

  Apart from not being very comfortable, she was beginning to feel a chill – her back was cold and her legs and feet, in contact with the linoleum, were even worse. She had to do something otherwise Nessie or Willie would find a body frozen to the floor when they came in.

/>   Then she remembered that her back could not be far from the bed, from a lovely quilt, but could she manage to pull it down to her? Gradually, by little tugs every now and then and by dint of intense determination, she inched the eiderdown to the edge and then one last pull had it dropping on to the rug she had not been lucky enough to land on when she tumbled. Taking some moments to recharge her meagre energy, she eventually got herself covered and had managed to slide over until she was leaning against the bed.

  Oh, dear God! It was Heaven! But for how long?

  Sad at heart after Nessie popped in to tell her about Abby’s baby, Fay decided that her best plan would be to make sure that Janet was all right. Henry would not be pleased to think she had been left alone.

  She washed her son first, changed his little suit and set him down on the couch. ‘Don’t move, Andrew. Mother has to wash and dress Samara before we go out.’

  These two tasks took some time but, at last, without bothering to check on her own appearance, she put both children in the big, carriage-hung perambulator, a gift from her mother when Andrew was born. She could walk more quickly when he wasn’t padding along beside her on his chubby little legs. It wasn’t far to Oak Cottage but it was almost an hour since Nessie had gone.

  Intent on being there in case Janet needed something, Fay did not notice the man looking into the grocer’s window at the other side of the street. Nor did she sense him following her at a discreet distance and turning into Kirk Brae after her. Arriving at her destination, she gave a light tap on the door and went in.

  ‘Oh, Janet!’ she cried, seeing the poor woman on the floor when she looked into the bedroom. ‘What happened? Are you all right.’

  ‘I’m fine.’ But Janet’s weak voice was quivering.

  ‘You are not fine!’ Fay had left the pram in the porch and she quickly crossed the room to help her. However, she soon found that the patient was heavier than she looked. ‘I’ll have to get Willie,’ she puffed.