Diamonds of Death

Again there was this odd change from the woman in charge to a little girl talking, in a wistful tone. ‘I came from the library where I had picked up a book to read.’

‘I thought Lord Winters had died in the library.’

‘No, he had books in that room, but it was more like his private study. The library is another room, for the use of everyone in the household. It holds some precious first editions. You might like to see them later on. If you like books. Do you take sugar in your tea? Cream?’

‘Neither, thank you.’ To continue talk of the murder, Alkmene hurried to say, ‘I like books very much, thank you. So you came from the library and saw this light under the door of Lord Winters’ private study and naturally you knocked to ask if anything was…wanted.’

The woman sighed as she spooned sugar into her own cup. ‘I opened the door and there was this man, leaning over the body of my father-in-law. The blood and… It was terrible. But at least he was caught before he could leave. He will pay for what he did.’

Alkmene hesitated. ‘If you did not see the burglar killing your father-in-law, how can you be sure he actually killed him?’

Helena’s eyes flashed a moment with a strange light. ‘What else could have happened? The police have gotten out of him how he entered via the front of the house. He actually climbed up like a monkey and forced his way in through a window. He then killed my father-in-law who caught him red-handed.’

Alkmene said pensively, ‘If he climbed up, he must have noticed somebody was in the room. Why take the chances and commit murder?’

‘I assume the room was empty when he came in. My father-in-law must have walked in on him.’

‘I suppose so,’ Alkmene said. ‘How fortunate you did not pass the door earlier and were the one to walk in on the burglar.’

Again there was that flash in Helena’s eyes. She picked up Alkmene’s cup. ‘It will take me time to get over it. Get over living in this house after what happened. I never liked it much to begin with. It is so grey and solemn.’

Alkmene looked around. ‘I think it is a very grand old house.’

‘Perhaps you think there is something in the will for you?’ Helena looked her over with cold eyes. ‘That is why you are here?’

Trying to ignore her intimidating attitude, Alkmene leaned back. ‘I have no need of any inheritance. I have money of my own.’

She put a slight emphasis on the word I, implying a subtle contrast with the woman opposite to her.

Her hostess was now right in front of her, holding out the cup of tea on a saucer to her. ‘There you go.’

Then by a sudden movement she let the cup slip off the saucer and spilled the hot tea right across Alkmene’s lap.

Alkmene yelped as the hot liquid scorched her skin. She jumped to her feet and peeled the fabric of her skirt away from her legs. It still burned awfully.

‘I am so sorry,’ Helena said. ‘I will get you a cloth.’ In a flurry of cold air she quit the room.

Alkmene held the soaked garment away from her person. A haze actually came from it, so hot the water had been. She was sure Helena had dropped the tea on purpose, trying to hurt her. Had it just been a response to her subtle reference to the difference between the two of them in terms of position and wealth – born into it or having married into it – or had the woman already decided on this course of action before? From the moment the butler had announced to her who this guest was.

An unwanted guest it seemed.

Alkmene walked to the door, determined to go up to the blue room and change at once. She’d think about getting the tea stains out later.

A hysterical voice said, ‘She is despicable turning up here, like she owns the house. I am sure she thinks she will have it now. She claims to be related to your mother. Always her, always your mother.’

Then a stream of foreign words followed, punctuated by gasps for air.

Alkmene looked into the hallway. A dark-haired thickset man stood opposite to Helena, holding her by the shoulders. He shook her while she raved on, her head moving from side to side like she was in a frenzy.

Then he raised his hand and struck Helena full in the face.

She fell silent at once. Only her eyes stayed alive, on fire, burning at him with an intensity that made Alkmene cringe. She had rarely seen such raw hatred in a human’s eyes. It was more the murderous feeling of a tiger when it looks its captor in the eye, determined to get back at him someday and kill him in order to be free again.

Helena pulled herself free and ran up the stairs, almost bumping into Jake Dubois, who was coming down. The man standing below frowned at him. ‘Who are you?’

‘Lady Alkmene’s driver, sir.’

‘Sir?’ The man scoffed. ‘That is Lord Winters to you, chap. Get yourself to the kitchens and don’t dare show your face around here again.’

Lord Winters turned away from Jake to the room Alkmene was in. She retreated quickly so he found her standing close to the piano, still holding her wet skirt.

‘Ah, Lady Alkmene…’ He wanted to smile at her, but his features froze as he saw her awkward stance. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘Lady Winters spilled tea over me and went to fetch a cloth.’ Alkmene smiled. ‘Lord Winters, I presume?’

‘Yes, but you can call me Albert, if I am allowed to say Alkmene.’ He shook her hand. He had such a nice normal friendly face she could not believe she had just seen him slap his wife across the cheeks. ‘I have not had the pleasure of seeing your father in years, but then he does travel so much. I hope he is well?’

‘Very well, but on a journey again, so I felt obliged to come out here and tell you how sorry I am about your father’s death. So sudden, so violent. To be killed in one’s own home, the place where one feels safe…’

A strange emotion flickered in Albert’s eyes as she said those latter words.

He let go of her hand at once and said, turning away from her, ‘Yes, well, Father did insist on keeping precious gems here, that should better have been put in a safe in a bank. I often warned him it would attract burglars, but he never listened. You must know yourself that stubborn old men are often hard to convince of anything they do not want to hear.’

‘Of course. I dare say your father paid a high price for not heeding your good advice.’

Albert stood and arranged the papers on the piano. ‘Everybody does,’ he said in a low voice, almost like he was talking to himself. ‘Everybody always does.’

Chapter Five (#ulink_27b55520-b781-5063-8b6e-262ea0946789)

Helena did not reappear with a cloth to clean off Alkmene’s stained skirt.

Alkmene had not expected her to, because the spill had been made on purpose, and the lady probably also had a fiery smudge on her face now, from her husband’s abuse. She had to be hiding in her own rooms upstairs, cooling the sore spot and applying make-up to it, eager to look better when dinner would be served.

Alkmene excused herself after a few minutes of idle chatter about her father’s travels, saying she’d like to change and rest up before dinner. ‘My back aches from sitting in a car seat for such a long stretch, you know,’ she said with a smile.

Albert made a dismissive hand gesture, either waving away her physical complaint or her excuse for wanting to go up. He rang the bell for a servant, and a maid appeared, barely twenty, looking frightened, hovering at the door.

‘Take Lady Alkmene up to her room,’ Albert said. ‘I assume my wife has ordered a room prepared for you?’

‘Yes,’ Alkmene said. She wanted to add it was the blue room, but as the response by the butler had been rather odd, she didn’t want to provoke another outburst of anger in Lord Winters. So she just rose and followed the maid out of the room, up the stairs.

She wondered how Jake was getting on in the kitchen with the staff. She assumed it would be easy enough for an attractive man like him to flirt a little with the maids and inspire confidence, although he might then meet an enemy in the stiff butler who would no doubt disapprove of such forward behaviour.

She had no idea who held the vital information, so Jake would do best to stay on good terms with everybody who might have something worthwhile to share.

Catching up with the maid on the landing, she said, ‘You must all be shocked after the murder.’

The girl cringed at the word murder. ‘It was terrible. I saw the body when they carried him away. There was a lot of blood. And his face.’