An Improper Death (Dr. Alexandra Gladstone Mysteries Book 2) Read online

  “Unless he was unconscious before he was put in the water.”

  “Even a small person is difficult to handle when he or she is unconscious,” Alexandra said. “I find it hard to believe Jane Orkwright could have gotten a man as large as her husband into a boat and out to sea under any circumstance. Especially if he happened to be unconscious.”

  “What if Annie helped her?” Nancy’s words caught the attention of both Alexandra and Nicholas. “Annie could have even acted alone. She’s quite a large woman, you know.”

  “Indeed!” Nicholas said. “And her motive?”

  “Loyalty to Mrs. Orkwright,” Nancy said. “If Mrs. Orkwright wanted the admiral out of the way for whatever reason, Annie would see to it that it was done. And if she was afraid John knew the truth, she would try to kill him.”

  Nicholas frowned, then turned to Alexandra. “Would you find it improbable that Annie could commit murder?”

  “I find it puzzling,” Alexandra said. “If her motive was to protect Jane Orkwright from any form of hurt, then it doesn’t make sense that she would try to kill her son.”

  “I beg your pardon? You and Nancy are both implying Annie tried to kill her son? I thought you said you weren’t certain about who—”

  “I’m not certain, of course, but there is a suspect,” Alexandra said. She told him what the boys claimed they had seen. “So if her interest is in protecting her mistress, it seems it would be rather obvious to her that John’s death would be a blow to Jane equally as devastating as anything her husband may have done.”

  “Perhaps her motive wasn’t to protect Mrs. Orkwright after all.” Nancy spoke this time with less conviction. She wore a puzzled look.

  “Then what?” Nicholas said.

  Nancy shrugged. “To hurt her somehow?”

  “But why?” Alexandra asked.

  “I don’t know,” Nancy said. “Perhaps because she was in love with the admiral. Perhaps because she killed the admiral herself, and she’s threatening to do John harm if Mrs. Orkwright tells what she knows. Perhaps—”

  “We’re getting nowhere with this,” Alexandra said, standing up from her chair. “We’re simply making improbably wild guesses, and I must open the surgery. Patients will be arriving soon.” She looked at Nicholas. “And we must deal with the problem of turning John over to the constable. And of having Rob tell him what he thinks he saw.” She hesitated for a moment, silently wishing there would be a way not to have to do either of those things. She turned toward the stairs. “Young John should be awake by now,” she said. “I’ll show you to his room.”

  Nicholas seemed oddly hesitant to follow her at first. “Yes. Yes, of course,” he said finally. “You must open your surgery, and I must…” He moved with some reluctance toward the stairway. He was obviously no more eager to have to turn John in than Rob and Artie were. Yet Alexandra was sure he was as eager as she to ask him why he thought his mother would look guilty.

  When they were upstairs and with Nicholas standing behind her, Alexandra tapped gently on the door to John’s room, then opened it when there was no response. John was sitting up in bed, his eyes two dark hollows in a pale, drawn face. He turned his face away as soon as he saw the two of them.

  “I might have known you would betray me.” His words were angry and clipped.

  “And what is that supposed to mean?” Nicholas asked as he stepped in front of Alexandra and walked to the bedside. He had regained his old swagger and confidence. With a hand behind his back, he waved Alexandra away. It was, she assumed, an indication that she was to leave the room, but it was an indication she ignored.

  “I should think you would know exactly what it means.” John’s voice was weak but angry. “She told you I was here, and you’ve come to take me straight to Newgate.”

  “It’s my responsibility to do what’s best for you, John,” Nicholas said.

  “You make me ill.” John looked away again.

  “There are several questions I must ask you,” Nicholas said. “First, I want you to tell me exactly what score you felt you had to settle that was so urgent you had to escape prison to accomplish it.” Nicholas’ words had a sharp, authoritative sound.

  “It’s not your concern, you bastard.”

  “As I told you before, it is my concern because I am your barrister.”

  “I don’t care if you’re the queen’s bloody barrister. I don’t have to talk to you.” John’s voice had grown noticeably weaker and his face even paler. Alexandra could see beads of sweat on his forehead.

  “John…” she said. Nicholas turned around suddenly as she spoke. It was obvious he hadn’t expected her to be there, that he had thought she would disappear when he waved her away. Unsure whether he was angry or merely surprised, she tried to avoid his eyes as she walked toward the bed. “It’s true, John, I told Mr. Forsythe about you. I thought it was the right thing to do, the best way to protect you.”

  “I don’t need your protection,” John said.

  “Obviously you do. Someone shot you.” Alexandra said.

  “Does this have something to do with the death of your stepfather?” Nicholas asked.

  John didn’t answer. He only looked at him with his defiant expression.

  “And why do you think people will blame your mother for his death?”

  Still no answer.

  Nicholas kept pushing. “Does this have something to do with your mother’s divorce petition? You’d be much better off if you’d—”

  John jerked his head around to face Nicholas. “What divorce petition?”

  “The petition your mother made to the Divorce Court,” Nicholas said.

  John’s face grew even paler. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. My mother is a lady. She’d never petition for a divorce.”

  Alexandra touched Nicholas’ arm and moved her eyes to indicate that she wanted him to follow her out of the room. He followed reluctantly. “We must let him rest,” she said, keeping her voice low. “He’s lost quite a lot of blood, and we’re getting nowhere with this questioning except to agitate him.”

  “Do you think the constable or the authorities from Newgate are going to be any easier on him?” Nicholas sounded angry. “He’s better off allowing me to question him first so I can prepare a defense.”

  “Perhaps we could delay turning him in if I can convince the constable young John isn’t well enough to—”

  Nicholas interrupted. “It is inevitable that one of us will turn him in. No matter how long we postpone it, it’s still inevitable.” His voice was grave.

  Alexandra hesitated, knowing he was right, yet still wishing he weren’t. Finally, she gave him a slight nod and turned away toward her surgery. She would put the fate of John Killborn out of her mind. She also must rule herself not to think of Jane Orkwright and her failed divorce petition or of Nancy’s last remark about the possibility that Annie may have wanted to hurt her mistress. She would submerge herself in dealing with the usual flood of quinced throats, nasal catarrh, and rheumatic limbs. Then she would visit Gull House and its occupants one more time.

  Zack was reluctant to obey Alexandra’s command to stay with Lucy while she knocked at the door at Gull House. She had to send him back to Lucy with a scolding twice. He wanted to wait at the door, as was his custom when she visited a patient. Alexandra, however, knew he was likely to raise the ire of Annie, and she didn’t want to give her any excuse not to admit her.

  As she waited for her knock to be answered, she tried to rehearse in her mind what she would say to Jane. Jane would not appreciate anyone prying by asking questions about her motive for petitioning for a divorce, of course, but Alexandra had to admit that prying was precisely what she would be doing. Did it make it any less distasteful that she was doing it because she wanted to help Jane and not for some prurient reason?

  When the door opened, she was not surprised to see Annie greeting her with her usual angry scowl. She was both surprised and startled, however, when Zack sudden
ly appeared next to her, barking and snarling with anger equal to the housemaid’s. She called his name, scolding him again, telling him to be quiet and go back. He obeyed only so far as to cease his barking, changing his protest to a low, nervous growl. He did not turn around and go back to Lucy.

  “What is it you’re wanting?” Annie’s voice was no more pleasant than her expression, and the sound of it set Zack to barking again. “Get that beast off of this property. Have you no sense but to bring him here to disturb the mistress?”

  Alexandra might have given Annie an equally sharp retort had she not seen young Will peering from behind her and clinging to her skirt. His eyes were wide and fixed on Zack. It was difficult to tell whether the child’s expression was one of fear or fascination.

  Alexandra didn’t take time to ponder it, however. She turned around and rebuked Zack sharply. He walked away reluctantly, but turned around before he reached Lucy and stood, his entire body alert, the low growl still rattling nervously in his throat. When she turned back to the door, she ignored Annie and greeted the child, who stood behind her.

  “Good afternoon, young Will.”

  “He’s quite large, isn’t he?” Will’s eyes were still on Zack. “Does he eat people?”

  Alexandra chuckled and was about to respond when Annie interrupted. “Hush, child. Go see to your mother. She needs you.”

  “Yes, Annie,” Will said, lowering his eyes. He turned away and disappeared through a door leading off the hall.

  “I’ve come to call on Mrs. Orkwright.” Alexandra’s voice was firm. She knew Annie would do her best to turn her away. She had to force herself not to ask the angry woman whether she had indeed taken a shot at John.

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible, Mrs. Orkwright is not feeling well.”

  “All the more reason why I should see her.” Alexandra maneuvered herself around Annie’s large frame.

  She found Jane seated in the parlor with her young son standing in front of her. There was a rare smile on her face as the boy described something to her, using broad gestures. She sensed Alexandra’s presence and glanced toward her.

  “Alexandra! How pleasant to see you again. Please, do come in. Will was just telling me about your dog. It seems he’s quite taken with the animal. Perhaps even a bit afraid of him.” She gave Will a loving look.

  “I’m not afraid, Mama,” the boy insisted. “I’m very brave, just as Papa said I should be.”

  “Perhaps you are only awed by the dog’s size,” Alexandra said as she advanced into the room. She had removed her cloak, which Annie had not taken.

  “I’m very brave,” Will said again.

  “Of course you are, darling.” Jane caressed his face. “So brave, in fact, that I think you deserve a reward.” She glanced toward Annie, who stood grim-faced in the doorway. “See that Master Will has a biscuit. He can take it in the kitchen with you, if he likes.”

  Annie kept her scowling expression until she shifted her gaze to Will and extended her hand to him. There was a softness in her eyes then, and she smiled at him as she led him away.

  “Please, sit here across from me.” Jane indicated a chair separated from her own by a small tea table.

  “Your housekeeper tells me you’re not feeling well,” Alexandra said as she took her seat.

  “I’m afraid Annie is a bit overly protective,” Jane said. In spite of the mild protest, Alexandra noted the dark circles under her eyes and the drawn, tired look of her face. There was something in her eyes as well, a haunting. The ravages of grief did not destroy her beauty, but altered it.

  “I’m afraid I’ve a bit of bad news for you, Jane.” Alexandra spoke softly, but when she saw the way Jane’s face grew deathly pale, she regretted having spoken at all.

  “Then tell me.” Jane’s voice was expressionless and almost inaudible.

  It took Alexandra a moment to summon the courage to speak again. “I’m afraid your son has been wounded,” she said at length.

  “John?” She looked as if she might swoon. “Is he…?”

  “He will live, but he will lose at least part of the use of an arm.”

  Jane kept her head down. “How was he wounded?”

  “He was shot.”

  She raised her eyes which were now full of alarm. “Shot? Who…?”

  “We can’t be certain, but your housekeeper was seen running away from the scene last night, and—”

  “Annie? No! You’re mistaken. Who told you this?”

  “My stable boys chased her through the woods after—”

  “Stable boys? You accept the word of stable boys?”

  Alexandra was silent for several seconds, seeing the anger and hurt in Jane’s eyes, not certain how to continue. Finally she spoke. “I must tell you John is with a barrister, who will return him to the authorities and intercede for him as much as is possible.”

  Jane refused to look at her, and there was another long, awkward silence between them. Finally Alexandra said, “Your son did not get on well with the admiral, did he?”

  Jane glanced at her quickly, anger still seething in her eyes. “No.” The word sounded defiant.

  “I’m sorry, Jane. Perhaps this is a gross impropriety, but there is something I must discuss with you.” When Jane gave her a questioning look, she continued uneasily. “We have both agreed, have we not, that your husband’s death seemed a bit…unusual. That perhaps he could have been…” Alexandra couldn’t finish her sentence because of the sudden horrified look she saw on Jane’s face.

  “Are you suggesting now that John could have murdered my husband? Was it not enough that you accused Annie of harming John?”

  “I don’t mean to suggest that at all,” Alexandra said, feeling both inadequate and embarrassed.

  “Then what?” Jane’s voice was hard and angry.

  Alexandra stood. “I’m sorry, Jane. I am out of bounds. I should never have come here to—”

  “Sit down, Alexandra, and tell me what you have been trying to say since you arrived.”

  Alexandra shook her head. “No, I—”

  Jane stood, suddenly confrontational, and Alexandra could see the anger increasing in her eyes. “Tell me, Dr. Gladstone.”

  “It is none of my business.”

  “Indeed it is not. But now that you have gone to the trouble of coming here, I insist you tell me what is on your mind. If it is on your mind, it is no doubt on the minds of others. I believe I have a right to know.”

  “Yes,” Alexandra said, feeling very small. “Forgive me for being both prying and cowardly.” She kept her eyes level with Jane’s. “I had hoped you could tell me about your…your petition for divorce and whether or not it could have any bearing on the admiral’s death.”

  There was a slight change in Jane’s breathing, but she recovered quickly. She spoke one word. “No.”

  Alexandra hesitated. “I am not certain whether to take your answer as a refusal to speak of the matter or—”

  “I did not choose to kill my husband as a substitute for divorce.” Jane’s words embarrassed Alexandra even more.

  “Certainly I didn’t mean to imply—”

  “Of course you did, Dr. Gladstone. Pray tell me why you would be asking about it for any other reason?”

  Alexandra hadn’t failed to notice that Jane had dropped the intimate usage of her Christian name for the more coldly formal Dr. Gladstone. “Forgive me, Jane. You are too fine and intelligent a woman for me to attempt so inexpert a deceit.” She looked away for a moment and then forced herself to face Jane again. “I know it sounds lame, but my motive was truly to protect you.”

  “Protect me?” There was bitter cynicism in Jane’s words.

  “Yes, to protect you.” Alexandra’s voice had regained its forcefulness. “Don’t you know that your son fears you will be blamed for the admiral’s death? Do you not know that even if no one seeks to blame you now, if knowledge of the divorce petition becomes common you will—?”

  “Of course I
know what it will mean,” Jane said. “There is nothing I can do about what others think.” She paused a moment, her expression troubled. “You must understand that my divorce petition was very foolish, and I have come to regret it. I shall be eternally grateful to my wise and wonderful late husband for not holding it against me.”

  Alexandra was growing more and more uncomfortable with each word Jane uttered. “You need go no further, Jane. It is quite clear that this is a domestic matter in which I should have no interest.” She slipped her cloak over her shoulders and started to turn away, but Jane stopped her with sharp words.

  “Oh, you have an interest, Dr. Gladstone. You would not be here if you didn’t.” She waited until she had captured Alexandra’s eyes with her own glare that was at once hot with anger and cold with disdain. “I want the gossip to stop, so you must tell everyone who knows of this that my quarrel with my husband was a foolish disagreement over money. I was selfishly demanding more from him. And over certain decisions he had made regarding the management of property which I had before I came into the marriage. I have since come to realize what I was too foolish to know then, that Parliament was wise to leave such matters in the hands of the husband. I, like most women, am ill equipped for such weighty decisions.”

  Alexandra was well aware of the laws regarding a woman’s property, which was one of several reasons she had chosen not to marry. She found it on the tip of her tongue to argue that Jane Orkwright, as well as herself, was equally well-equipped as any man to manage property, but she stopped herself. She had already stepped well beyond the bounds of propriety.

  “Forgive me, Jane,” she said with genuine contriteness. “I shall do my best to see that the gossip goes no further.” She saw what she thought was a softening in Jane’s expression, and for a moment she thought she was about to speak, but she bit her lip and turned away.

  Alexandra took her leave without a word, knowing that anything she said would be unheard. Knowing, too, that she could not have been more foolish than to have come in the first place.