Heirs of the Body(112)

“How are the children doing?” Alec asked.

“They said it was fun, once Vincent had been handcuffed and they knew Sam was going to be all right. Then they went off to start building a tree fort.”

“Ben told me it was very exciting,” said Frank. “He didn’t seem at all upset.”

“You needn’t worry about any of them developing a complex, darling,” Daisy assured Alec. “This morning, as it’s raining, they were playing in the attics. Derek found a book in the library about the Himalayas, called The Roof of the World, and they were all being explorers up there. Or perhaps Tibetan lamas, I’m not sure.”

Alec laughed. “No one will believe their story when they go back to school.”

“They should get a medal,” said Sam.

Geraldine disagreed. “Certainly not. They need no encouragement to attempt such dangerous exploits. They should have followed Vincent, not tackled him.”

“It’s easy to be wise after the event.” Frank sighed. “They got caught up in the excitement of the moment.” He obviously spoke from a wealth of experience. “Was Laurette arrested for conspiracy, Alec?”

“Far worse. She attempted to procure an illegal abortion. She substituted a dangerous herb, pennyroyal, for the peppermint Martha was taking for indigestion. Dr. Pardoe saw the teapot, sniffed the contents, and recognised the smell immediately.”

“Martha said it tasted unpleasant,” Daisy put in, “but she’s not the sort to make a fuss.”

“Luckily Laurette didn’t realise it takes more than a simple infusion of the leaf to be reliably efficacious.”

“Thank heaven!” said Sam.

“Especially as Martha is six months … Sorry, Geraldine, it’s not a subject for mixed company.”

“Nonsense, my dear man. It’s no earthly use being mealymouthed.”

“Oh!” Light dawned on Frank. “There’s no point killing Sam if Martha then produces a son. That’s terrible.” He crossed the room to shake Sam’s hand. “I’m very glad she failed, old boy. I still don’t see what the other nonsense was about, though, the faked accidents and all. Alec, are you going to tell us the news from Scarborough and Paris?”

“From Scarborough, the not very surprising news that the Vincent Dalrymples are in serious financial difficulties.”

“What about the children?” Geraldine asked anxiously.

“The boy’s been going to a small private day school. The French relative is governess to the daughters but also helped in the hotel. She took the kids to stay with her family in Paris for a fortnight while their parents came here. As things stand, I expect they’ll remain there.”

Everyone was silent for a few moments.

Then Sam said ruefully, “And the moral of the story is, don’t engage in criminal activities if you have a family dependent on you.”

“Nothing venture, nothing win,” said Frank, “though murder is taking it a bit too far! So the reason he was desperate to be the heir by fair means or foul was just money, not the glory of being a lord. I can see that the pretended attacks on himself were meant to avert suspicion. And whatever he says about Raymond, whatever Raymond actually died of, he meant to kill him if you ask me. But the butterfly net, and the pointless donkey business—if that wasn’t a real accident…”

“It was all part of a convoluted, half-baked plan to make it appear that all the possible heirs were targets, which made it appear that the attacker didn’t know who was the actual heir. However, he didn’t want to harm anyone who didn’t stand in his way.”

“Good of him!” Geraldine exclaimed.

“If he had not been suspected, he’d have continued to claim ignorance of the order of birth of Julian’s sons. If he found himself under serious suspicion, he’d produce evidence that he knew all along so that, as second in line, he had no reason to attack anyone but the actual heir.”

“That’s an explanation?” Frank protested.

“It’s the best I can offer.”

“Feeble!”

“He did succeed in muddying waters at first, but his efforts were ultimately unconvincing. His expertise was in hotel management, which requires careful organisation. A messy, improvised plot was very much outside his competence. He was bound to be caught in the end.”

“As far as I’m concerned, the waters are still muddy. But you say he had proof of who bags the prize?”

“That’s properly Mr. Pearson’s side of the business,” Alec said. “I’ll turn it over to him.”