Dying for a Garden Party Read online

  Dying for a Garden Party

  VL McBeath

  Dying for a Garden Party

  By VL McBeath

  Copyright © 2019 by VL McBeath, Valyn Publishing

  (a trading company of Valyn Ltd).

  For more about this author please visit:

  https://vlmcbeath.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the author at:

  https://vlmcbeath.com/contact/

  *

  Editing services provided by

  Susan Cunningham (www.perfectproseservices.com)

  Cover design by Michelle Abrahall (www.michelleabrahall.com)

  ISBNs:

  978-1-9161340-0-3 (Kindle Edition)

  978-1-9161340-1-0 (Paperback)

  Main category - FICTION / Historical Mysteries

  Other category - FICTION / Crime & Mystery

  First Edition

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Author’s Notes and Acknowldgements

  Also by VL McBeath

  Chapter One

  Saturday 3rd August 1901

  For the umpteenth time that afternoon, Eliza Thomson pulled back the dining-room curtains and peered down the street. The village was quiet thanks to the sun blazing from an unclouded sky, but finally the familiar horse-drawn carriage came into view. About time too. Stepping back into the coolness of the room she allowed the curtains to fall into place before hurrying to the front door to find her father waving to her.

  “I was beginning to wonder where you’d got to.” Eliza wore a broad smile as she opened her arms to embrace the tall, slender man now approaching.

  “You can’t rush in this weather,” Mr Bell said. “The poor horses are exhausted as it is. I presume there’s water around the back?”

  Eliza nodded and directed the coach driver to the stabling behind the surgery. “You must be exhausted too.” She linked her father’s arm and ushered him into the house. “Why didn’t you come on the train?”

  “I’d need to catch too many trains to get from Richmond to here. It would have taken me hours. Why you had to leave London I don’t know.”

  “Yes you do and you’re well aware why we came here. Aren’t you pleased to be back in Moreton-on-Thames?”

  Mr Bell grimaced. “I’ll tell you this time next week.”

  Eliza gave her father a sideways glance. “That’s enough of that. I thought you’d enjoy meeting your old neighbours again. I’ve already arranged a few visits for you. We’re going to have a lovely couple of weeks and to start with Cook has made a jug of lemonade for afternoon tea. I’ll ask Iris to bring it out and we can go through to the back garden. Connie and Archie are already out there.”

  “We’re sitting outside?”

  “It’s very pleasant. We have a table and chairs on the terrace and it’s in the shade at this time of the day. The river looks wonderful in the sunshine too.”

  After a word with her maid, Eliza pushed open the back door and as soon as Mr Bell stepped outside he extended his hand to his son-in-law.

  “Good afternoon, Archie, it’s good to see you again.”

  Archie jumped to his feet. “Mr Bell, welcome to Moreton. Did you have a good journey?”

  “A slow and overheated one, if I’m being honest, but I’m here now.” Mr Bell shook Archie’s hand before raising his hat to Connie, Eliza’s friend and next-door neighbour. “Constance. It’s always a pleasure to see you.”

  “Good afternoon, Mr Bell. We were beginning to think you’d forgotten about us.”

  “As if I’d do anything of the sort. Now where’s that lemonade? My mouth feels like the inside of a firebox.”

  Archie laughed. “You’ve still not got the railways out of your system, I see.”

  “If you work in a business for fifty years, you’re unlikely to forget about it in a hurry. But enough of that, how’s business going here?”

  “Very well as it happens. Between myself and the doctor in Over Moreton we’ve enough patients to keep us busy, but not too busy, if you understand my meaning.”

  “Archie’s taken up crown green bowls,” Eliza said. “The village has a new pavilion, and it really is rather lovely to sit and watch in the summer. I’m sure we’ll spend a few evenings down there while you’re here.”

  “It’s a good job I brought my bowls then.” Mr Bell winked at Connie. “And how are you, my dear? Are you still on your own?”

  “My! Yes, of course.” Connie picked up her fan and wafted it in front of her face. “I’m managing perfectly well, thank you very much.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear it. As long as it’s not because Eliza’s stopping you meeting an eligible young man?”

  “No it is not!” Eliza poured out four glasses of cloudy lemonade. “Any more of that, and I’ll get the coachman to revive the horses and take you straight home.”

  Mr Bell smirked at Connie as he helped himself to an egg sandwich. “She never could tell when I was teasing.”

  “I can see I’m going to have trouble with you.” Eliza struggled to keep a straight face as she spread a napkin across her lap. “Now, tell me what you’ve been up to since we last saw you.”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary, just regaining my perspective on life since the ordeal earlier this year.”

  “You seem to be doing very well from what I’ve seen,” Archie said. “Hopefully there was no harm done.”

  “No, nothing major. You just appreciate what you have a little more.”

  Eliza was about to respond when Iris interrupted them. “Excuse me, Dr Thomson. There’s a young man here to see you. He says he knows it’s Saturday, and he’s sorry to bother you, but he’d make it worth your while if you’d come to the door to speak to him.”

  Archie raised his eyebrows. “That sounds interesting. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and find out what he wants.”

  “One moment, Iris.” Eliza caught hold of the maid’s arm as she began to follow Archie back into the house. “Who is it?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t say I’ve seen him before. An overly tall chap with spiky red hair and freckles.”

  A frown settled on Eliza’s face. “Did he give a name or say where he was from?”

  “No, he just said he wanted to speak to Dr Thomson.”

  “Very well, thank you.” Eliza waited for Iris to leave before turning to Connie. “Have you any idea who it could be?”

  Connie shook her head. “None. Maybe it’s someone from Over Moreton.”

  “Yes, maybe.”

  “You don’t need to be on first-name terms with everyone in the village,” Mr Bell said. “You didn’t know all your neighbours when you were in London.”

  “This is different; we don’t often get complete strangers at the door.”

  “He isn’t really a stranger,” Archie said as he rejoined them. “It turns out he�
�s the son of the man who owns Oak House.”

  “Oak House!” Eliza, Connie and Mr Bell said in unison.

  “That’s what he said. His stepfather had an accident a few years ago that left him paralysed. He has a physician of his own, but he’s in a lot of pain and can’t wait for his man to travel down from London.”

  “So you’re going there now?” Eliza’s eyes were wide.

  “I am. I’ll see you later.”

  “No, stop.” Eliza jumped from her seat. “Can I come with you? I’d really like to go inside the house again.”

  “I can’t take you on a patient visit, particularly when all you want to do is snoop around.”

  “And I’m not sure it’s a good idea to go back.” Mr Bell reached out for his daughter’s hand. “It holds too many memories.”

  Eliza pouted at her father. “It might ease them.”

  “Whether it will or not, I’m not taking you with me,” Archie said. “I won’t be long.”

  The three of them were still sitting at the table half an hour later when Archie returned.

  “That was quick,” Eliza said.

  “It was, but I need to go back. Mr Hartley needs morphine, and I didn’t take much with me. I gave him a shot while I was there and so he should be all right for a few hours. If there’s any lemonade left, I’ll have another glass and then I’ll find some tablets for him.”

  “Excuse me.” Eliza raised an eyebrow at her husband. “Who’s the apothecary around here? That’s my job. I should do the delivery too.”

  “If this is all a ruse for you to go to the house, I can save you the journey.”

  “How?” Eliza moved closer to the edge of her seat as Archie grinned at her, saying nothing. “Will you stop playing games? Why can’t I go now?”

  “All right, if you must know, Mrs Hartley walked me to the gate as I was leaving and told me she’s having a surprise garden party on Saturday for her husband’s birthday. She asked if we’d like to join them.”

  “A party at the house! How splendid.” Eliza clapped her hands under her chin but her smile faded as she glanced at her father and Connie. “Are we all invited?”

  “Erm, no, it was just you and me.”

  Eliza’s shoulders drooped. “Did she say who else was going? Will there be many there?”

  “She didn’t say.”

  “And you didn’t ask?”

  Archie helped himself to a piece of cake. “Why would I ask? I said we’d be delighted to attend as long as I wasn’t working and we’d see her then. I thought you’d be pleased.”

  An exasperated look passed between Archie and Mr Bell.

  “I am pleased, but we can’t go without Father and Connie.”

  “You’ve no need to take me everywhere with you,” Mr Bell said. “I don’t have any great desire to go back to the house and so it may be a good time for me to head home.”

  “Nonsense, I invited you to stay for two weeks. Besides, Connie will need an escort.”

  “Me!” Connie said. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

  “Whether I need to or not, my dear, I do worry about you. Now, leave it to me. Once we’ve finished here, I’ll sort out the prescription and go and find out the full story.”

  As the church bells struck five o’clock, Eliza knocked on the front door of Oak House and stepped back to admire the stone facade of the house she had once called home. She might have left thirty years earlier, but it hadn’t changed much. Perhaps the sandstone walls had darkened and the curtains at the windows were different, but the double-height bay windows to either side of the front door and the smaller Georgian windows of the top floor were as familiar as if she had stepped away yesterday. She didn’t wait long for a maid to open the door.

  “Good afternoon, I’m Mrs Thomson, the doctor’s wife, and I’ve brought Mr Hartley his medication. May I come in?”

  “I can take it for you.” The maid reached for the package.

  “Actually, I need to get a signature if you don’t mind. Could you tell Mr Hartley I’m here?”

  The maid’s eyes narrowed as she looked Eliza up and down. “I’ll get Mrs Hartley. Wait there.”

  Wait! Eliza’s shoulders dropped as she stepped back out onto the driveway. I’ve waited long enough.

  Despite the lateness of the afternoon, the sun was still warm and Eliza was glad of the shade from a large oak tree that stood in the front lawn. It had grown since she’d last been here, as had all the trees in the woodland that ran around the back of the house. It didn’t look like anyone had done much thinning out recently. What fun she’d had in those trees when she was a child.

  She rested her back against the tree trunk and had only just got comfortable when the front door opened and a woman of similar age to herself stepped out to greet her.

  “Mrs Thomson?”

  “Yes, good afternoon.” Eliza’s feet crushed on the gravel as she walked back to the front door. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I wanted to make sure the tablets were handed to a responsible person. Will you pass them to Mr Hartley for me?”

  “Yes, of course. He’s in his office at the moment and it isn’t easy for him to get to the door but I’ll make sure he gets them.”

  “Thank you.” There was little doubt in Eliza’s mind that this was the mother of the young man who had called at the surgery earlier that afternoon. The woman’s hair was starting to grey but the auburn colouring was still dominant and her green eyes and pale skin gave her a striking appearance.

  “Will that be all?” Mrs Hartley asked when Eliza failed to move.

  “Oh yes, of course, I’m sorry. I was just admiring the house. It hasn’t changed much since I was last here.”

  “You’re familiar with the house?”

  Eliza smiled. “I lived here when I was a child, but it’s still the same, even after all these years.”

  “We’ve not done much to it, other than put a lift in so Edward, Mr Hartley that is, can get up to the first floor. Fortunately, the corridors are wide enough for his wheelchair. It’s one of the reasons we chose the place.”

  “Well, it’s lovely to meet you; we’ve not seen much of you in the village since you moved in.”

  “No.” Mrs Hartley pursed her lips as she twisted her wedding ring.

  “Yes, right.” Eliza glanced around the garden. “Dr Thomson tells me you’re having a garden party on Saturday.”

  A flash of panic crossed Mrs Hartley’s eyes and she took Eliza by the arm and led her back towards the gate. “We need to be careful what we say, I haven’t mentioned it to my husband yet. I want it to be a surprise.”

  “That’s nice. Is it a special occasion?”

  “It’s his birthday at the weekend. He says he’s too old to celebrate but I disagree. I decided that if it was a surprise, he couldn’t complain.”

  Eliza chuckled. “A woman after my own heart. How many people have you invited?”

  “The family will be here, naturally. My children live with us and Edward’s sons and their families are joining us from London. He knows they’re coming. On top of that, I’ve been reading the street directory to decide who we should invite.”

  Eliza stopped to face her hostess. “You didn’t need to do that, you should have asked. I’m always happy to help.”

  Mrs Hartley’s smile was apologetic. “I don’t get out much and don’t like intruding. I’ve a good list from the directory.”

  “It’s no trouble. Who have you invited so far? What about Lord and Lady Harrington-Smyth from Over Moreton? That would be something if they came.”

  Mrs Hartley’s eyes glistened as she finally smiled. “I have; they were the first people I invited. Then I picked some local businessmen to keep my husband happy. I think one was a Mr Royal, I can’t remember the name of the other.”

  “Yes, Mr Royal owns the company that supplies railway components. He’s nice enough. What about the men from the bowling club? Mr Steel is the chairman and he and the other men are a nice sociable grou
p.”

  “You need to give me their details, I don’t think I’ve invited them. I’m hoping to ask the vicar and his wife. I don’t get to church as often as I should but I thought we should meet them.”

  “I’m afraid the vicar isn’t married but if you’d rather not invite him on his own, perhaps you could include Mr Hewitt, the churchwarden?

  “Yes, of course. I should have invited him anyway. Is there anyone I’ve missed?”

  “Not as such, but I wonder if I could ask you a favour? My father is staying with us at the moment. Would you mind if he came with Dr Thomson and myself? My friend Mrs Appleton could accompany him if you want to keep the number of men and women even.”

  “I’m sure that would be fine. It will be nice to meet a few people rather than being stuck in here all the time. Mr Hartley doesn’t like me going out on my own, but as he rarely wants to go anywhere, I decided to ask everyone here instead.”

  “Well, I’m sure that’s a splendid idea. If you’d like me to deliver any of the invitations for you, just let me know.”

  Mrs Hartley smiled again. “I will. Wait here and I’ll go and get a pen and paper. You can give me the details of who else to invite.”

  Chapter Two

  All the prescriptions were stacked on the counter ready for delivery by the time the following Friday morning came to an end. Eliza put away the last of the medicine bottles and walked back into the house. Mr Bell was in the drawing room reading the newspaper.

  “Is there anything of interest in there?” she asked as she took a seat beside him.