Milly took a deep breath. ‘Nothing . . . I was just wondering if . . .’ And suddenly panicking, she blurted out, ‘If you and Seebold are any closer to getting married?’
Lena gave her a quizzical look. ‘I’ve already told you. Seebold and I aren’t getting wed.’
‘But you said Rainbow George was keeping on and on about it.’
Lena snorted. ‘Oh Milly, we only let him think that might happen to get him off our backs. I told you once before, I shan’t get married until I’m an old woman.’
‘And how does Seebold feel about it?’
‘He doesn’t want to marry me either,’ said Lena. She put her lips close to Milly’s ear. ‘Seebold loves somebody else.’
Her remark was like a hammer blow to Milly. She longed to ask who it was, but at the same time, she didn’t want to know. Oblivious to her sister’s thoughts, Lena giggled and nudged her in her side.
Archibald Crump and his photographer watched Alfred Penrose walking towards the office. He hadn’t been much help anyway. ‘There’s a story here, Bert,’ the reporter said. ‘I can feel it in me water.’
‘Na,’ said Bert. ‘It’s just a misunderstanding, that’s all. He thought the wolf was in the cage but turns out nobody put it in.’ He began packing up his camera. ‘Any road, where would you find a wolf these days? They’m all hextinct, ain’t they?’
Crump shook his head. ‘There’s more to this than meets the eye,’ he insisted. ‘Let’s follow Alfred and see what he’s up to.’
They hurried in the same direction they’d seen the lorry driver go, but it took a few minutes to track him down. Suddenly, they spotted him coming out of the office. Crump tugged at Bert’s arm to prevent him from making their presence known, but Alf didn’t notice them anyway. He was too busy counting a wad of notes.
‘There must be ten pounds or more in his hand,’ Crump whispered.
‘What’s that all about?’ asked Bert.
Crump’s eyes narrowed. ‘Hush money,’ he said.
Inside the office, Milly and Lena watched the driver leave. ‘That was an awful lot of money you gave him,’ Lena remarked.
‘Only twelve pounds,’ said Seebold. ‘I haven’t paid him for a month.’
‘Did you telephone to find out what happened to the wolf?’ Lena asked.
‘Couldn’t get through,’ said Seebold. He pulled on his jacket. ‘It’ll soon be time to close up for the day. I’d better start shutting up the animals.’ And with that he left the room.
Chapter 23
Agatha threw herself onto the sofa and swore out loud. ‘Damn, damn, damn.’ She was angry, furious, bloody livid. How could this be happening? For years she had planned, shaped and moulded her future. She had progressed from a penniless fifteen-year-old to a woman of social standing, someone respected in society, rich and well-heeled. Just a year ago, everything had been so perfect and now, despite her best efforts, it was all slipping through her fingers like water. She rose to her feet and, grabbing the open letter on her desk, she began ripping it into little pieces, the sound of her frustration growing from small grunts into a cry of anguish.
The door flew open. ‘Mummy?’ Pearl sounded very concerned. ‘Whatever’s the matter?’
Agatha took a deep breath. ‘Nothing, dear.’
‘But there is something,’ her daughter insisted. ‘I can see you’re upset.’
Still trembling from her outburst, Agatha walked to the drinks trolley and poured herself a stiff drink. If it wasn’t enough that the court had decided her stupid and weak-willed husband wasn’t out of his mind when he wrote that will, now she had to face this as well.
‘Mrs Cunningham has just handed in her notice. She leaves at the end of the week.’
Pearl frowned. ‘But why? She’s been here since the year dot.’
Of course Agatha knew perfectly well why she was going. On the day it was read, the will had been called into question. She knew that Mrs Cunningham had almost reached retirement age anyway, but the woman must have decided to stay long enough to make sure she would still be getting her twenty-five pounds a year. The morning post had brought news of the court’s ruling, and her cook/housekeeper’s notice had quickly followed. Agatha had been shocked. It was obvious that Mrs Cunningham didn’t care about the inconvenience it would cause her mistress. True, Agatha hadn’t actually paid her since Charles died. She would have done, had her challenge to the will been successful, but she wouldn’t be doing that now. Why should she? It served the wretched woman right. She’d shown her no loyalty whatsoever.
Agatha took a gulp of her whisky. ‘You can’t rely on anybody these days,’ she said acidly.
‘Oh don’t worry, Mummy,’ said Pearl. ‘We’ll soon get someone else.’
Agatha glared at her as she patted the back of her hair.
‘Honestly,’ Pearl insisted. ‘I’ll go down to the village and put a notice in the post office window.’
‘For goodness’ sake,’ Agatha snapped. ‘Don’t be so bloody ridiculous.’
Her daughter’s eyes grew wide.
Her mother filled her glass again and went back to the sofa. ‘And don’t look at me like that,’ she said. ‘You tell me where the money’s coming from to pay for a cleaner . . . and a cook . . . and a housekeeper.’
Pearl looked crestfallen. ‘I was only trying to help.’
‘Yes, yes,’ her mother said quickly. ‘I’m sorry. But all this on top of your father’s will . . .’ She gave Pearl an anxious glance. ‘You haven’t told Freddie the result of the court case, have you?’
‘Not yet.’
‘Then don’t,’ Agatha said, leaning towards her. ‘He mustn’t know. I don’t want him thinking we’re a charity case.’
‘He wouldn’t think . . .’ Pearl began.
‘I want you to promise me you won’t say anything.’
