Anne Perry - The Sins of the Wolf

“Are you asking me if I got strong drink on me person, sir?”

“Of course I in’t,” the guard said smoothly. “That’d be agin company policy. But I just thought as yer might ‘ave had summirtk medicinal on yer, against the cold, or shock, or summink. For passengers, and the like.”

“Well…” The conductor looked at Hester’s wan face. “Well, I suppose I might be able to find something- like…”

“Good. You go and look, Jake, an’ if you can, you give tins poor soul a nip, right?”

“Yes sir! Right!”

And he was as good as his word. Having “found” the forbidden brandy, he gave Hester a brimming capful and then left her again, muttering unintelligibly about duty. It was a further quarter of an hour, during which she was shivering cold and feeling increasingly apprehensive, before the stationmaster appeared in the compartment entranceway. He had a bland, curious face, auburn hair and, at the present moment, a severe cold in the head.

“Now then, miss,” he said, and sneezed violently. “You’d better tell us exactly what happened to the poor lady. Who is she? And for that matter, who are you?”

““Her name is Mrs. Mary Farraline, from Edinburgh,” Hester replied. “I am Hester Latterly, employed to accompany her from Edinburgh to London in order to give her her medicine and see that she was comfortable.” It sounded hollow now, even absurd.

“I see. What was the medicine for, miss?”

“A heart ailment, I believe. I was not told any details of her condition, only that the medicine must be given to her regularly, how much, and at what time.”

“And did you give it to her, miss?” He regarded her under his eyebrows. “Ye’r sure you did?”

“Yes, absolutely sure.” She rose to her feet and pulled down the medicine cabinet, opened it, and showed him the empty vials.

“There’s two gone,” the stationmaster observed.

“That’s right. I gave her one last night, at about a quarter to eleven, the other they must have used in the morning.”

“But you only joined the train yesterday evenin’,” the conductor pointed out, peering over the stationmaster’s shoulder. “ ‘Ad to ‘ave. It don’t start till evenin’.”

“I know that,” Hester said patiently. “Perhaps they were short of medicine, or the maid was lazy, and this was already made up, ready to use. I don’t know. But I gave her the second one, out of this vial.” She pointed to the second one in its bed. “Last night.”

“And how was she then, miss? Poorly?”

“No-no she seemed very well,” Hester said honestly.

“I see. Well, we’d best put a guard on duty ‘ere to see she in’t”-he hesitated-”in’t disturbed, and you’d better come and find the poor lady’s daughter who’s come to meet her, poor soul.” The stationmaster frowned, still staring at Hester. “You sure she didn’t call out in the night? You were here, I take it-all night?”

“Yes I was,” Hester said stiffly.

He hesitated again, then sneezed fiercely and was obliged to blow his nose. He looked at her carefully for several minutes, regarding her straight-backed, very slender figure, and making some estimate of her age, and decided she was probably telling the truth. It was not a flattering conclusion.

“I don’t know Mr. and Mrs. Murdoch,” Hester said quietly. “You will have to make some sort of announcement in order to find them.”

“We’ll take care of all that sort of thing. Now you just compose yourself, miss, and come and tell these poor souls that their mother has passed over.” He looked at her narrowly. “Are you going to be able to do that, miss?”

“Yes-yes certainly I am. Thank you for your concern.”

She followed after the stationmaster as he backed out of the entrance and led the way to the carriage door. He turned and assisted her to alight onto the platform. The outside air was sharp and cold on her face, smelling of steam and soot and the grime of thousands of dirty feet A chill wind whistled along the platform, in spite of the roof overhead, and the noise of trollies, boot heels, banging doors and voices echoed up into the vast overhead span. She followed the stationmaster jostling through the thinning crowd as they reached the steps to his office.

“Are they… here?” she asked, suddenly finding her throat tight.

“Yes, miss. Weren’t ‘ard to find. Young lady and gentleman looking to that train. Only ‘ad to ask.”

“Has anyone told them yet?”

“No, miss. Thought it better to learn that from you, seein’ as you know the family, and o’ course knew the lady herself.”

“Oh.”

The stationmaster opened the door and stood back. Hester went straight in.

The first person she saw was a young woman with fair auburn hair, waved like Eilish’s, but much duller in color, sandy rather than burning autumnal. Her face was oval, her features good, but lacking both the passion and the beauty of her sister. Compared with anyone else, she would have been handsome enough, in a quiet, very seemly sort of way, but having met Eilish, Hester could only see her as a shadow, a pale reflection. Perhaps in time, when her present condition had run its term and she was no longer plagued by anxieties, she could be more like Oonagh, have more vivacity and confidence in her.

But it was the man beside her who spoke. He was three or four inches taller than she, his face bony, with hooded eyes and a habit of pursing his lips, which drew attention to his well-shaped mouth.

“You are the nurse employed to accompany Mrs. Farraline on the train?” he demanded. “Good. Perhaps you can tell us what this is all about? Where is Mrs. Farraline? Why have we been kept waiting here?”

Hester met his eyes for a moment in acknowledgment that she had heard him, then turned to Griselda.

“I am Hester Latterly. I was employed to accompany Mrs. Farraline. I am deeply sorry to have to bring you very bad news. She was in excellent spirits last evening, and seemed to be quite well, but she passed away in her sleep, during the night I think she could not have suffered, because she did not cry out____________________”

Griselda stared at her as if she had not comprehended a word she had heard.

“Mother?” She shook her head. “I don’t know what you are saying. She was coming down to London to tell me-I don’t know what. But she said it would all be all right! She said so! She promised me.” She turned helplessly to her husband.

He ignored her and stared at Hester.

“What are you saying? That is not an explanation of anything. If Mrs. Farraline was in perfect health yesterday evening, she wouldn’t simply have”-he looked for the right euphemism-”have passed over-without… For heaven’s sake, I thought you were a nurse. What is the point of having a nurse to come with her if this is what happens? You are worse than useless!”

“Come now, sir,” the stationmaster said reasonably. “If the good lady was getting on in years, and had a bad heart, she could have gone any time. It’s something to be grateful for, she didn’t suffer.”

“Didn’t suffer, man? She’s dead!” Murdoch exploded.

Griselda covered her face and collapsed backwards onto the wooden chair behind her.

“She can’t be gone,” she wailed. “She was going to tell me… I can’t bear this! She promised!”

Murdoch looked at her, his face filled with confusion, anger and helplessness. He seized on the refuge offered him.

“Come now, my dear. There is some truth in what the stationmaster says. It was extraordinarily sudden, but we must be grateful that she did not suffer. At least it appears so.”

Griselda looked at him with horror in her wide eyes. “But she didn’t-I mean, there wasn’t even a letter. It is vitally important. She would never have… Oh this is terrible.” She covered her face again and began to weep.