Katherine Woodfine - The Midnight Peacock

Together, they made their way to the platform, and clambered on to the train, where they found themselves an empty compartment and settled down.

‘I do like train journeys,’ said Lil, peering out at the steamy station platform as though she were willing the guard to blow his whistle, so the train could be on its way. ‘And I’m glad we’ve got our own compartment. It’s so much nicer being able to talk properly without having to worry about being quiet and minding our manners for strangers.’

But the words were scarcely out of her mouth when the door to their compartment opened, and someone else came in – a small, elderly lady, with white hair, a pince-nez on a long, glittering chain, and a velvet hat with a bunch of very purple violets in it. She smiled around at them all benevolently, as the guard blew his whistle, and the train began its slow chug out of the station.

‘Excuse me, young man, would you put my suitcase up into the luggage rack please?’ she asked in a high, quavering voice. Jack smiled charmingly, and did as she asked, whilst Lil made a face at Sophie. So much for their own private compartment!

‘And might I trouble you for that corner seat, my dear?’ the old lady asked Sophie, clutching a white lacy handkerchief in a thin, lace-gloved hand. ‘I mustn’t travel with my back to the engine. Oh, thank you. How kind.’

Sophie politely moved seats, allowing the old lady to position herself into the corner. She carefully set down an enormous carpet bag, before removing a succession of articles from inside it. First was a novel in a yellow paper cover, then a small tin of lozenges, marked ‘for coughs’, then some complicated-looking knitting, a little brown medicine bottle, a lacy shawl, an illustrated magazine, and finally, a packet of hairpins. She then systematically returned all the items back into the bag, with the exception of the magazine and the tin of lozenges, which she opened, releasing a sickly medicinal aroma into the compartment.

‘H-hem,’ she coughed, before popping a lozenge into her mouth.

Lil was staring in obvious fascination. Sophie guessed that she was already picturing this old lady as a character in a play. ‘Where are you travelling to, ma’am?’ she asked in a polite tone.

‘I’m going to Alwick, dear,’ the old lady replied.

‘Oh – that’s where we’re going too,’ said Lil, trying to sound bright and cheerful, but her voice falling a little flat at the news that their new companion would be with them for the whole of their journey.

Resigning themselves to the inevitable, they all settled down quietly. Lil pulled out her Theatrical News , and Jack took a small sketchbook and a handful of pencils out of his pocket. Meanwhile, Sophie opened a book – a collection of Montgomery Baxter tales, which Billy had loaned her – but the boy detective’s intrepid adventures did not really catch her attention. Instead, as the train gathered speed, rattling and bumping its way through the London suburbs, she stared out of the window as streets and the untidy backs of houses gave way to a landscape of bare trees and empty fields. It was a long time since she had been out of the city, and she found herself gazing at the black silhouettes of birds swooping against pebble-grey clouds and rough brown hedgerows, dusted with glittering frost like sugar on a cake.

The light was already ebbing out of the day, the sky heavy with the promise of more snow to come. Their compartment was only dimly lit and it was quiet too, with no sounds but the rattle of the train, the scratch of Jack’s pencil and the occasional soft flicker of pages turning. After an hour or more had passed, Sophie heard a decorous little snore, and glanced over to see that the old lady had nodded off to sleep over her magazine, her pince-nez still perched on the end of her nose.

They felt more able to talk in low voices after that, and Lil passed around the packet of chocolate, which had got rather warm and squashy from being in the pocket of her coat. Between them, the two girls quickly told Jack all about Miss Pennyfeather’s mysterious letter – and their plan to pay a visit to Colonel Fairley.

Jack listened with great interest. ‘Do you suppose this fellow was someone your father knew in the Army?’ he asked.

‘I suppose so,’ said Sophie. ‘I know he had a lot of Army friends – they used to come and visit us sometimes. But I don’t remember ever meeting a Colonel Fairley.’ She paused for a moment. ‘The thing I can’t help thinking is – if they really were such awfully good friends, if he was the person we were supposed to go to if we found ourselves in trouble – then, why didn’t he contact us when Papa died? Or come to his funeral? There were notices in all the newspapers, so he must have known about it.’

‘Maybe he was away – travelling perhaps?’ suggested Lil.

‘Perhaps,’ said Sophie. ‘But then why wouldn’t he have tried to get in touch when he got back home? It all seems so odd.’

Jack had a sudden thought: ‘Do you suppose – well, it couldn’t have anything to do with your father’s connection to the Baron , could it?’

Sophie opened her mouth to reply – and then closed it abruptly. She had caught a sudden gleam from behind the old lady’s pince-nez. Her eyes were no longer quite closed, and she suddenly had the peculiar sense that the old lady was listening . Not idly eavesdropping on a conversation, but alert, actively paying attention to every word they said.

Just then, the train hurtled into a tunnel, and the compartment was plunged into darkness. When the greyish light seeped back in, the old lady was simply drowsing once more, her eyes shut. Sophie frowned. With the other two watching her curiously, she tilted her head in the direction of the old lady and then put her finger to her lips. After a quick, surprised glance, Lil began to talk airily about the new play she would be rehearsing in January. For the rest of the journey they all kept their conversation carefully general, as the train rattled onwards towards Alwick, and Winter Hall.

PART II

The Case of the Hidden Passage

Montgomery Baxter tapped the panelled wall sharply with his knuckles. The sound was hollow. ‘I thought as much. Gentlemen – this room conceals a secret passage!’

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