Death of a Matriarch (Riley Rochester Investigates Book 7) Read online

  Anthea nodded. ‘It’s a terrible tragedy, Lord Riley,’ she said. ‘I was so very fond of Grandmamma. This is Miss Edith Colby, Grandmamma’s companion these past ten years. And my brother Clifford and his intended, Miss Doreen Sutherland.’

  Salter scribbled away.

  ‘I am Mrs Huxley. Mrs Susan Huxley, Lady Pemberton’s second daughter.’ The lady who appeared to think that Riley had made a massive mistake, lifted her chin and fixed Riley with a look of haughty disdain. ‘My husband, Kenneth,’ she said, indicating an insubstantial man with a weak chin that his whiskers failed to enhance.

  Another of the men introduced himself. ‘I am Alan Axton. My wife Mavis is Lady Pemberton’s youngest daughter.’

  ‘That just leaves you, sir.’ Riley addressed his remark to the gentleman sitting apart from the others.

  ‘Gabriel Barlow, friend of Lady Pemberton’s,’ he said, standing as he spoke.

  And the only non-family member with the exception of Miss Colby who had been invited to the birthday celebrations, Riley thought, wondering if that was significant.

  ‘Clearly, you all spent the night here in the house.’

  ‘We did,’ Mr Kinsley said for them all. ‘It is my family’s permanent home. My sisters-in-law came specifically for the birthday celebrations, along with others.’ He sent Barlow a darkling glance. ‘And I for one didn’t hear any murderers creeping about the place in the wee small hours.’

  ‘The suggestion that anyone would want to kill Mama is quite ridiculous,’ his wife added. ‘She was an old lady, Lord Riley, but harmless. Her time had come. Surely you have better things to do with your own time than to invent crimes where none exist. Your coming here and laying down the law in every sense of the word is making matters ten times worse and upsetting my daughter.’

  ‘But not you,’ Riley replied, steel in his tone. ‘You are angry, but with the exception of Miss Kinsley, Miss Colby and Mr Barlow, no one seems especially grief-stricken.’

  ‘We all feel our sorrow and express it in different ways,’ Mrs Kinsley said acerbically. ‘Mama would not approve of public outpourings of grief, especially not from you, Anthea,’ she said, sending her daughter a disapproving look instead of the comfort that would have been forthcoming from any mother with an ounce of maternal instinct.

  ‘I shall need to speak with you all individually, after Doctor Maynard has examined Lady Pemberton and confirmed the cause of death. In the meantime, I must prevail upon you all to remain here for a little longer.’

  ‘Not possible.’ Kinsley turned towards the door but Salter stood in front of him, puffing out his chest, barring his escape. ‘Get out of my way!’ he shouted to Salter, who simply stared him in the eye until he looked away.

  ‘Sit down!’ Riley’s firm tone achieved what Salter’s bulk could not. Kinsley face reddened as he turned on his heel, muttered something unintelligible beneath his breath and fell into the nearest chair.

  ‘I have a living to earn, damn it!’ Kinsley said. ‘All the time I stay here, I am losing money.’

  ‘Don’t you even care about Grandmamma?’ Miss Kinsley asked, her voice choking on a sob. ‘Is her death such a terrible inconvenience to you, Papa? Is making money so important that you don’t want to bother helping Lord Riley find out who did this terrible thing?’ The condemnation in her tone and her wounded expression implied a very great deal about her relationship with her father, Riley thought. ‘Shame on you, Papa. Show some respect.’

  Kingsley’s face went purple. ‘Do not confront your father in such an unseemly way, child! Mind your manners and your place.’ His comment elicited a fresh burst of tears from his daughter, which appeared to calm him a little. He reached out an arm to her, then dropped it when his gesture was ignored. ‘Of course I want to help, my dear, but I remain to be convinced that anyone actually did anything to your grandmother. She died of old age and we should be left alone to grieve in private.’

  ‘If you are right then you will not be inconvenienced for long,’ Riley replied, knowing that they would be because he was absolutely convinced that Lady Pemberton had been murdered.

  The brittle tension in the room was disturbed by Aldridge walking into it to advise Riley that Maynard had arrived.

  ‘Please excuse me,’ Riley said to the gathering in general. ‘I shall not detain you for any longer than is absolutely necessary.’

  Riley and Salter left the room together.

  ‘Don’t any of your lot get along with one another, sir?’ Salter asked, scratching his head.

  ‘Those without murderous intentions manage to find a way,’ Riley responded in a tone of muted amusement. ‘Ah, Maynard,’ he added, extending his hand to the pathologist. ‘Thank you for coming so promptly.’

  ‘Always willing to oblige you, Lord Riley.’

  Riley took the bedroom key from Salter and left his sergeant to organise the constables. They would need to interview all the servants, starting with Lady Pemberton’s maid, the person who had discovered the body. But Riley didn’t need to tell Salter his business and felt confident that he could be trusted to put the necessary arrangements in hand.

  ‘Lady Pemberton, I understand,’ Maynard said, entering the bedchamber as soon as Riley had unlocked the door. ‘Goodness, what do we have here?’

  ‘That is what I hope you will tell me. The family would have me believe that she died of natural causes.’

  ‘Not an unreasonable conclusion, given the lady’s age, but you have reason to believe differently, I would imagine, which is why you summoned me.’

  ‘Hayward, her physician, sent for me. He wouldn’t sign the death certificate.’

  ‘I can quite see why,’ Maynard said, crouching down beside the bed and lifting one of Lady Pemberton’s closed eyelids. ‘Suffocation. No doubt about it,’ he said briskly. ‘As soon as your photographer has done his work I will have her taken back to King’s College and do a full examination, but there is no question in mind about the nature of her death, as I suspect there was not in yours.’

  Riley nodded. ‘Indeed not.’

  Riley thanked Maynard and went back down to find Salter.

  ‘It’s confirmed,’ he said grimly. ‘Have one of the constables take careful note of everything in that room, including valuable jewellery, which should be securely locked in the case I noticed on the dressing stand. Lady Pemberton’s jewels are famous. I have a feeling that her heartbroken daughters will be coming to blows over them soon enough, but I would prefer them to wait for the reading of her ladyship’s will so that her gems can be dispersed according to her wishes. And have someone else look for her personal correspondence. Hopefully it will throw up clues regarding the state of her relationship with individual family members.’

  ‘Right you are.’

  Salter went off to make those arrangements while Riley asked Aldridge to join him in the room adjacent to the drawing room that he intended to use for his interviews.

  ‘I regret that your mistress was indeed murdered,’ he told the butler, who swallowed as he struggled to absorb that disquieting news with the stoic reserve expected from a man in his position. ‘How well did she get along with her family?’

  ‘You imagine, Lord Riley, that the culprit was motivated by financial expectation.’

  ‘It’s always one of our first considerations when a wealthy person dies from anything other than natural causes. I am paid to have a suspicious mind and cannot help wondering if one of her relatives got tired of waiting for nature to take its course. Are you aware who stands to profit from her death?’

  ‘I am not, Lord Riley. Her ladyship did not confide in me but I do know that she grew weary of being applied to for financial help with such tedious regularity.’ Salter slipped into the room as Aldridge spoke. ‘Her daughters were all short of money from time to time. They came to Lady Pemberton when desperate, but whether or not she obliged them I am not in a position to say. My mistress was very fond of her granddaughter and of Miss Colby, but she had less time fo
r the rest of them.’

  ‘What of Mr Barlow?’

  ‘A fairly recent friendship is all that I can tell you.’

  ‘Very well, Aldridge. That will be all for now. Have Miss Kinsley sent in please.’

  The butler acknowledged Riley’s request and left the room quietly.

  ‘Why start with her?’ Salter asked.

  ‘Because, on the face of it, she is the least likely to have murdered her grandmother. I am satisfied that her grief is genuine and that she possibly knew the old lady better than most. I also get the impression that she is at odds with her father, possibly her mother too. If anyone knows the Lady Pemberton’s secrets or concerns, it’s likely to be her.’

  ‘Is it definitely murder, Lord Riley?’ Anthea asked as she walked into the room. A tall, slim girl with a waterfall of dark hair and a line of freckles decorating her nose, she made a striking sight, despite her obvious distress.

  Riley stood until she had settled herself in the chair that he indicated and then took the one across from it. ‘I regret to say that it is.’

  ‘Oh heavens, who would do such a thing?’

  ‘That is what I intend to find out, with your help.’

  ‘I will help you in any way that I can,’ Anthea replied without hesitation. She appeared to have gained control of her emotions, but her eyes were still swollen and red from so much weeping. ‘What do you need to know?’

  ‘Were you and your grandmother close?’

  ‘Oh yes.’ A fragile smile broke through her sombre expression. ‘Everyone seemed to look upon her as a formidable figure, which she could be. She certainly had no time for idiots, and was forthright in the expression of her opinions, but she was also wise and kind and the best possible fun. She encouraged me to be myself.’

  ‘What do you mean by that?’ Riley asked gently.

  Anthea raised her head and looked directly at Riley, blushing furiously. ‘You don’t need me to remind you quite how determined Mama was to marry me off when I first came out. And still is, come to that. God, it was sooo embarrassing.’

  Riley smiled at her. ‘I tried not to be offended because you didn’t like me.’

  ‘Ha!’ She smiled genuinely this time. ‘We were both embarrassed.’ Salter chortled but dropped his head when Riley sent him a caustic look. ‘I told Grandmamma about it, how mortified I felt, and she took up the cudgels on my behalf. I don’t want to be married, you see, not unless I fall desperately in love. I love books and I am trying my hand at writing a novel. I would also like to be better educated, as ladies are permitted to be nowadays, But Mama won’t hear of it. She thinks I am out of my senses not to want a husband—but really, when one considers the examples of so-called marital bliss that I am obliged to observe on a daily basis, is it any wonder that I have little enthusiasm for the institution? Anyway, Grandmamma understands that…’ She swallowed. ‘Understood, and encouraged me. And because we live here and depended upon her for…well, for a roof over our heads, Mama had to listen to her when she took my side.’

  ‘That must have been frustrating for both of your parents; to have their authority over you and your brother undermined, I mean. Why do they not have a house of their own?’

  Anthea lifted one shoulder. ‘I don’t really know. Mama always said that someone needed to be on hand to look after Grandmamma, even though she didn’t need anyone to care for her. She used to walk every day in the park, no matter the weather, and I often went with her. We talked for hours. I could tell her absolutely anything.’

  ‘Things that your mother didn’t have time to listen to?’

  Anthea tossed her head. ‘Things that I would not tell her even if she did. I might be young but I am not empty-headed and I am perfectly capable of seeing the world for what it is. I don’t constantly need to be told what to think, say or do.’

  ‘This is a very hard question for you to answer,’ Riley said, leaning forward, ‘but the fact remains that someone beneath this roof last night suffocated your grandmother.’ Anthea gasped but held the tears that sprang to her eyes at bay. ‘Can you think who might have done it, and why?’

  She shook her head. ‘My aunts and uncles always seemed to be short of money and often came to Grandmamma hoping for handouts. I have heard my aunts privately bemoaning the fact more than once that we live here for nothing but that they didn’t benefit from Grandmamma’s largesse.’

  ‘There was tension between the three daughters of the house?’ Salter asked.

  ‘All the time. Tension, resentments, jealousies. None of them cared much about Grandmamma, I’m sorry to say, but it’s true. All that concerned them was finding new ways to exploit her generosity.’

  ‘Thank you, Anthea, you have helped me to understand the dynamics of your family.’ Riley stood. ‘Be kind enough to return to the drawing room and ask your father to join us.’

  ‘May I retire to my room after that? I would really prefer to be on my own.’

  Riley smiled at her, not blaming her in the least. ’Certainly you may.’

  ‘Was that wise, sir?’ Salter asked, closing the door behind Athena. ‘I know you don’t think she did it but shouldn’t she stay with the others?’

  ‘I see no harm in letting her go back to her room. There is no murder weapon to be concealed and your constables are taking possession of Lady Pemberton’s correspondence. Her valuables are locked in her jewellery case in her room and you now have the key, I imagine.’ Salter nodded. ‘Well then, let the poor girl grieve in private. God alone knows, someone needs to mourn the old lady’s passing.’

  Kinsley’s appearance put paid to their private conversation. A man of medium height, with thinning hair, a disproportionately large nose and an arrogant manner, Riley found little to admire in his overbearing demeanour and shared the late Lady Pemberton’s disappointment at her eldest daughter’s choice.

  ‘I understand that murder has been confirmed,’ he said in a conciliatory tone. ‘Damned odd. Who would have…?’

  ‘That is what I intend to find out,’ Riley replied. ‘You live here on a permanent basis. Why?’

  ‘Why?’ Kinsley sat taller in his chair and thrust his shoulders back. ‘None of your damned business.’

  ‘I beg to differ. I am curious to know why a successful businessman such as yourself felt the need to live beneath his mother-in-law’s roof. I was acquainted with Lady Pemberton and am aware that she was not always an easy person to get along with.’ Kinsley grunted but didn’t elucidate. ‘All the time you were here, living at her expense, she could control you and your family.’

  ‘What kind of man puts up with having his authority undermined?’ Salter asked from his position against the wall.

  Kinsley face turned purple and he fixed Salter with a contemptuous glower. ‘I wasn’t best pleased with the arrangement, I’ll grant you, especially give the way in which she influenced my daughter’s way of thinking, what with her modern views. But my wife wouldn’t hear of moving out. We settled here when we first married because I was establishing myself as an investment broker—’

  ‘Independent?’ Riley asked. ‘I have not heard of your enterprise.’

  ‘I have an office in Cheapside and two men now working beneath my directorship.’ He elevated his chin as he made the boast, displaying wide, hairy nostrils. Riley forced himself not to turn away from the unappealing view. ‘We seek out investment opportunities and recommend them to our growing portfolio of clients. Reputations depend upon word of mouth, as you well know. We are successful now, but it took all my available capital to set up shop when I first started. My wife encouraged my ambition but also felt that her mother needed her here, which is why we stayed to begin with.’

  ‘Why?’ Riley asked.

  Kinsley frowned. ‘Why what?’

  ‘Why did your wife feel that her mother needed her here? The Lady Pemberton I knew was fiercely independent, constantly active, suffered from no infirmities that I am aware of and had sufficient servants to cater for her needs. I can
not imagine that she encouraged her daughter to remain with her, thereby preventing her from having a home of her own, so I am curious to know why Mrs Kinsley insisted that her presence here was necessary.’

  Kinsley looked as though he’d never asked himself that question, which Riley found odd. ‘I really have no idea.’ Kinsley waved a hand, affecting a boredom that failed to conceal his agitation. ‘It’s just the way things worked out. Pamela was the last of the three sisters to marry, which probably had something to do with it. The other two had already moved away and…well, it made sense for us to set up home here initially. I did not suppose that the arrangement would last indefinitely, but there never seemed to be a right time to move out.’

  ‘What will happen now?’ Riley asked.

  ‘What, about the house, you mean?’ Riley inclined his head. ‘I have absolutely no idea, and hadn’t even thought about it.’

  ‘Course you ain’t,’ Salter muttered from the wall.

  ‘I say, Lord Riley, I’m not sure that I like your sergeant’s tone.’

  ‘His lordship won’t lose no sleep over what you think,’ Salter growled.

  ‘To answer your question more fully, Lord Riley, we have only just learned that Lady Pemberton was murdered. We are still in shock and have not had an opportunity to consider the implications of her demise.’

  But you have anticipated her death often enough.

  ‘You are not aware of the terms of Lady Pemberton’s will?’

  ‘I am not. If she made her intentions clear to anyone, they have not been shared with me.’

  ‘Do you know who dealt with her legal affairs?’

  ‘Lord Isaac Arnold.’

  Riley concealed his satisfaction with a brisk nod. Isaac and he were friends and Isaac would tell him who stood to inherit what without waiting for probate.