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Authors: Catherine Winchester
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my own accounts since before Thea was born. She and her mother do a much faster and more accurate job than I ever could.”
Cole laughed, since it was said in a teasing lilt. “That is certainly a reward worth having.”
Chapter Five
Thea arose at eight the following morning, slightly later than usual for her but seemingly early by this house’s standards. Late rising had been common a few decades ago, under the rule of the decadent George IV, with the ruling classes taking their cue from him and staying up late into the night, drinking and gambling.
The practice was dying now though and most people took the running of their estates seriously, meaning that most people of Thea’s acquaintance were early risers. Perhaps not as early as their tenants and the working classes, but the practice of sleeping the morning away was unusual these days.
Thea intended to make the most of the peace and quiet however, so she dressed quickly and after checking in on her father, she made her way to Mrs Garwood’s bedroom again.
Something told her that what had happened in this room held the key to everything and by looking closer, she hoped that a solution would present itself.
Ann, Mrs Cole’s pug, was waiting patiently on the landing outside her door as she exited, and wagged her tail when she saw Thea, who bent down to pet the animal.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, scratching gently behind her ears. “I expected you to sleep with Mrs Cole given how spoilt you are. Go on now, hurry along, I have things to do.”
The pug followed her to Mrs Garwood’s room and she didn’t have the heart to shoo the animal away again.
She looked around from the doo rway, taking in the whole room, then she went to the dressing room, looking around in there too.
The dressing room was relatively small by country house standards, clearly designed for a guest rather than a family member. It was perhaps half as wide as the bedroom and half as long, making it about a quarter of the size. The dressing table stood directly in front of the window and while she had looked for scuff marks on the floor yesterday, Thea hadn’t attempted to open the window behind. Now she did, seeing first if it was possible to get to the window without moving the table and mirror.
It wasn’t.
The little dog watched her closely and with curiosity as she worked.
She moved the table then, doing her best to lift it high so as not to damage the floor. It was exceptionally heavy but once she had made eight or so inches of space between the table and wall, she squeezed into the gap and attempted to open the window. The sill was perfectly clean, so there was no telling if someone had crossed it recently.
The sash was stiff but relented with the application of a little force, so she opened it a few inches. She closed an opened it again and this time it opened easily. She had obviously been the first to open it in a while. Still, assumptions led to wrong thinking, as her mother frequently said, so she opened the window once more and looked out. Not only was there a good twenty feet to the ground level, there was a level below that, adding another ten feet to the drop.
She had observed as much yesterday from the bedroom windows, hence she had ruled those out as an escape route. This one clearly had to be ruled out as well. Someone could have jumped but they would surely have been injured. She rang the bell by the door for a servant and began to look through the rest of the belongings here.
She had considered that a rope might have been used but if it was secured to something in the room, then it would surely have been discovered along with the body.
That sparked another thought, that a rope could have been tied off and lowered from a room above. It wouldn’t explain why the windows were closed when the guests broke into the bedroom, but it might be possible to close a window, at least mostly, from the outside, especially with practice. She opened a bedroom window
Cole laughed, since it was said in a teasing lilt. “That is certainly a reward worth having.”
Chapter Five
Thea arose at eight the following morning, slightly later than usual for her but seemingly early by this house’s standards. Late rising had been common a few decades ago, under the rule of the decadent George IV, with the ruling classes taking their cue from him and staying up late into the night, drinking and gambling.
The practice was dying now though and most people took the running of their estates seriously, meaning that most people of Thea’s acquaintance were early risers. Perhaps not as early as their tenants and the working classes, but the practice of sleeping the morning away was unusual these days.
Thea intended to make the most of the peace and quiet however, so she dressed quickly and after checking in on her father, she made her way to Mrs Garwood’s bedroom again.
Something told her that what had happened in this room held the key to everything and by looking closer, she hoped that a solution would present itself.
Ann, Mrs Cole’s pug, was waiting patiently on the landing outside her door as she exited, and wagged her tail when she saw Thea, who bent down to pet the animal.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, scratching gently behind her ears. “I expected you to sleep with Mrs Cole given how spoilt you are. Go on now, hurry along, I have things to do.”
The pug followed her to Mrs Garwood’s room and she didn’t have the heart to shoo the animal away again.
She looked around from the doo rway, taking in the whole room, then she went to the dressing room, looking around in there too.
The dressing room was relatively small by country house standards, clearly designed for a guest rather than a family member. It was perhaps half as wide as the bedroom and half as long, making it about a quarter of the size. The dressing table stood directly in front of the window and while she had looked for scuff marks on the floor yesterday, Thea hadn’t attempted to open the window behind. Now she did, seeing first if it was possible to get to the window without moving the table and mirror.
It wasn’t.
The little dog watched her closely and with curiosity as she worked.
She moved the table then, doing her best to lift it high so as not to damage the floor. It was exceptionally heavy but once she had made eight or so inches of space between the table and wall, she squeezed into the gap and attempted to open the window. The sill was perfectly clean, so there was no telling if someone had crossed it recently.
The sash was stiff but relented with the application of a little force, so she opened it a few inches. She closed an opened it again and this time it opened easily. She had obviously been the first to open it in a while. Still, assumptions led to wrong thinking, as her mother frequently said, so she opened the window once more and looked out. Not only was there a good twenty feet to the ground level, there was a level below that, adding another ten feet to the drop.
She had observed as much yesterday from the bedroom windows, hence she had ruled those out as an escape route. This one clearly had to be ruled out as well. Someone could have jumped but they would surely have been injured. She rang the bell by the door for a servant and began to look through the rest of the belongings here.
She had considered that a rope might have been used but if it was secured to something in the room, then it would surely have been discovered along with the body.
That sparked another thought, that a rope could have been tied off and lowered from a room above. It wouldn’t explain why the windows were closed when the guests broke into the bedroom, but it might be possible to close a window, at least mostly, from the outside, especially with practice. She opened a bedroom window
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