Page 24 of A Sense of Paradise
‘Thank you for receiving us, Miss Latimer,’ Lord Riley replied in a cultured voice, handing his hat to Polly. ‘There is nothing for you to be concerned about. I merely require your assistance, and thanks to the efficiency of our railways no distance isthatfar from London nowadays.’
‘True enough. And as to my assistance, I shall be happy to provide it.’
‘This is Sergeant Salter.’
‘Good afternoon, Sergeant.’
The sergeant gave a deferential nod, but Flora sensed him astutely assessing her as he did so. ‘Miss Latimer.’
‘We shall be more comfortable in here, gentlemen,’ she said, preceding them into her sitting room. The French doors were open to the garden, and Melanie could be seen at its far end, playing with Alice, as always. Sergeant Salter looked down the garden, doubtless assessing Flora’s living situation. ‘Polly. Please trouble Beatrice for more tea and I dare say these gentlemen would enjoy a slice of her lemon cake.’
‘I am sure Sergeant Salter will be obliged for your consideration.’ Lord Riley waited for Flora to seat herself before taking the chair across from her. Sergeant Salter stood back against a wall with notebook and pencil poised. ‘This is a very pleasant room,’ Lord Riley added, taking stock of his surroundings.
‘Far too grand for me, but I like to pretend that I am accustomed to such luxury,’ Flora replied mischievously.
Polly came in with the tea. Flora noticed the sergeant’s eyes light up at the sight of the giant slabs of Beatrice’s cake. He was persuaded to take a seat in order to drink his tea and consume two slices.
‘What precisely brings you to this part of the world?’ Flora asked, making conversation while the refreshments were enjoyed.
‘We are sometimes called in by police forces from all over the country if crimes are committed that baffle them.’
‘Criminals running amok in sleepy Lyneham.’ Flora put aside her empty cup. ‘Naturally, I am now filled with curiosity.’
‘Murder is a curious business, miss,’ Sergeant Salter told her.
‘Murder?’ Flora blinked at him. ‘Good heavens, who has been murdered? I have not heard anything and you can be sure that I would have done if the victim was local.’
‘Not here, Miss Latimer, it happened in Salisbury.’
‘Ah, I see.’ Flora fell momentarily silent. ‘Someone in ecclesiastical circles, one assumes, which would account for your visit to me. But alas, I fear you have had a wasted journey since I cannot help you. I have not lived in Salisbury for over two years and the clergy would have changed frequently since then.’
‘There is no delicate way of putting this,’ Lord Riley said, sending her an avuncular smile to fill an awkward pause. ‘The victim is Jacob Yardley.’
Flora gasped. ‘The bishop’s so…I mean nephew. How? What happened?’
‘That weren’t a slip of the tongue, miss,’ Sergeant Salter commented, and Flora looked up into his piercing and distrustful eyes. She shuddered, sure that if she had committed a crime she would not have been able to keep the details from the astute sergeant.
Watching her reaction closely, Lord Riley allowed the silence to drag out until Flora nodded. ‘No, it was not. I suppose the truth will have to come out now.’ She sighed. ‘I feel very sorry for the bishop. Mr Yardley was a lazy, self-entitled scoundrel, God rest his soul, but the bishop was of course very fond of him.’ Flora shook her head, greatly distressed on the bishop’s behalf. ‘To lose him to a violent crime and then have the true nature of their relationship revealed, blemishing his standing within the church and arming his enemies with sufficient ammunition to use against him in their frequent ecclesiastical in-fighting will come as a doubly bitter blow.’
‘It may not be necessary to reveal the entire truth if it is not germane to our enquiry,’ Lord Riley said smoothly. ‘We are not in the business of creating scandal, especially if it prevents us from getting to the truth and ensuring that perpetrators answer for their crimes.’
‘That will be a relief to the bishop. I am sure he is keen to know who disliked his son so much that they felt the need to do away with him. The full particulars of their relationship are no one else’s business, and few indeed are aware of the truth.’
Lord Riley inclined his head. ‘The bishop is, as you rightly suggest, devastated. He is not a suspect. He was miles away at the time of the murder—but to his credit, he admitted to the true nature of his relationship to the victim without my having to ask. We would not have known otherwise, although these things have a habit of coming out eventually. Anyway, I know shock and genuine distress when I see it. Besides, the bishop had no reason to kill his son. Such a deed would have put his own standing at risk.’
‘I am very glad to hear it. Not all men of God enjoy my admiration, but the bishop does, and unreservedly so.’
‘You don’t like the church much, miss,’ Sergeant Salter remarked. ‘That’s odd for the daughter of a man of the cloth.’
Flora smiled. ‘You are probably aware that I rebelled against my father, who looks upon me now as a bit of a lost sheep. His youngest daughter, my sister, has come to live with me as she too could not abide his tyranny.’
‘I am aware that you served as the Dowager Countess of Swindon’s companion,’ Lord Riley replied, returning her smile. ‘My mother knew her slightly, and I hear she was legendary for frightening away the companions that the earl employed to amuse her. Clearly you were made of sterner stuff.’
‘I was more frightened about having to return to Cathedral Close as a failure, and that gave me the courage to stand up to her. We became good friends quite quickly, and I miss her enormously.’ Flora blinked back a tear. ‘However, that is not what you are here to talk about.’
‘Unfortunately not,’ Lord Riley agreed.
Flora folded her hands in her lap and gave Lord Riley her complete attention, until Zeus chose to join them and leapt onto her lap, obliging her to remove her hands in order to let him settle. ‘This is Zeus, the countess’s cat. I inherited him,’ she said, smiling as she stroked his back. ‘Now, how can I help you to track down Mr Yardley’s killer? Come to think of it, I am surprised he was in England. There was some unpleasantness a while back and I was given to understand that he had gone abroad for an extended period to allow time for things to settle down again.’
