Chapter Three

The Third Visit

The people in the great houses of London are very fussy about who comes through their front door. They all have someone who has the job of, you might say, guarding the door so that only the best people are let in. In most places, the butler does it. At the house in St. John’s Wood, Henry Gander did the guarding, but since he was gone, Mrs. Bardell had taken up the task. Of course, the interesting thing is that the back door receives little attention. I suppose it’s Cook’s responsibility there, since that’s who I met when I went in the tradesmen’s entrance of Mrs. Bardell’s place.

I had gone back to the Black Lion to get Duff to help me get into the house. He was helpful, but by the time we had agreed on a plan, as usual I was the one doing the going in. The way it worked was this.

Barkis took me and five cases of Madeira to the back of the house. I rang the bell and someone called out, “Come in, come in. I’m too busy now to get the door.”

I went in and said, “I have a delivery.”

“All deliveries should be made before eleven o’clock, don’t ya know.” After eleven o’clock it was Cook’s job to mash the potatoes, overcook the meat, and see that the beer and wine were kept warm. She also napped from time to time.

“This is a special. Five cases of Madeira for a Mr. Gander.”

“Sure, keep them girls a little snapped, and they won’t mind making a living on their backs. Does ya know where it goes?”

“I don’t. Should I take it to Mr. Gander?”

“Mr. Gander is… That is, he isn’t with us any longer. Just put them in the small room next to the parlor. You’ll see the empty bottles stored there.”

Duff had insisted we use full cases of wine, should anyone want to inspect the delivery. I took the full cases in and found the empty bottles and cases as Cook said I would. We had bought the wine from Barkis at a discount, and he threw in free delivery with his cart, but it still seemed a shame to waste all this fine beverage by leaving it there. I needed to think about that. First though, I needed to look around and see what I could see. As I turned from the storage room, a cute young girl, perhaps eighteen, came into the room with a feather duster. “Hello, there,” she said. “I haven’t seen you around afore.”

I said, “Have some Madeira, my dear?”

****

“I’m off in just a quarter hour. My room is over the stables in the back. Just go in. I’ll be along.”

As I hauled the empty bottles to Barkis’ cart, I included one full carton of wine, to share with my new friend. “Barkis, lad, you go on back to the inn. Don’t fret about me. I’ll find my way home.” The girl came along as promised. We were all wrong about who we needed to talk to about the doings in the house. Maids know more than anyone about what’s going on in any house. I’ll tell all that she told me later on, in the taproom in the Black Lion. Right now, all I can say is, I know why they give the girls of the house all that Madeira.

****

It was the next day afore I was able to meet with Duff and the others. “A wee bit of brandy, please, Clara, my dear. Seems I have upset my stomach in the line of duty.”

“Right away, Mr. Blathers. You poor lad. You look like you haven’t had a wink for days.”

“Oh, I’ve slept. It just didn’t help. Them, I mean those, sweet wines aren’t good for the head. But, sweet wines do help the mouth to work, that is, the mouth of a lady at the brothel.” I sipped my brandy and said, “I’ll tell what I found out in the room above the stable.”

“Before you begin,” Duff said, “Please tell us where exactly you have been, and what you have been doing since yesterday.”

“I’ve been from heaven to hell, and I’m not quite back from hell. What I did along the way I’m saving for the book I’m going to write. They tell me that a good bawdy tale helps to sell books.”

Here I must apologize to the reader. The publisher wouldn’t let me describe what actually happened between the maid and me as we consumed the wine. All he would let me say is that the maid was better company than Kit and was free, except for the wine.

I saw Barkis’ eyes go wide, and Clara hit him with the wooden spoon again. Miss Betsey covered her eyes so she wouldn’t hear anything she shouldn’t. “Now, now, folks, all I’m going to do is tell what the girl told me. If you want more, you’ll have to read the book. After we got to know each other better…”

The spoon smacked Barkis before he could make one of his smart remarks.

I began again. “After we became acquainted, I asked the girl why it is she could just take the afternoon off.”

“She said she could come and go as she pleased. Cook was supposed to watch the door, but she is so fat and lazy everyone comes and goes without her knowing. She likened as how I just walked out with the wine.

“Well, she was right. Cook was asleep at her table when I took out the empty bottles and the full case. To cut to the important thing, though it took me some time afore I found this out, there was a delivery man that would visit with Emma each time he made a delivery. He brought baked goods to the house every day, and would sneak to Emma’s room every time. She says he would stay about an hour and then sneak out through the back door.”

Duff asked, “What about Gander? If he was guarding the girls, wouldn’t he be watching the back door?”

“She said there was a rule. The girls had to stay out of the back of the house. Gander would only go back there if one of them did. He didn’t know how the care of the house was done, so even if he saw Emma’s visitor on the stair, he wouldn’t give it a thought.”

Miss Betsey jumped to a conclusion. “So this strange chap must have been the one that did the stabbing.”

“Not necessarily. There was also an odd woman spotted. You recall the lady’s clothes found in the closet. Well, my friend, the maid, she is sure Emma never wore them. She thinks a woman sneaked in disguised in those clothes. She is certain she saw the lady in the front hall the day Gander was stuck in the neck.”

Duff said, “So another possible suspect.”

“More than a suspect. My friend says she has seen the woman waiting around the back of the house since the killing. She hasn’t tried to go in, but she’s watching.”

Duff had a suggestion. “Then, why don’t you go back to Bliss House and see if you can spot her.”