Chapter 10

I opted for the quick break. Not only did I want to drink something to get rid of the aftertaste of whatever we had just consumed, but I also wanted to get a look at Alice’s bathroom, since I had never seen it.

We agreed to a ten-minute recess, while Stanley made coffee. Johnny and I walked down to the library to grab some cognac. Robert clicked along behind.

Johnny poured us both a generous measure from the bar, which we both drank immediately, swilling the liquor around in our mouths before swallowing to get rid of the aftertaste.

We looked at each other.

“Well?” I asked.

“Well, indeed. Let’s wander back,” said Johnny, carrying the bottle. “Thank God for this cognac. I wouldn’t consume that little draft on a regular basis, but you must admit it was a nice touch and strangely appropriate.”

“Humph” was all I could say to that but finally I added, “I’ll give thanks if we simply remain in human form. Stanley drank some too, which raised my hopes, but I’m a little concerned about that ‘suffer the consequences’ clause that appeared out of nowhere at the very end.”

“Yes, we were a bit sideswiped there. We should get that spelled out. It could be important.”

“Damn right it could be important. I must admit old Stanley has been full of surprises. He sure had me fooled. So much for the gentle family retainer, all smiles and simpers — that idea has gone by the boards completely.”

“Well, he’s a member of the Dodge household and was Alice’s factotum for years. It’s no surprise when you think about it. Our retainers tend to be tough as nails and good at their jobs.”

“Yes, I should have known…Still, Stanley of all people…Just make sure you have all those questions he’s managed to duck at hand, so we can get them answered before we’re done here. It’s like old times, Johnny. I can hardly believe it. We’re in it for sure.”

Johnny laughed.

We were back in Alice’s apartment. I went off to investigate the plumbing, while Johnny lounged about, looking into the fire. When I returned, nothing had changed other than Robert was now sitting directly in front of Johnny, gazing up at him. He turned as Stanley entered with a coffee tray.

“Gentlemen, please help yourselves. There are a couple of small sandwiches as well.”

I had to hand it to the man. He knew how to do things right.

We were soon settled, and Stanley started up his tale again.

“As you will recall, her ladyship had confided in me her experiences at the hands of his lordship.

“I thanked her for being so candid, but I was nonetheless resolved to help in any way I could. Her confession about being visited by the people while she was locked in the trunk and in peril did nothing to dispel that intention. I had heard of such visitations while under duress. The fells and moorlands of Scotland are strange places and have spawned tales and legends aplenty.

“As to his lordship, I thought we should stop short of cold-blooded murder, not because I was squeamish or felt the action undeserved but because the potential legal and criminal repercussions to her ladyship were too great to risk.

“It was my opinion that the man was a complete bounder and needed a good thrashing. Barring murder, I suggested that we send him packing in his own trunk to his club in New York. He would then experience the same ordeal as her ladyship. To this she heartily agreed and clapped her hands in approval. We just had to work out the details, particularly as to how to prevent his coming back and either charging us with criminal conduct or taking revenge by some other means — an action I was certain he would attempt.

“Her ladyship thought the matter over and said she might have a way. She stated that she had no qualms about taking out a full-page advertisement in both the London Times and the New York Times simultaneously, spelling out in detail Lord Bromley’s actions. She added that he must have practiced his ways on others before her and that a substantial monetary incentive for successful prosecution would have his former victims clamoring for his head on both sides of the Atlantic.

“The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. His life would become an open book, unless he agreed to all her terms. In addition, she pointed out she had more than enough money to weather any storm, while he had far fewer resources. Exposed for what he was, he would be branded forever in the eyes of the public as a depraved sadist, making any kind of future in a civilized country impossible.

“As a final touch, she would have a letter of instructions kept on file at her lawyers’ to immediately launch the campaign if she were to die in the next several years for whatever reason. She asserted that he’d better hope and pray she remained in good health and that not a hint of him should cross her path or he’d wish he’d never been born.

“She liked where she was going with this. She would make the arrangements with her legal people and have them draft a letter to be given to him at his club. She decided that I should be the one to present it. Further, to make sure he understood his position, I was to inform him that he would be arrested if he was seen anywhere near her properties.

“Their relationship was over, and she would divorce him as soon as possible. His only recourse to prevent all this coming out was to leave the country immediately. There were to be no negotiations. She had very good attorneys in New York and London who would be given extremely lucrative incentives to ensure he ended up penniless and behind bars, if she unleashed them. By the time she finished, she had convinced herself that life for her would begin again with a fresh start in a new direction.

“I was happy with her decision and told her so.

“I also informed her ladyship that the club should not be a problem. I knew the headman, Cedric, and he owed me several favors. I would arrange for a Saturday delivery and store the trunk in the basement of the club until I opened it. The only question that remained was how to get his lordship in it. To this we turned as our next order of business.

“His lordship was expected to return on Friday afternoon, which gave us just a few days to prepare. His usual behavior when he arrived was to ask for a whiskey with no ice. I would give him his drink, but with the addition of a powerful soporific, such as a combination of chloral hydrate and phenobarbital. I would also contact a veterinary friend of mine to get some kind of tranquilizing cocktail, such as ketamine and atropine, that could be injected if all else failed.

“I’d had a fair amount of experience with horses and had to sedate many of them when there was a hunt and the rider’s skill was questionable. My former employer did not want to take the chance of having some luckless peer of the realm hurtling across the English countryside on an out-of-control mount. The proper dosage for a human would be critical, and this was an area where I would have to guess and have plans in place to handle any eventuality, including what I would do if I administered a dose that proved lethal.

“With our plans made, it was just a question of making adequate preparations. Her ladyship arranged to meet with her attorneys, being careful to avoid any contact with his lordship while she was in New York, and would return on Thursday with everything in place.

“For my part, I arranged the pickup of the trunk for Saturday morning. I saw my veterinary friend and came away well supplied.

“I thought about this extensively. Lord Bromley was not a man to be trifled with. If he got wind of what we were up to, there was no telling what he might do. I had to be prepared for every contingency. I rehearsed my actions in my mind, including what would happen if the drink proved ineffective.

“Friday arrived, and her ladyship and I went over our plans again to make sure we had missed nothing. In anticipation, I had arranged for the other servants to have a day off. Her ladyship and myself were the only ones present in the house. We were as prepared as we could be.

“Lord Bromley arrived that evening in high spirits. The front door was flung open, and he yelled immediately for his wife, holding a sheaf of papers in his hand for her to sign. Her ladyship informed him that she would sign them after dinner, but this was not soon enough for him. He wanted her signatures now. Her ladyship sized up his mood and acquiesced, anticipating that he might calm down after that was done. She was correct, and after he watched her sign in several places, he was all smiles again and asked for a whiskey. I added more than enough drugs to knock out a large man, but to no avail. He was still standing with not even a slur after forty minutes. He asked for another, which I also doctored and gave to him with no small amount of trepidation. If anything, he seemed even more animated. I decided then that he needed to be injected. I announced that dinner was served, and that I would be taking care of both of them as several of the servants had flu-like symptoms.

“The syringe was in my pocket. I put the bowl before him with one hand and struck with the other. Unfortunately, he turned at the last second and the needle caught his shoulder blade, bending the point sideways. He cried out and started to rise from his chair when I hit him full in the face with my fist, still clutching the syringe. He went down with a crash, falling onto the table before rolling onto the floor, out cold. I doubt my skill as a pugilist knocked him out but rather the delayed effects of the drugs. Now I was worried that I might have given him too much. Her ladyship was beside me in a flash as we looked down at the man. He looked very pale.

“‘Is he dead?’ she asked.

“‘I don’t think so,’ I replied. ‘He’s breathing, but we should hurry in case he should come around.’

“I knew it would take time for both of us to carry the trunk down the stairs, strip him, and put him in it. I had the horrible thought of his lordship recovering and wandering off when we weren’t looking. I grabbed a lamp from the drawing room and tied the electric cord around his feet. We would hear him if he started to get away.

“We climbed the stairs to bring down the trunk. Carrying it was heavy work, and both of us were panting and shaking by the time we got the monstrosity down to the foyer. We both sat on the lid to rest. Eventually, her ladyship got up and said in a tone of voice I will never forget: ‘Let’s send this man packing. Whaddya say?’”

“He was still stretched out on the floor, so we dragged him over to the trunk, stripped off his clothes, and dropped him in. His head hit the bottom with a thud. I flipped the lid closed, locked it, and pocketed the key.

“Her ladyship and I went upstairs to pack up his things. We decided that it would be best if he had something to change into rather than let the club deal with him when he was released, so I put aside a bag to take with me.

“I listened to the trunk before I went to bed. I could hear nothing. I didn’t dare open it.

“Early the next morning, the trunk was picked up. That afternoon, I heard from the club that it had arrived and been put in the club’s storage room in the basement.

“I had a distracted couple of days. Red wine was even served in white wineglasses. I was out of sorts. Even her ladyship acted preoccupied. All I could think of was appearing at the club and finding I had a corpse on my hands.

“Monday dawned, and I arrived as planned, having driven into the city. I spoke with Cedric immediately, who directed me to the basement. I was alone, and there was the trunk. I had the letter.

“What I was not prepared for was the condition of the man when I opened it. He was alive, I will say that much, but barely. I had to think fast. I closed the lid and went upstairs to the headman and informed him I needed a room and a doctor who was discreet. Cedric looked at me and asked if we had a situation. I said we did and that he would be compensated accordingly for his help in dealing with it. He said he had just the man and went off to make a call.

“He was back in a minute and said a doctor would arrive in a quarter of an hour. In the meanwhile, he showed me a suitable room on the top floor. The trunk was carried up with the help of two men from the kitchen. I phoned her ladyship, told her the state of affairs, and advised she make plans to go to Europe immediately, in case things took a dark turn. She agreed and told me she would be in touch.

“It was now time to deal with his lordship. I placed several towels on the bed and opened the lid of the trunk. He scrunched up his eyes with the light. I reached in and took hold of his arm. He grabbed my wrist. His mouth worked, but what came out was a mewling sound that I interpreted as the word water, only an octave higher than I had ever heard him speak. I removed his hand and filled a glass with water, which I helped him drink. I got him up and out of the trunk somehow and into the bathroom, where I ran a shower. He was a mess and stank to high heaven. I washed him off and more or less carried him to the bed, when there was a knock on the door. It was Cedric and the doctor. I covered his lordship with a blanket, closed the trunk, and tried to air out the room.

“The doctor examined him and then turned to me. He said with some asperity, ‘The man looks to be in shock and is severely dehydrated. That he’s alive is a miracle.’ He looked at me, expecting an explanation. I shook my head and whispered to the doctor, ‘Not only that, he failed the physical part of the club’s admission process most horribly. The poor chap will be so disappointed.’ I can be amusing when I want to be. The doctor gave a start at my flippant attitude. I told him rather severely, ‘How this man got into the condition you see before you is no concern of yours. His recovery, however, is. How long until he is well enough to travel?’ He gave me a long look and then nodded. ‘I will give him an injection immediately and start a drip to help him rehydrate. He should have oxygen and round-the-clock nursing. I make no guarantees. We will see once he’s stabilized.’ Cedric chimed in that there was a full nurses’ station on the second floor with oxygen. The doctor said, ‘Show me,’ and went out with him.

“I was left with his lordship, who looked half-dead. If he lived or died made no difference to me. I would nurse him back to health because duty demanded it. Looking back on that decision, I should have smothered him with a pillow while I had the chance.”