I withdrew from my pocket the two pieces of paper that had precipitated my visit to London. “This one from Adèle came to us through the mail a few days ago. The smaller paper was tucked inside.”
Lucy, of course, had seen both messages. She rose, left the room, came back with Rags, and, while holding him on her lap, silently stroked his hair with her fingers.
“Can either of you recognize the handwriting on this threat?” Mr. Douglas asked Miss Miller and me as he fingered the heavy piece of paper.
“No,” I shook my head. “It could be Adèle’s, if she took care to disguise her natural script. But I cannot say for sure.”
“Neither can I,” said Nan Miller. “Nor does it look familiar, though that is not surprising. Whoever wrote this took care to be unknown. What are these words that cross Adela’s letter to you and Mr. Rochester? The same word written three times? Can you read it, Mrs. Rochester?”
“Au secours,” I said. “French for ‘help.’ Of course, it could be that this threat has nothing to do with Selina Biltmore’s death.”
No one said anything. None of us believed the events to be discrete.
Mr. Douglas stood, legs akimbo, and stared down into the burning coals in the fireplace. “The only piece of information that Waverly does not possess, but that we have, is the threatening note written to Adèle Varens. We do not know if the threat was credible. We do not know the circumstances behind it. Or if it is connected in any way to Selina Biltmore’s death. Therefore, I suggest we wait to share it. Right now, it casts a poor light on Miss Varens, as she found the dead girl and she might have felt threatened by someone.”
I shook my head. “Adèle would never harm anyone. I swear to you, she wouldn’t.”
“Mrs. Rochester,” said Miss Miller, “I beseech you. Come back with me to the school. Mrs. Thurston already believes you to be our missing German teacher. I shall explain to her that you have agreed to take on the position only for as long as Fräulein Schoeppenkoetter is delayed. To avoid confusion, I can call you by your maiden name, since she would never consent to having a married woman in the position.”
“But Adèle knows that she and Edward have wed,” Lucy said. “I told the girl myself, and I know she received a letter from the two of them.”
“True, but Adela has been forbidden to talk about her guardian,” Miss Miller said.
“What?” Lucy said. “Can you tender an explanation?”
“Dowager Lady Ingram told Lady Kingsley about Mr. Rochester’s first wife. As a consequence, Lady Kingsley told Mrs. Thurston, who was so shocked about his conduct that she forbade Adela to speak of her guardian.”
“How dare she!” Lucy’s face contorted with anger. I am sure my visage was equally distressed.
Miss Miller deflected our dismay by shrugging and adding, “Perhaps these attempts were misguided, but Maude Thurston was only trying to protect the girl from scandal.”
I struggled not to show my disapproval as I turned to Lucy and her brother. “Mrs. Thurston also took it upon herself to mandate that Adèle be called ‘Adela,’ which she thinks is more properly English than the girl’s given name.”
“Perhaps her methods were injudicious. But her intent was for Adela to escape from her tawdry past,” Miss Miller said with a hint of defensiveness.
“That is taking her responsibilities rather too far,” said Mr. Douglas. “I do not suppose that working there as a teacher will give you much joy, Mrs. Rochester, but I do think your presence could be an incredible asset to the school, and more importantly to the girls. No one expects you to uncover the identity of Selina’s killer on your own; only to help keep the girls safe and perhaps gather some information.”
“Bruce, you are still asking Jane to put herself in harm’s way. To thwart a killer!” said Lucy. “That’s too much to expect. I think she should take Adèle and go home.”
He smiled at her. “Doing so would safeguard Adèle, but what about the other girls? Let’s say the killer wasn’t only interested in Selina. Perhaps Adèle is not the only girl who received a threatening note. What if the killer is a fiend who preys on children? There’s no adult to watch over the Seniors. Mrs. Thurston cannot insure their welfare, can she? And who would she find at this juncture who would risk her life for the students? I can only think of one person, and she is here in this room with us.”
That had been my thought exactly. To hear him voice my concern so succinctly gave me additional confidence that I could make a difference. He turned to me and continued, “Mrs. Rochester, you do not know me well, nor I you. However, I can tell you in all candor that once or twice in a lifetime, fate presents a person with an opportunity to do tremendous good. To make a difference. But this opportunity always comes in tandem with personal risk. Sacrifice. Occasionally, embarrassment. I draw on my own experience when I say that if you turn away, you will always wonder. You will lie awake at night and feel remorse. You will always question your right to walk among decent people and hold your head high.”
“You truly believe I can be of assistance?” I said.
“Provided that you keep a cool head. You will need to notice any and all discrepancies. From your vantage point as a teacher, you might thwart a murder and find clues to the murderer’s identity. Without your presence in the Senior girls’ dormitory, the killer might feel at liberty to strike again.”
They all turned to me, waiting for my response. “I shall pack immediately.”
“One more moment, please,” said Mr. Douglas. “While I admire your courage, I refuse to send you willy-nilly into the path of danger. I suggest we meet together regularly so I can guide your investigation and keep apprised of your personal safety.”
“How do you propose to do that?” asked Miss Miller.
“To meet regularly, and to speak freely, the meetings must be outside of the school,” reasoned Lucy.
We all recognized the wisdom of that.
For a long time, nobody spoke. Only the ticking of the clock on the mantel reminded us that we must enact our plan quickly.
“I have it,” said Miss Miller. “We lack a teacher who has any artistic skill with pencil and chalk. As I recall, you own a particular talent for sketching. I propose to tell Mrs. Thurston that you can teach drawing as well as German. That way, you will have an excuse to take your charges to Hyde Park, where Mr. Douglas and Mrs. Brayton can meet with you. The art class would run from two to three in the afternoon.”
This ingenious plan met all our needs.
“But what do I do about references? Mrs. Thurston is rigid on the subject.”
Lucy rose and went over to a writing desk. After pulling a sheet of thick ivory paper from a drawer and dipping her pen, she started writing. None of us spoke as she worked. After she blotted her message with sand, she read it aloud:
Dear Mrs. Thurston,
I present to you Miss Jane Eyre, an outstanding tutor whose reputation is impeccable. She is fluent in drawing, pianoforte, German, and French. I personally vouch for her integrity. In fact, I am so taken with this young woman that I propose to sponsor her. Enclosed is a bank draft for the equivalent of one year’s salary.
Cordially,
Mrs. Captain Augustus Br]ayton