‘Sit.’
I did. Immediately.
Mother Snagsby was seated behind her large desk,hunched over like Quasimodo’s less attractive older sister.
‘You are quite the detective, Ivy. I am most impressed.’
She had never called me Ivy before. It was always young lady. Progress at last!
‘Even after I made my feelings about the Dumblebys very clear, you continued to pursue the matter,’ she said next. ‘I’m quite sure you visited their home today – at the very least, you have talked with them at length and seem wedded to their cause.’
‘Estelle just wants to know what happened to her brother. People do not vanish into thin air.’
‘Unless they wish to.’ Mother Snagsby puckered her lips as if she were going to whistle. ‘Just because Miss Dumbleby doesn’t know what happened to her brother does not mean that he has been the victim of some unpleasant crime. Do you understand?’
‘Not even a little.’
Mother Snagsby sighed and there was sadness in it. ‘You are right to suppose that the girl who went to work at the Dumblebys’ came from this house and you are also right to suppose that she and Sebastian formed the deepest of bonds.’ The old goat laid her hands flat on her desk. ‘But you are quite wrong to assume she was a lodger.’
My frown was immediate. ‘Then what was she?’
‘My daughter.’
I confess this made me slightly bug-eyed. ‘You have two daughters?’
‘I … I have one daughter.’ Mother Snagsby glanced fleetingly at the portrait of Gretel above the fireplace (the girl looked to be about thirteen, dark hair loose around her shoulders, a cat curled up in her lap). ‘Gretel wanted more than anything to do good in the world and she wasn’t satisfied with sitting around taking tea and planning parties, as other young girls might – she longed to be of use.’
‘That’s awfully noble,’ I said.
‘I suppose it is.’ Though Mother Snagsby didn’t sound convinced. ‘She had foolish ideas about working as a nursemaid – naturally, I forbade it. No daughter of mine was going to work in service, delivering babies or mopping fevered brows.’ She smiled faintly. ‘When Gretel turned eighteen and came of age, she went behind my back and convinced Mrs Dickens to help her find a position, which is how she came to work for the Dumblebys. I knew nothing of it for quite some months.’
‘Did you not wonder where she was all day?’
‘My daughter was rather clever and I was rather busy,’ said Mother Snagsby with some pride. ‘She told me she was reading to an invalid cousin across town and as she was that sort of girl, I believed her.’
‘Then who is Anastasia Radcliff?’
‘I should think that is perfectly obvious – Gretel gave a different name to avoid detection.’
Which made perfect sense. But not completely.
‘When Sebastian’s family began looking for him, why did you not tell them the truth about who Anastasia really was? Surely that would have put their minds at ease.’
‘I did not wish to mire the Snagsby name in scandal. What good would have come of it?’
That really only left one question. And it was of the most important variety.
‘What happened to Gretel and Sebastian?’
‘The young man’s family disapproved most strongly of the match, as did I.’ Mother Snagsby closed her eyes briefly. ‘They were from two different worlds and had no business being together. As you might imagine, young love is hard to snuff out and they fled in the night without leaving so much as a note.’ She let out a huff that seemed to signify our conversation was over. ‘And now you know everything.’
I found myself looking with astonishment at Mother Snagsby. ‘Don’t you wonder where they are?’
‘What would be the use? I trust they are content with their choices and … and that they have found peace.’
‘It must be a thrill to know that Gretel is with her one true love.’
Mother Snagsby rubbed her brow. ‘Yes, it is a great comfort.’
Then she mumbled something about pressing business matters, and shooed me from the room.
The girl arrived unannounced on Friday morning. Which was horrendously impolite. But also perfectly timed.
‘You are alone?’
‘Utterly,’ I said, offering her Ezra’s favourite chair by the bookcase. It was positioned at an angle, facing away from the mantel – which suited my needs.
‘I do apologise,’ said Estelle, taking off her hat, ‘but as I was in the neighbourhood visiting friends, I thought I would drop by and see if you were at home. I was rather worried that I had scared you off yesterday – my great-uncle gave me a thorough scolding when you left.’
‘You did seem slightly crackers,’ I said, plopping down on a seat opposite her.
Estelle kept glancing at the door. ‘Your parents are out?’
‘Yes, thank heavens.’ Ezra was at the blacksmith having his tools sharpened, Mother Snagsby was running errands in town and Mrs Dickens had the morning off.
‘And your cook from the Congo?’
‘Drowned in a bucket of glue,’ I told her. ‘Happened last night. We’re completely heartbroken as he left no instructions for lunch.’
The faintest of smirks appeared on the girl’s face, but it quickly faded. ‘I confess I was hoping to speak with you again about Sebastian.’
‘Well, dear, after a great deal of deduction, snooping and tomfoolery, I have made a most thrilling discovery on that front.’
The girl was now perched on the very edge of her seat, her cheeks aglow. ‘What is it, Ivy? Oh, please tell me!’
‘Anastasia Radcliff is not the villain you suppose her to be. In fact, Anastasia Radcliff is not even her name.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me at all,’ said the girl coldly. ‘My mother spent a great deal of money tracing her background and could find no family connections in all of England. When a girl wishes to hide her shameful past and win a rich husband, it stands to reason she would use an alias.’
‘Actually, your brother fell in love with a kind-hearted girl who only wanted to do good in the world.’
‘Kind-hearted?’ Estelle’s frown was most fetching. ‘After what she did to my brother, I am shocked that you would say such a thing, Ivy.’
‘But I do not believe your brother is dead.’
‘Oh, but he is – Mother could feel it in her bones, and I feel it too.’
‘And what if you are wrong?’
‘I would be glad of it,’ said the girl fiercely. ‘Only one person can tell us what happened to Sebastian but she simply refuses. Stubborn fool!’
‘I do not understand,’ I said, looking gloriously baffled. ‘Who refuses?’
Estelle tried to sigh with embarrassment. The results were questionable. ‘What I mean is, Anastasia ran away so that she would never have to reveal what she had done.’
‘In a moment, perhaps two, you are going to feel like a monumental idiot,’ I said tenderly. The time had arrived and I stood up. ‘The fact is your brother fell in love with a girl from a fine family. A girl who changed her name so that she could tend to your brother without her mother knowing it.’ I pointed triumphantly at the mantel behind Estelle. ‘And that girl is Gretel Snagsby!’
‘Gretel Snagsby?’
Estelle twisted in her chair to look at the portrait of Gretel above the fireplace.
‘You cannot mean her?’ she said, pointing rather dismissively at the painting.
‘I expect the years have dulled your memory, as you were just a small girl at the time. Or perhaps you are naturally dim-witted when it comes to faces.’ I hurried over and waved my hand majestically at the portrait. ‘She might appear a little younger than you recall, but you must admit, this is Anastasia Radcliff.’
The infuriating girl reached for her hat and stood up. ‘You are quite wrong, Ivy – that is not the girl who took my brother away.’