*
The men from the estate gathered in the hall where Inspector Gilmore was co-ordinating the search. It was felt that any search during the dark hours was likely to be fruitless so the time was spent finding out which areas each man was most familiar with. A map of the estate had been produced and each local man was allotted an area which he knew well. Edward was allotted the ruins of an old manor house where he had played as a child. Philip and Rory played there now. Police and volunteers from the local emergency service would be paired with the men, as they were trained in search methods.
The estate wives were in the kitchen preparing food and flasks of hot drinks for the men, supervised by Simpson who, like Edward, had not had any sleep that night. There was talk of calling in the dog squad to assist of the missing pair were not found quickly.
"I hope that Vinnie and Arabella are together." said Edward, "Vinnie will be scared if she is on her own. And pray God that neither has been hurt."
"We will find them, don't you worry." said Inspector Gilmore, "If they are in the vicinity we should have them back before too long." His mobile phone rang and he spoke into it for a minute. Putting it away he said, "The mini has been sighted about one hundred miles north of here. A roadblock has been set up and we should have the Scotts before too long. They will be able to tell us what they did with Miss Hilary and little Lavinia. That should make the job easier."
Suzy entered quietly and went to Edward. "The boys are awake and wondering what is going on. Would you take a minute to go and reassure them. I don't know what to say to them. They are asking for Miss Hilary."
"Of course, Suzy. You come with me and we can tell them together. I'd prefer that they stay upstairs. Will you stay with them until we have located their sister? Try to keep to their regular routine as much as possible."
Edward and Suzy left the room together.
At first light the men set off. The mini had not yet been located so there was nothing for it but to search the estate and hope that the missing pair were hidden close by. If the search failed they would have to widen the area and then the dogs would certainly be used. They went in pairs, each to the area he knew best. The volunteers with them were to ensure a systematic search was carried out. [49]
Edward walked the half mile to the old manor house. As he approached he saw that both his sons had arrived before him. They were dressed in yesterday's crumpled shirts and jeans.
"Suzy was asleep so we thought that we could come and help to look for Vinnie and Arabella," said Philip, "We know all the hiding places here."
Edward was about to send them home, but realised that they wanted to do what they could, and it was true that they knew their way around the old building, possibly even better than he did.
He gave them a tired smile, "Thank you," he said, "The more help we can get the better."
Some parts of the structure were unsafe so he allotted the boys the old stables which had withstood the ravages of time better than the house itself.
He and the man paired with him had just begun to make their way to the entrance to the cellars when they heard a shout from the boys. Running around to the stables they saw Rory lying full length on the ground, peering into what looked like a crack in the stonework. On the ground beside him was what looked like a red flag.
"Dad, Dad!! We have found them! We saw this red thing on the ground and there they were. They are OK but they are a bit cold and Vinnie was sick."
Edward threw himself down on the ground beside his sons. He found himself looking through a narrow, barred slit which was all but invisible from the outside.
"Arabella, darling, are you alright?" he asked.
He could just see Arabella's face in the gloom. She was laughing up at him. [50]
"We are both fine, although, as Rory has just told you, Vinnie has been sick. I think that it was the after effects of the chloroform. Now she is hungry so I'm glad that you all happened along when you did. There is nothing to eat in here."
Edward grinned at her. "I have my hip flask here but I think that Vinnie is a bit young to be drinking brandy before breakfast.
"How are we going to get you both out of there?"
"There is a door behind me in the wall on my right. It is about ten feet back. But it is locked and feels to be very solid so I hope that there is a key."
"Rory, Philip, do you know anything about a door around here?" asked Edward.
The boys looked at each other rather guiltily. "There is a secret passage which we have been clearing. There is a door at the end of it but we didn't open it. We thought that there might be some hidden treasure in there. We asked Scott about it and he said that he would see if he could make a key."
"Can you show us where your secret passage is?" asked Edward. Shouting through the grill to Arabella he added, "We will have you both out of there in a jiffy."
"Much thanks for that," said Arabella drily, "The air is a bit thick down here."
But when they looked for it, there was no key to be found. Edward's volunteer produced a police whistle which he proceeded to blow vigorously and soon men could be seen approaching from several different directions.
Soon there was a little group gathered. Edward used his mobile phone to telephone Inspector Gilmore who was still at the house acting as the liaison officer. "We have a problem here," he said, "We have found Vinnie and Arabella at the old manor but they are locked in an underground room with no key to the door. Can you round up a locksmith to come and open the door? And some food and hot drinks would be much appreciated by my daughter who lost her afternoon tea rather suddenly and is now hungry. There is only a small grill so something like sandwiches would be best. Anything thick will not go through the gap." [51]
Edward sat down on the ground beside the grill. Peering down and smiling he said, "And how is my little girl?"
Arabella lifted Vinnie up so that she could better see her father. "I was sick and had to do wee wee in the corner. Now I'm hungry."
"There is some food on the way. What do you fancy eating after your adventure?"
"Strawberry ice cream, please." said Vinnie.
"Hmmm ! Sounds a good choice to me but it might have to wait for a while. I don't think that we could get icecream through these little bars." said Edward, amused.
"I'm going to put you down now, Vinnie," said Arabella, "You are getting heavy."
They all settled down to wait for the locksmith. But there were apparently some problems finding one in a hurry because it was the local blacksmith who finally made his appearance. One look and he pronounced himself capable of making a key to fit the door. "I've already made one for this door. Tom Scott got me to make him one only a couple of weeks ago. A rush job, is it?" He smiled to himself and said that it would take him a couple of hours to make another key."
Climbing back into the police Land Rover he waved at the little group, promising to return as quickly as possible.
The food arrived, carried by Simpson; sandwiches and hot cocoa in a rubber hot-water bottle. "It will probably taste dreadful but at least it will warm you both a bit. You will have to drink it through drinking straws. We couldn't find anything narrow enough in the way of cups." [52]
Suzy had walked over with him and set herself the task of keeping an eye on the boys who, elated by the success of their short search, were telling anybody who would listed how they had found the Vinnie and Arabella.
The sun was climbing to its zenith when the blacksmith returned with the promised key. With him came the news that Scott and Mrs Makepeace had been apprehended and were on their way back in the custody of the police. So far they had not been charged with anything but they were going to "Help the police with their enquiries."
The key fitted into the lock but there was an anxious moment before it could be persuaded to turn. However, it grudgingly turned and the door swung open.
Vinnie was the first to rush out into her father's arms, followed at a more decorous pace by Arabella who was, much to her surprise, swept into Edward's embrace as well.
"Thank God you are both safe." said Edward and hugged them both tightly. "Are you up to walking back to the house or would you rather ride in the police car?"
"Can I go in the police car?" said Vinnie, "With the siren on?"
Edward looked over to Inspector Gilmore who was grinning. "I think that we might be able to organise that." he said.
Inspector Gilmore held out his hand to Vinnie and she skipped over to him. Together they made their way to where the Land Rover was standing. The boys stood, looking longingly at them but Suzy kept them on a tight rein. "Now then," she said, "Your sister has been through an ordeal and deserves a treat."
Edward took Arabella by the hand and slowly they walked back to the house. [53]
When they reached the door Edward raised her hand to his lips. "Go and have a hot bath and get some sleep. I'll check to see that Vinnie hasn't been detained to help the police with their enquiries. I'll have her bed moved back into her own room so that you can both sleep undisturbed. Sleep well, my love, and thank you."
Arabella smiled to herself as she made her way upstairs to her room. Edward had called her "my love."
When she awoke some hours later she saw that it was late afternoon. Coffee was what she needed to clear her head. Dressing quickly she made her way down to the kitchen. Simpson was there trying to reduce the chaos which had resulted from the disappearance of the housekeeper. He introduced a plump, pretty woman to her as his wife and said that she had agreed to come back to work at the big house until other arrangements could be made. Arabella remembered that she had once been the cook and would probably know, intimately, the running of the household. It sounded like a good idea.
"How do you do, Mrs Simpson," said Arabella, "I wonder if it would be possible to have some coffee. After sleeping all day I feel a bit thick headed."
"Bless you, my dear, of course you can have some coffee. And Pleaase call me Rose. I'll bring your coffee into the morning room. Lord Buchanan is there with the police. They'll be wanting to talk to you."
Arabella sighed. "I guess that it is too much to hope for a quiet evening. Thank you, Rose, I'm grateful." She smiled and made her way to the morning room.
When she opened the door she saw Edward and Inspector Gilmore together with a young WPC who was holding a notebook and pencil. The men stood as she entered the room and Edward pulled up a chair for her. [54]
"Thank you." she smiled up at Edward, "Rose Simpson is organising some coffee for me."
"We will wait until you have had your coffee before we get down to details," said Inspector Gilmore, "I was just telling his Lordship that we have detained our two runaways and they are being questioned. They were making for the airport and that is how we eventually found them - we had road blocks set up."
Just then Rose came in with a tray containing a pot of coffee, four cups and a plate of sandwiches. "I thought that you might all be in need of something to eat and drink." she said. Putting the tray down on a side table she smiled and withdrew.
"Wonderful woman, Rose Simpson. I hope that now her family has grown up I can persuade her to come back to us. I assume that Mrs Makepeace will not be returning." Edward raised an interrogatory eyebrow at Inspector Gilmore.
"Seems unlikely." said Inspector Gilmore. "From preliminary reports it sounds as though she is well imbroiled in the murder of your wife. It appears that she was systematically creaming off a considerable amount of money and Lady Buchanan had found out."
"So it really wasn't an accident?" asked Edward, "Poor Charlotte."
"When Lady Buchanan confronted Mrs Makepeace about the missing money the pair of them decided to stage the 'accident' to conceal Mrs Makepeace's crime. Scott was the perpetrator, of course. He put a thorn under the saddle of Lady Buchanan's mare so that her weight drove the thorn into the horses back. She was tossed but wasn't killed in the fall. Scott, with a groundsheet over his shoulders to hide his identity finished off the job."
Inspector Gilmore shook his head sadly. "To take a life just to hide a petty crime is dreadful. The pair of them realised that they would lose their jobs. Tom Scott had lived on the estate for the whole of his life and didn't want to move away so he used murder to cover up his wife's embezzling. His reason was that he shouldn't have to shift at his time of life." [55]
"But how did Vinnie get involved in their machinations?" asked Arabella.
"It would seem that the children were in the habit of spending time in the kitchen when Suzy had her day off. Scott and his wife were discussing something about the stable yard and some remark from Lavinai made them realise that she had actually seen the murder. They decided that if they could discredit Lavinia's stories they would be safe. Hence the bogeyman down the chimney. Scott set that up; he could turn his hand to most things. As you guessed, Miss Hilary, it was painted balloons down the chimney which exploded when they hit the hot coals."
"Poor little Vinnie. What a cruel thing, to frighten a child like that." said Arabella, "The sooner we tell her that she wasn't imagining things, the better."
"Talking of Lavinia," said Edward, "Perhaps she should come down and tell her side of the story while it is still fresh in her mind."
"I'll go and get her." said Arabella and went up to the nursery. Vinnie was the centre of attention and was making the most of it, telling Suzy and her brothers of her adventure.
"Come on down to the morning room." Arabella said to her and together they went down stairs again.
Between them they gave a full account of all which had happened over the last 24 hours and Vinne was again taken over the story of her mother's death.
At last Inspector Gilmore and the WPC left, promising to keep everyone informed of any new developments.
Edward stood up and walked over to where Arabella was sitting. Pulling her to her feet he took her in his arms and kissed her on the mouth, softly at first and them with passion as she responded. Vinnie watched them with great interest for a moment.
"Daddy," she said, "Is Arabella going to be our new mother?"
Edward raised a quizzical eyebrow at Arabella. She smiled.
"Definitely!" said Edward. [56]