Part 8
Once she'd finished answering Eliza's questions, Arabella excused herself to go clean up her face before she returned to the ladies in the drawing room. Though Eliza was sure that none of them would have thought any less of her given the circumstances.
Eliza left Rupert's study to find William in the hallway outside the library finishing up with Mr Stratton. Eliza stood back in the shadows, until they were finished and William nodded for her to join him in the library.
"What did you find out?" Eliza asked, once they were in the library and the door pushed closed behind them.
"Well turns out Mr Hugo Goldberg wasn't as well liked as he seemed…"
"Really?" Eliza was intrigued as to what William had found out.
"According to Mr Thompson and Mr Stratton, it was a well known fact with the men that he had a wandering hand, and spent many nights with different women."
Eliza sighed, that fitted with Arabella's suggestion that they lived separate lives, and kept to themselves.
"Well, turns out, Arabella was not any better. She's pregnant, and shockingly it's not his." Eliza nodded to the sheet covered body still lying on floor.
"This rabbit hole keeps getting deeper." William wasn't at all shocked. He'd heard enough stories like this in his career that very little surprised him these days.
"Arabella insisted she had nothing to do with this, that her husband didn't even care. They led separate lives, kept themselves to themselves."
"Do you believe her?"
"I don't know. She sounded sincere, but still, she's the only person here with a motive. None of women really knew him well enough to have a reason to want him dead, none of them recognized any of the staff from any of the other parties. However Arabella never left the table, so until we know how he died, we can't say for sure."
"None of the men seem to have cared enough to have reason to want him dead either. He only worked with Mr Thompson who knew no issues with his work. Mr Stratton knew of him from other friends, and Mr Rosenthal only knew him from parties. Yet, someone here clearly wanted him dead."
William kneeled down and started looking over the body, checking for anything he might have missed, if there was anymore bruising starting to come out, checking for any other injures if he'd perhaps been fighting with someone.
Eliza was quiet as she watched William do his work. Arabella had bothered her with her snarky comment about her not being married. Why was it a bad thing that she wasn't married? Why should she marry just for the sake of what other people thought?
"Do you ever wonder why people get married?" Eliza asked, interrupting the silence between them, as she leaned against the mantelpiece of the fireplace.
William stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, as she was standing lost in her own thoughts. He looked over her deep blue dress, the lace showing just a hint of skin and her collarbones, the soft curls brushing her cheeks. Staring at her, yes, he knew why some people got married.
"Because that's just what's expected, it's what people do," he shrugged, keeping his real thoughts to himself. He wasn't sure why she was asking, but clearly something had been said that bothered her.
"But why? What's the point?" she asked. There was something in her tone that confused William. So he asked a question he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to.
"You don't want to get married?" he asked carefully, as he watched for her answer. Eliza was different to any other woman he'd ever met, but surely even she wanted to get married, didn't she?
"I don't know," she shrugged. "I mean I don't want to be alone forever." Eliza looked at the floor in front of her and tapped her foot against the sill of the fireplace.
"I don't want to marry someone I don't like because I have to, because it's good financial sense, or a good name for any child I might have. I don't want to just be someone's property," she said honestly. "I mean, why would anyone want to marry and spend their life with someone they hate, or perhaps then find someone they do love and then they can't be with them."
"I guess for some people it's more important to marry the right sort of person, regardless of whether you get along with them," William replied.
Eliza thought about Arabella's hurtful words, that her father might not have cared about who she married but that she had a responsibility to her family. Eliza couldn't help wonder what her father might have done had Mrs Parker been able to speak to him and discuss the suggestion of marrying Rupert. Would he have agreed based on their financial situation?
"It's expected that a woman just wants to get married, and have someone look after them. I'm sure everyone looks at me and thinks it odd that I don't have a husband," she huffed. Why it should bother anyone else that she was unmarried was beyond her.
"I mean you're not married," she pointed out. "I bet no one asks a respected Inspector of Scotland Yard when he will take a wife," she sighed, grumpy at the double standard.
William gave a chuckle, there was someone who used to ask him all the time when he would take a wife, and he'd dodge the question every time. Back then he didn't want to admit to them that the one person he might possibly have considered clearly didn't return his affections.
"Your father used to ask me all the time," William told her, eventually.
"Really?" Eliza asked him, surprised. She thought back to what she'd read in one of her fathers old case books, about who Henry would have chosen for her marry.
"Who did he want you to marry?" she probed, wondering if William knew what her father had once written, many years ago. Had they spoken about it perhaps?
William just shrugged his shoulders, and looked away from her and back to the body on the floor.
"Henry always said, I should find a good woman and settle down. That was all I needed apparently."
Back then he was fairly certain that Henry just wanted him to find someone to keep him on track, and so he wouldn't have to worry about him being led astray by some of his old friends.
"You never took his advice," she concluded, with a cheeky tone. She was almost certain now that her father hadn't shared his musings with William. Probably for the best, he like most men would probably run a mile at the prospect of have her for their wife.
"Still haven't found a good woman," he returned quickly, with a mischievous smile.
Eliza giggled to herself, she was sure there were plenty of women who had probably thrown themselves at William, and he could probably have married any one of them if he had wanted to. Perhaps he was happy with his bachelorhood, she assumed.
She looked down at her mother's wedding ring that she wore, it was the most important thing of hers Eliza had, and she slowly twisted it round her finger. Her father had always liked William, put him in charge of her on many occasions, and she wondered if the older she got, perhaps her father would have tried to persuade his thoughts on to William.
"You know, my father adored my mother. They were equals in everything. He'd say, no matter how short the time they had together he wouldn't have swapped it for the world…"
William smiled, Henry had on occasion spoken to him about Lavinia, and it was always of love and happiness that he spoke.
"I remember Henry telling me once, that you were a dangerous combination of his mind and your mothers sprit," William told her with a laugh.
It made her laugh too, because she could imagine Henry telling him that, but she remembered her mother as far more sociable and outgoing then she really was.
"I don't think there is anything he wouldn't have done for her..." Eliza continued after a moment. "Including trying to raise me as a lady, because he knew that was what she would have wanted. Even if he had absolutely no clue how."
"I don't think he did too bad a job," William offered sincerely, with a gentle smile.
"Of course you don't, you're still trying to get back into my good books," she smiled back, narrowing her eye on him.
"How am I doing?" he asked, with a gentle laugh.
"I'll get back to you," she offered. She was quiet for a few moments before continuing.
"If I have to marry someone, I want that. I want to be their equal … not their property. Is that wrong?"
William regarded her and thought for a moment before replying. He hadn't exactly had much of an example growing up of what being married should look like. He also didn't have a lot of friends that were married to know what made a marriage work.
"As you say, I'm not married, so I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask on that."
Eliza gave a small chuckle, as William returned his attention to Hugo's body. He moved down and Eliza went to respond to him, but she noticed something catch the light under the chair behind where William was knelt down. She moved her head to see if she could see what it was.
"What wrong?" William asked, noticing the change in her and wondering what she was staring at. He turned his head and looked behind him in the direction she was.
"There's something down there," she told him, moving across the small room to the leather chair and kneeled down. She looked under the chair then reached back as far as she could towards the corner and gently felt cold glass with her fingertips.
"I can't quite grasp it."
She moved back so William could see, and with his longer arm, he managed to reach it and pull it out from its hiding place. He held it up so she could see. It was a small clear glass tube, with cork for a lid.
"That looks like a vial." Eliza told him, as they knelt on the floor next to each other, practically shoulder to shoulder.
"It is," William agreed. "But what was in it?"
There was a light sheen of white dust on the sides and two small white grains in the bottom, William gently pulled the top off to sniff the contents, then he offered to Eliza to do the same, but there was no smell.
"It doesn't smell like laudanum," Eliza said. She knew that always smelt faintly of almonds.
"You don't think its arsenic?" she queried, after a moment with concern. She remembered her father telling her that arsenic had no smell or taste.
"It's possible." William too had the same thought only he was confused. "But, what this vial doing in here?"
There was a knock at the library door, and Detective Phillip put his head round the door to check that it was safe to enter. He had his usual light cheery expression to him. He moved into the room, his hands in his pocket as he causally took in the room.
William and Eliza stood up and instantly put a gap in between them as Detective Phillips greeted them.
"Evening Duke. Looks like we can't even give you one night off hey." Phillips joked, nodding towards the body covered by the white bed sheet.
He was rather cheery given the late hour he had come to the scene of a potential murder, but then William had never seen him as anything other then cheery.
Phillips looked at Eliza and gave her a pleasant smile.
"Miss Scarlet, I must say, you are looking absolutely lovely tonight," he offered politely.
"Thank you," Eliza responded with an embarrassed smile.
"So what's the deal then boss? Are we thinking murder?"
"Good question, we just found this vial on the floor. It might answer some questions we have, so we better find out what the contents was." William told him, as he showed the Detective the vial, and waited for him to pull out a piece of cloth from his jacket pocket to wrap it in.
"I've got Honeychurch with me Duke, asked him to wait on the door till the coroners lads arrive to collect the body."
Eliza noticed Rupert Parker standing uncomfortably in the doorway, trying to get her attention without coming in the room. She smiled, certain he did not want to enter his library and see the dead body, even if it was covered over with a sheet.
"Excuse me a moment," Eliza told William and his detective.
Eliza followed Rupert into the hallway. Outside, Tilly was also waiting for her and Rupert stood next to her. They both looked rather eager to speak with her.
"We have something to tell you," Rupert told her excitedly.
"I over heard it Rupert," Tilly informed him, looking rather pleased, but not wanting Rupert to ruin her moment.
"Yes but I confirmed it with Mr Stratton," Rupert confirmed.
"What is it you need to tell me?" Eliza interrupted, politely trying to regain their focus, before they got too distracted with who found out what.
"Did you know that Mrs Goldberg is with child?" Tilly said proudly.
"Erm, yes... she mentioned it," Eliza said slowly, not wanting to take the wind out of their sails. They both seemed so overly excited to share their findings, Rupert was practically bouncing on his feet and Tilly actually had a slight smile.
"Ah, but did you also know…" Rupert started excitedly, but Tilly interrupted.
"That Mr Goldberg was not at all happy about it…" she finished. No, Eliza hadn't known that. Arabella had only said he didn't care about the baby.
"Do you know why he was not happy?" Eliza enquired, looking between them both, taking in their smiles and further excitement. Had Arabella lied about Hugo not being bothered about her expecting another mans child?
"Apparently…" Tilly started, but Rupert was not to be out done.
"Mr Stratton said that Mr Goldberg didn't want children, ever. He was always adamant that he did not want any children. So he was most unhappy…"
"That his wife announced a week ago that she was expecting… fuming in fact," Tilly finished. This was news to Eliza, important news.
"I overheard Mr Stratton whispering that his friend had never seen him looking so angry," Rupert said.
Both Rupert and Tilly were wide eyed waiting for Eliza to say something about their discovery.
"Thank you, both of you. Well done."
Rupert giggled with joy, and gave Tilly a gentle nudge with his arm. Tilly surprised even Eliza, as she broke from her usual scowl and gave a big smile and even a laugh, clearly proud of herself.
"Can I just ask you both, the staff here tonight, how well do you know them?" Eliza asked Rupert.
"Two of the gentlemen are my regular household, the others, they've all worked for my mother for years. Why?" Rupert asked still smiling.
"Just checking," she confirmed. Eliza looked at how pleased they were. Perhaps Tilly Hildegard might be what Rupert needed after all.
"Miss Scarlet?" Eliza turned round to see the same Butler of Rupert's that she'd spoken to earlier standing back just behind them.
"If you don't mind, Mary was wondering if she could speak with yourself and Inspector Wellington."
"Of course," Eliza confirmed. "I'll just get him."
To be continued…
A/N: Thank you for all your kind reviews, it lovely to hear so many are enjoying my stories.