A Dad of His Own Page 19

  ‘Julius wants you in the dining room; I caught a woman stealing the silver off the table. Pete is with him and I sent another security guard in.’

  ‘Bloody hell,’ he swore under his breath. ‘Right, I’ll go at once. Stay with Anna, Cathie,’ he said sharply as she moved to go with him. ‘Get her a drink or something, she looks all in.’

  ‘So what happened?’ Cathie asked grumpily, watching Simon leave.

  ‘I’ll tell you in a minute’ Anna said and was relieved when Nell came towards her.

  ‘All well?’ she said, smiling.

  ‘Not really, Anna said, and told her what had happened.

  ‘You caught her, well done,’ Nell said. ‘Sort of Agatha Christie and a hollow handbag, who’d have thought it?’ She looked delighted. ‘Come and sit down quietly, I must tell Tessa,’ she said, taking Anna’s arm and leading her into the gallery. She opened a door into a library. ‘Just sit here in this comfy chair, I’ll get you a drink,’ she waved at one of the waiters, who came over. ‘Give her a glass of champagne, she’s just caught a thief,’ she said and then seeing her sister called her over and told her excitedly.

  ‘Wow, clever you,’ Tessa said, ‘what happened?’

  Anna took a gulp of champagne and repeated her story.

  ‘The silver cutlery we’re using today is worth quite a bit if you have a whole place setting. We only use this particular silver for small weddings and indeed with older people like today, but you say she had a sugar sifter?’ She half rose as if to investigate. ‘That’s worth a few thousand; it’s Georgian, Scottish silver,’ Tessa exclaimed. ‘Oh what a relief she didn’t manage to steal that.’ She put her hand to her chest as if to calm her heart. ‘Well done, Anna. She must have known her stuff and who knows how much more she’d have taken if you hadn’t caught her red-handed.’ She gave her a hug.

  Nell had disappeared, but she was back in a moment. ‘They’ve taken her away, Julius and two security guards. I don’t even know if she was invited, but perhaps she makes a living from joining in parties, weddings or whatever, easily done I suppose if you dress for the part and mill around with the guests.’

  Anna, enjoying the champagne, felt better, relieved to be with Tessa and Nell. In a few minutes, the guests would be going into dinner and half the helpers were going to have a break and their sandwiches.

  Nell went to check on the place settings in the dining room to see what was missing and get them replaced as the silver the woman had stolen was still with the security guards.

  Tessa said, ‘I wonder if they will tell the bride and groom now or later. It will be awful if it is one of their friends.’

  ‘It will, but as Nell said she might just be a thief who manages to get in and take stuff while the rest of the party is listening to the speeches or dancing or whatever.’

  ‘Someone should have been in the dining room. Was the door shut?’ Tessa asked.

  ‘I saw Simon close it after the cake was brought into the drawing room, but when I came out I noticed the door was ajar and I thought the food was being taken in. I wandered in and saw this woman hovering over the table. She said she was checking the name cards, seeing where she was sitting,’ Anna said.

  ‘Thank goodness you caught her,’ Tessa said grimly. ’The food comes in from the kitchen, there’s a small staircase leading to it behind that ornamental screen.’

  Julius joined them with Simon and came to her. ‘For a moment you made my heart stop, Anna, when I thought you’d been mistaken. She was so convincing,’ he said.

  ‘Me too,’ Anna said. ‘That bag was clever, looked innocent enough.’

  ‘But she held on to it when I looked inside, so I didn’t feel the weight, but Pete realised at once,’ he said. ‘Well, I feel this calls for one small glass of champagne for all of us in honour of Anna,’ he smiled at her.

  Simon poured them out and they lifted their glasses in a toast to her. She felt rather embarrassed and said so.

  ‘You saved the castle a lot of hassle, the insurance might not have paid up, or put up the premium too much for people to afford to come here. She’d probably have gone on to take more things while people were having dinner,’ Julius said. ‘You’re a heroine, Anna, really you are, Freddie will be very proud of you.’

  His praise, the warmth in his smile and the tenderness in his eyes flowed into her like a love song. She scolded herself for her foolishness, Julius was just extremely relieved the thief had been caught and she was drinking champagne on an empty stomach.

  Thirty-One

  The story of the theft of the silver went round the party like wildfire. Although at first people thought a few knives and forks, even if they were silver, were not worth stealing, Tessa soon put them right by explaining that, depending on the period and the provenance of the item, silver could be quite valuable.

  ‘I’d say on a good day, she could make quite a bit, especially if she managed to lift any jewellery. I’ve often found rings sitting by the basins before now where people have taken them off to wash their hands and, perhaps not used to wearing them very often, or maybe chatting to a friend, have forgotten to put it back on.’ She smiled as people looked at her horrified, some even embarrassed as though they had done that themselves.

  The unfortunate bride and groom were mortified that one of their close family and friends should do such a thing. Though, fortunately, Julius was soon able to reassure them that the woman was not on the guest list. She’d been recognised by one of the police called out to arrest her.

  At the bride and groom’s request, Julius made an announcement. ‘I’m so sorry this happened here today, but fortunately the thief was caught. This person, and sometimes her partner in crime who was not here today, makes quite a good living from gate crashing weddings and other parties. They dress smartly to blend in, which makes it more difficult to catch them, lifting jewellery and presents bought by the guests. But she’s been taken away by the police, so please continue to enjoy yourselves,’ he finished to clapping and the room buzzing with incredulity.

  ‘Well thank you so much for catching her, Anna,’ Gaynor, the bride, hugged her when Julius introduced her. ‘It would have been awful… mortifying, if we or our guests were thought to be responsible or if our presents had been stolen.

  ‘It was just luck I was in there, but I had a scary moment when I thought I was mistaken, she had such a clever handbag.’ Anna explained what had happened.

  ‘Well,’ Steven, the groom, said, ‘I hope when we get back from our honeymoon we can take you out for a slap-up meal to thank you.’ He beamed at her.

  ‘Thanks, but there’s no need, in fact I’ll probably be back home in London by the time you return from your honeymoon.’

  ‘We’ll think of something,’ Gaynor said, ‘I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you caught her and we know who she is, I’d hate to have any suspicion hanging over our friends.’

  ‘I think you can go home now, Anna, after all this,’ Julius said quietly to her as they left the bride and groom to their guests. ‘You must be feeling exhausted after such an ordeal.’

  ‘Oh… no, I’d rather stay,’ Anna insisted. She’d hate to be alone now in the flat without Freddie for company. Even if he were asleep, he’d be there, a familiar presence.

  ‘If you’re sure,’ Julius said gently, his hand on her arm. ‘You really saved the day, Anna. Goodness knows what a meal the insurance companies would have made of it, after the flood damage and all.’

  Simon and Luke joined them. ‘Well done Anna. Thank goodness you went into the dining room and caught her. You were very brave insisting you’d seen her nick something,’ Simon said. ‘You ought to get a medal or something.’

  She laughed, ‘It was just luck, any of you would have done the same.’

  Luke frowned, ‘What a sneaky thing to do, her creeping in and nicking valuable stuff, Nell said that sugar thing was worth about £3,000.’ He looked incredulous. ‘I take my sugar straight from the packet,’ he joked. ‘J
ulius, do you think the trustees, insurance or whatever might stop us using the castle if they hear about it?’

  Julius looked grave. ‘We’ll have to always be sure someone is in both rooms at all times. The door to the dining room is always closed until supper is served and the catering staff are up and down the other staircase, so she took a risk one of them might have caught her, though I suppose she would have heard them coming.’

  ‘Such a wicked thing to do at a happy event,’ Simon said.

  ‘Did she have an accomplice?’ Luke asked.

  ‘I don’t think anyone else was here today, she said not, although she’s not to be trusted. The people in the hall said no one has left and Pete and I stayed with her until the police came; one of them knew her so she confessed that she has done this before,’ Julius explained.

  The party were now sitting down in the dining room enjoying Jenny’s cooking, though their minds were far more occupied on discussing the theft.

  ‘You’re certainly a star, Anna,’ Simon said warmly.

  ‘We must not let this happen again, and tomorrow,’ Julius turned back to Anna who was standing among them, ‘I’ll take you down to the police station to make a statement.’

  ‘Will you have to go to the trial?’ Cathie joined them, standing close to Simon protectively, jealousy pinching her expression having heard Simon’s words of praise for Anna.

  ‘Oh, no, will I have to?’ Anna turned to Julius in dismay; this was the last thing she wanted, if the woman was known to the police surely that and finding the silver on her was enough evidence they needed to convict her?

  ‘Don’t worry about that, I’m sure giving a statement is all that’s necessary,’ Julius reassured her. ‘You were wonderful today, Anna, so only stay on here if you want to.’ He touched her arm, his face tender, before leaving them.

  Simon came close to her. ‘Are you sure you’re OK, Anna? I can take you back to the flat if you want to leave.’

  ‘No, I’d far rather stay here with all of you, but thanks for suggesting it.’ She smiled at him, aware that Cathie was scowling at her, moving in, but she didn’t care, she wanted to feel protected after her ordeal.

  Luke said, ‘I bet when Philly and Sidney hear about this they’ll be awestruck, and Freddie too.’ He grinned before frowning, ‘Do you think you should tell him, it might scare him, make him think this thief will come after you.’

  ‘I’m sure he won’t if he knows the police have got her, he’d probably be excited, think you’re a hero,’ Simon said warmly.

  The rest of the evening passed in a whirl, there was dancing after the dinner, a floor put down in part of the drawing room and a band appeared who were friends of the groom.

  Simon and Luke went back to their job of mingling with the party, though they kept checking that Anna was all right and for that she was grateful. Julius came over from time to time to enquire how she was and she felt warm and protected by them all.

  She was aware that Cathie was watching her, prowling round the place among the guests as if she were tracking her. She stayed close with Nell and Tessa and a couple of their friends, watching the dancing.

  At last it was over, the bride threw her bouquet into the crowd of well-wishers and everyone clapped when one of the older women, her face pink with excitement, managed to catch it.

  The ‘happy couple’, after insisting on taking her address and promising her a wonderful night out when they returned, left in the camper van, driven by a friend, to a hotel before they started on their mammoth trip round Europe. Everyone stood outside in the cold and saw them off with much cheering and ribald comments.

  Julius appeared beside her and said he’d walk her home across the quadrangle, but she refused, laughing, saying he could watch her from here to her door as the lights festooned about for the wedding were so bright.

  ‘We are all walking across as our cars are parked near your door, so we will all see you home,’ Simon linked arms with her. As if on cue, Cathie moved closer to him, perhaps fearful that Anna might lure him into the flat. The sky was black above them, pierced by orbs of golden lights throwing shadows on the castle walls.

  They all stopped when they reached the cars. Tessa and Nell hugged her and got into their car to drive home, Simon hugged her too, saying how brave she was, before he, Luke and Cathie got in a car together, and she watched them all drive away.

  Now only Julius was left and she turned to say goodnight, her key already in her hand, he gently took it from her and opened the door. She’d purposely left the hall light on, hating going into a dark house, especially if no one else was there.

  He handed her back her key. ‘You’re sure you are all right? Won’t have nightmares?’ His smile was gentle, his eyes on her mouth and she had a ridiculous feeling that he might kiss her again and she would kiss him back. She pulled herself together – he surely had a girlfriend somewhere.

  ‘I’m fine, thank you Julius; I’m going to have a hot bath and then bed. I’m exhausted and I’m sure you are. You have so much to keep tabs on.’

  ‘It’s my job, a job I love, in a place I love,’ he said, ‘but I must say we’ve never had anything like this before. Once we had a woman go into labour, but catching a thief is a first. Anyway, it’s late, I’d better go.’ He paused. ‘Sleep well.’ He stepped back from the door as if he felt he was intruding on her space. ‘See you in the morning, I’ll let you know about making a statement to the police.’

  ‘Oh… yes, if I have to. Thanks, sleep well too.’ She was tempted to stretch out and pull him to her, have him kiss her like he had at New Year, but she shut the door quickly to stop herself, locking it from the inside. She waited in the hall to hear his car start up and drive away. How foolish she was being, but there was something about him that drew her in. When he was standing close to her it felt so right, as if he should be there, but maybe she was mistaken. There was romance in the air in this castle, and that should not be surprising, as it was so old and so many people had lived there over the centuries who must have loved… and also lost. She’d read of people picking up vibes of long-ago events in ancient places, people from other times leaving their emotions like footprints in the atmosphere, but she didn’t really believe it. She was tired, a little scared and anxious after her ordeal this evening and a wedding, well, didn’t all weddings promise so much. A leap of faith, she remembered Gary calling them.

  Thirty-Two

  Anna woke late. Despite the scented bath that promised a relaxing night’s sleep, she had tossed and turned thinking of Gary and then Julius and somehow they morphed into the same person and she couldn’t recognise either of them.

  Having Freddie, who usually woke with the birds, she had not had a lie-in for years. She got dressed quickly and called Lucy, hoping that Freddie and Benny had not exhausted her.

  ‘I hear you caught a thief,’ Lucy greeted her excitedly. ‘The news is all over the place; you’re quite a star. Freddie can’t stop talking about it and wants to go to the police station to see what the thief looks like.’

  ‘It was just luck that I went into the dining room, but what a mean thing to do, gate crash a happy event to rob people,’ Anna said.

  ‘That’s what Colin says, but anyway you caught her and with luck she’ll be put behind bars for some time,’ Lucy said vehemently. ‘But how are you feeling? Did you sleep?’

  ‘Not too well, I’ve just woken up and I’m coming down to relieve you of Freddie. I expect you’ve lots to do,’ she said, ‘but thanks so much for having him, let me have Benny too for a while.’

  ‘We love having Freddie, he and Benny get on so well, he’ll miss him when he’s gone,’ Lucy said. ‘But maybe he can come to you later, as he’s got some holiday homework to do and I might get him to do it if he knows he can play with Freddie once it’s done.’

  ‘I’ll come now and fetch him,’ Anna said. Freddie had some reading to do and if he knew Benny had schoolwork it might make it easier to persuade him to do it. Having a mother a
s a teacher didn’t make it any easier to get one’s own child to get down to it.

  Lucy went on, ‘All the Gateaux des Rois are gone, but I’ve kept one for us so I hope you and Freddie will come for tea, we’re longing to hear how you caught this woman.’

  ‘How do you all know about it so soon?’ Anna asked, wondering who could have told her.

  ‘Oh, Luke told Colin; he came to help him dismantle some cupboards in the shop. He’s very proud of you, as we all are,’ Lucy finished.

  ‘I just did what anyone would have done,’ Anna said. ‘Anyway, I’ll be with you shortly. Bye then.’ Anna rang off.

  Just as she was about to go out of the door, her mobile went and it was Julius.

  ‘I hope you slept well after your ordeal yesterday.’ He sounded concerned.

  ‘Sort of,’ she said, ‘but I’m fine.’

  ‘Good, I’ll come up and take you to the police station to give a statement, we’ve got to go over to Bury St Edmunds, that’s the closest. Are you ready to come now, or…?’

  She felt a jolt to her stomach; surely it wouldn’t be necessary for her to go to the police station to be interrogated now? The woman had been caught red-handed and was known to the police. They might want to talk to her later, but with any luck she’d be long gone by then.

  ‘Surely I’m not needed, and anyway I’m just leaving to get Freddie. He’s been staying with Lucy and Colin and they have things to do now, and Benny has some schoolwork,’ she said.

  ‘They do need to see you, Anna, and probably the sooner it’s over, the better for everyone,’ his voice was gentle. ‘We could collect Freddie on the way and I could watch him while you make your statement, I’m not far from you now, I’ll come and pick you up.’

  She sighed, ‘OK, if I must. Thank you, I hope it… making the statement, I mean, won’t take long. I’m a bit nervous about it,’ she said, thinking of crime programmes she’d seen on television. She wondered if she’d somehow mess up and the woman would be set free. She recalled her hard expression, her air of contempt when she’d faced her. Might she send her partner in crime to duff her up? All sorts of lurid thoughts tangled in her mind and hastily she pushed them away, she must not let her imagination run away with her.