Chapter 72
Perys had been right to be concerned about his absence from Heligan House. He learned that the servants had been searching for him and the housekeeper was on the verge of reporting his disappearance to the sister-in-charge of the convalescent home - Morwenna.
Bewildered by the fuss, Perys asked the reason for such concern and why they were looking for him.
‘You’ll need to put that question to Polly.’ said the house-keeper in a determined-not-to-be- offended tone. ‘She was given the week off to be with her husband, but is in the house at the moment looking for you and will not tell me why. If you go to your room I will have her found and sent there.’
Perys had only just entered his room when Polly arrived in an agitated state. Tm sorry if I’ve caused you any trouble.’ she said immediately, ‘but Martin said I should come and find you right away. A policeman came to Annie’s house early this morning to tell her that Jimmy is dead. He’s committed suicide. The policeman took away the letters you wrote to her all those years ago.’
Perys was startled by both pieces of news. ‘That’s a dreadful thing to happen, Polly - but what has his death to do with my letters?’
‘Winnie Rowe has told the police he killed himself because of them,’ Polly declared.
Perys looked at her in disbelief. ‘Jimmy’s death is a dreadful tragedy, Polly, but to suggest my letters are to blame is quite ludicrous.’
‘I know that,’ Polly said, unhappily, ‘and so does Annie, but it’s what Winnie has told the police. They’ve taken your letters to give to the coroner. The policeman said there will need to be an inquest.’
* * *
The inquest on Jimmy Rowe was held in the town hall in Fowey, the town nearest to the Rowe farm. It generated considerable interest in the surrounding area because Winnie Rowe had let it be known that she was determined the coroner would not record a verdict of Feio de se - literally ‘Felon of himself’ - which would tell the world that Jimmy had deliberately and knowingly killed himself.
Such a verdict would preclude him from being given a Christian burial.
Winnie also let it be known that she intended to prove Jimmy had killed himself in a fit of temporary insanity, brought about by the discovery of his wife’s infidelity with ‘a gentleman of breeding’.
When the day of the hearing arrived, the public were forced to wait outside the town hall for a considerable time before the proceedings commenced. The reason for the delay was that, in a surprise move, a solicitor attended the hearing and held a meeting with the coroner before it began.
When the public were admitted and the coroner appeared, he announced that because of the remarks made in public by a certain ‘interested party’, the solicitor had been engaged to protect the reputation of his unnamed client and ensure he was not slandered. After looking into the matter prior to the hearing, the solicitor, Mr Dean, had decided the best way this might be achieved was for him to represent Annie at the hearing.
The coroner then spoke to Winnie, warning her she was not to name the ‘gentleman of breeding’ she believed to have had an affair with her daughter-in-law.
When Winnie protested, the coroner informed her very firmly that if she did not heed his warning he would ensure she went to prison for a considerable period of time.
When he was satisfied Winnie fully understood, the coroner said, ‘Good. Now, there is no dispute over the tragic fact that James Rowe, sorely wounded in the war, committed suicide. The sad task of this inquest is to ascertain the state of his mind when he committed this act. Was he aware of what he was doing, or was it carried out in a moment of temporary insanity? May we have the first witness, please?’
The first man to speak was the constable who had been called to the barn where Jimmy had been found hanging from a beam. He spoke of what he had found and said that in view of what Winnie Rowe had told him, he went to the house Jimmy had until recently occupied with Annie and took possession of a number of letters.
When the constable had completed his evidence, the coroner said, ‘I have read the letters, which I believe you consider contributed to your son’s actions, Mrs Rowe - Mrs Winnie Rowe. I would now like to hear what you have to say about them, if you please.’
Allowed to sit while she was addressing the coroner, Winnie looked defiantly across the room to where Annie sat beside Hubert Dean, her solicitor.
‘When I found those letters I knew right away what had been going on - and was still going on, I’ve no doubt. So I took my Jimmy back home to where he belonged and away from her.’ After identifying Annie with a jab of her finger, she remembered what it was that needed to be proved to the coroner. ‘Our Jimmy was so upset he was out of his mind worrying about it, he was.’
‘Was he upset because of what was in the letters, or because you were taking him away from his wife, Mrs Rowe?’
‘It was them letters, sir. No doubt about it.’
‘I see. You read the contents of the letters to the deceased, of course? I understand he was blind?’
‘That’s right, sir. He was in tears about it all. Sobbing his heart out.’
‘I find that difficult to comprehend, Mrs Rowe. I have read the letters and find nothing in them to intimate any wrongdoing on the part of your son’s wife. Indeed, I find them rather charming. The letters of an honourable young man to a young woman of whom he is quite obviously fond - and written when they were both very young, I understand?’
‘That isn’t the way I read them,’ Winnie retorted. ‘It wasn’t what my Jimmy thought, neither. He was no fool. He realised, same as I did, that the only reason she married him was because she probably thought she was expecting by . . . by this man I can’t name. She must have thought that with my Jimmy being so badly wounded in the war, he wouldn’t know what had been going on - and is still going on, I dare say.’
There was a loud murmur of what might have been sympathy from the spectators in the court.
Solicitor Dean rose to his feet. Addressing the coroner he asked, ‘Do I have your permission to put one or two questions to the witness, sir?’
‘Please do, Mr Dean,’ was the coroner’s reply.
Turning to Winnie, the solicitor said, ‘May I first of all sympathise with you on the loss of your son in this way, Mrs Rowe?’
She nodded an acknowledgement of his words, albeit warily, and he continued, ‘However, it is my duty, indeed the duty of this court, to arrive at a true conclusion and not accept malicious tittle-tattle without question.’
There was an indignant gasp from the spectators and Winnie said, ‘It’s not tittle-tattle. I saw the letters to her with my own eyes.’
‘So too have I - and the coroner. I will not go into the question of how you came to read them, but I am afraid that both the coroner and I disagree with your interpretation of them. However, we will move on to a rather more serious matter. Your suggestion that Annie married your son because she thought she might be pregnant. She was not pregnant, of course, but are you suggesting she was a young woman of loose morals before she married your son?’
‘And afterwards too, if you ask me,’ Winnie said, defiantly. ‘Gentlemen of the likes of . . . him as I can’t mention, don’t go out with working-girls because they want to marry ’em. It’s for what they take from ’em. She wouldn’t be the first to be left in the lurch, and I doubt she’ll be the last, either.’
There were sounds of agreement from the spectators and the coroner frowned in their direction.
‘I see, Mrs Rowe,’ the solicitor continued. ‘What would you say if I could prove to you that your daughter-in-law never had an affair with this unnamed gentleman? Indeed, has never had an affair with anyone? Would you admit you drew the wrong conclusion from the letters you so disgracefully read? That you were wrong to take your son from the matrimonial home? Wrong to slur Annie in the manner you have? I will not go so far as to say it was your actions which resulted in the death of your son - but others may not be so kind.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Winnie demanded, angrily. ‘Any fool can see what was going on behind Jimmy’s back'- and there’s no way you can prove that it wasn’t, neither.’
‘That is where you are quite wrong, Mrs Rowe. You see, I can prove it.’
Addressing the coroner, the solicitor said, ‘I have here a statement made by Doctor Fellowes - Doctor Mary Fellowes - a gynaecologist of national, indeed, international repute. The statement was witnessed by a Justice of the Peace in Plymouth three days ago, immediately after she examined Annie Rowe and certified that she is virgo Intacta' Turning back to Winnie, he said, ‘Should you not be familiar with Latin, it means she has never been known by a man in the carnal sense.’
Returning his attention to the coroner once more, Solicitor Dean said, ‘If you feel unable to accept the sworn statement of Doctor Fellowes, she is willing to give evidence to you in person, but it will mean adjourning this inquest for some weeks as she is a very busy doctor.’
‘That will not be necessary,’ the coroner replied, ‘but are you saying the marriage of the deceased and his wife was never consummated?’
‘It could not be consummated,’ explained the solicitor. ‘I have a copy of the medical discharged certificate issued to Private James Rowe. He had a number of serious wounds, one of which meant he could never be a husband in the full sense of the word.’
‘That’s a downright lie,’ Winnie cried. ‘Jimmy never said anything about that to me!’
‘It is my understanding that he also failed to inform his bride before the wedding.’ the solicitor said, ‘but Annie kept his secret and remained with him through what must have been three very difficult years - even when faced with the scurrilous accusations of her mother-in-law.’
Somewhat apologetically, he added, ‘I am aware that the purpose of this inquest is not to restore the good name of Annie Rowe, or absolve my client of any ungentlemanly conduct, but to ascertain, as far as is possible, the state of mind of the deceased at the time he took his own life. He was a weak-willed man and severely disabled. He was taken away from possibly the only person who really understood him by a strong-willed and domineering mother, and must have been a very unhappy man. I trust I have helped, in a small way, to show what might have driven him to such extreme action, sir.’
‘Thank you, Mr Dean, you have carried out your duties admirably. You have made it unnecessary to call Annie Rowe. In view of her mother-in-law’s actions she would have no knowledge of the events immediately before her husband’s suicide. I suggest we now adjourn until after lunch. I would like time to consult my notes before a verdict is reached.’
When Annie left the town hall with Hubert Dean, she received a great many sympathetic glances from those who had listened to the evidence given to the coroner.
After spending the adjournment picking at her food in the dining-room of a nearby inn with the solicitor, Annie returned with him to the town hall.
When the coroner resumed his place, an expectant silence fell upon the courtroom. Eventually, looking up from the notes before him on the table, the coroner said, ‘This has been a very sad and tragic case on which to reach a verdict. Sad, because of the bitterness and unhappiness which touched upon the life of James Rowe at a time when he needed kindness and understanding, although I am satisfied his wife did all - and more - that was expected of her. Tragic, because of a lack of willingness by others to understand his needs. Of that I will say no more. From the evidence presented to this court today it would not have surprised me had the deceased’s reason suddenly snapped and in a moment of despair brought his life to an abrupt and uncalculated end. But that was not how he died. His suicide was carefully planned and executed. Choosing a time when everyone was absent from the farm, he carried a chair from the farmhouse to the barn, made his way to the stable and from there returned to the barn carrying a length of rope. Constructing a noose, he climbed upon the chair and secured the rope to a beam. Then, placing the noose about his neck, he kicked away the chair - and died. It was clearly a premeditated act. For this reason I have no alternative but to record a verdict of Felo de se . . .’
Chapter 73
Perys was told the result of the inquest by Polly the next morning. It was in the study of Heligan House where he had maps of his Cornish properties and reports on the various farms spread out on the desk. They had been brought to the house by Amy, the land agent’s clerk-typist.
Also mistakenly included among the papers were two Heligan employment books for the years 1914 to the present date.
When the knock came on the door and Perys called, ‘Come in’, the door opened and Polly entered carrying a coffee tray.
‘I’ve brought your morning coffee, sir.’
Unused to such formality between them, Perys was taken by surprise, then he saw the housekeeper pass along the passageway beyond the maid.
Using her body to push the door closed behind her, Polly immediately dropped her servant-master pose. ‘Perys! The solicitor who spoke for Annie at the inquest was marvellous! He was so good the coroner told Annie she didn’t even need to give any evidence. Not only that, he cleared her name beyond all doubt; refused to let Winnie mention your name, and, although he wasn’t so cruel as to blame Winnie for what Jimmy did to himself, Annie said he made it pretty clear that if she’d left him with Annie and not interfered in their lives, Jimmy might still be alive.’
‘That’s very sad for Winnie,’ Perys said. ‘It’s something she’ll have to live with all her life, but if I hadn’t employed a solicitor Annie would have had to live with the stigma of Winnie’s wicked tongue for the rest of her life. How is Annie taking it all?’
‘She’s still upset about Jimmy, of course. Although she never loved him, she did like him a lot. She’s also embarrassed by what came out in court about her, but she realises it was the only way to put a stop to Winnie’s lies, once and for all.’
‘Tell Annie I’m very pleased that the solicitor was able to sort things out and make it easier for her at the inquest.’
‘Why don’t you tell her yourself? She’s at the farm for most of the day but she’ll be going back to the cottage tonight and every other night. At least, for the moment. She’ll no doubt be moving back to Tregassick before too long.’