The Workhouse Girl (46 page)

Moorcroft shook his head. ‘Sarah was witness to a deathbed confession from Tobias Grey's own lips. We can only imagine how Elsie must have felt as she dictated her will to one of the nurses at the Charing Cross hospital.'

‘But that will is invalid,' Fitch said triumphantly. ‘She wasn't in her right mind. The will in my possession is the legal document.'

‘But that will is lost, Mr Fitch. You said it had been stolen.' Moorcroft exchanged meaningful glances with his brother.

‘I-I was mistaken,' Fitch muttered. ‘My man Dobson came across it only the other day. I meant to tell you, but with all this going on I became confused.'

Bertram nodded his head. ‘That's very interesting, but Elsie's last will and testament was witnessed by two doctors at the Charing Cross hospital and she managed to sign it despite the severity of her injuries.'

‘And that means,' Moorcroft added with a hint of a smile, ‘that Nanette Fitch inherits the entire Blackwood estate.'

The room echoed with silence, broken by the sudden appearance of Nettie who pushed past the startled policeman. ‘What's going on? All hell's broken loose in the kitchen. There are uniformed men all over the place and they've got two villains trussed up like turkeys and shouting their heads off. And who's this Nanette Fitch?'

Mrs Trigg rose to her feet. ‘All this has nothing to do with me. I came because he asked me to,' she said, pointing a shaking finger at Fitch. ‘And I want to know what they've done to my hubby. He's been missing for months and that's not like Trigg. I reckon they done him in for the money, the murdering swine.'

‘Shut up, Trigg.' Fitch turned on her in a fury. ‘Keep your stupid mouth shut, woman. Who cares about your husband anyway? He was a villain and a thug, and if he's met a sticky end it's only what he deserved.'

‘Oh, you brute. You callous bugger. You was pleased enough to hire him to do your dirty work.' Mrs Trigg attempted to lunge at him but was held back by Constable Barley. ‘He got me into this,' she shrieked. ‘I was a respectable workhouse mistress until that man persuaded Trigg to turn to crime.'

‘She's deranged,' Fitch said coldly. ‘Arrest her, constable. She's the one who's guilty of fencing illegal goods. She's been using her job as my agent to steal from me and conceal her own nefarious deeds.'

Moorcroft laid his hand on Fitch's shoulder. ‘As your former solicitor I would advise you not to say anything that would incriminate you further.'

‘I've paid you a fortune to act on my behalf, Martin. I'm reinstating you as from now.'

‘I was unaware of your criminal activities then, and it would be improper for me to act for you,' Moorcroft said icily. ‘I'd advise you to seek legal advice from another law firm.'

‘Just a minute, everyone,' Nettie said, holding up her hands. ‘Will someone tell me what's going on? And who's this Nanette Fitch? I'm Nanette but I ain't no Fitch.'

Bertram shook his head. ‘I don't think it concerns you, miss. The person in question is heir to this whole estate but she is at present unknown to us.'

‘And that isn't you, girl,' Fitch snapped. ‘This whole thing is ridiculous. Blackwood House belongs to me, and that woman is to blame for everything.' He pointed at Mrs Trigg. ‘Arrest her now.'

She moved towards him, her eyes narrowed to slits. ‘So you're washing your hands of me, are you, George? You've landed me in trouble and now you're going to put the blame on Trigg and me.'

He looked her up and down. ‘It's obvious to everyone here that you are as much a criminal as your husband, wherever he may be at this moment. You've been cheating me for years and no doubt creaming off rent money in the process.' He turned to Bertram, his eyes flashing dangerously. ‘As to you, sir, that will is useless unless you find Elsie's illegitimate child, which you won't because she's dead. This whole thing is a farrago of lies. My sister was mad. Anyone will tell you that.'

‘No, she wasn't.' Sarah had been standing quietly beside Mrs Arbuthnot but she could keep silent no longer. ‘Elsie was as sane as you and I, maybe more so. She spent her whole life helping people and healing the sick.' She broke off, choked with tears.

‘Fitch is a lying sod. He's the one who deserves to rot in jail.' Mrs Trigg turned to Bertram with an ingratiating smile. ‘What you just said was true, mister. George Fitch took the baby from his sister and brought her to the workhouse. That's when we first got caught up in his wicked schemes. He told us that his sister had died in childbirth but her baby was born on the wrong side of the blanket, and he didn't want a little bastard disgracing the family name.' She grabbed Nettie by the arm and shoved her towards Fitch. ‘This is your niece. I raised that sickly, mewling baby and I'm telling you that this is Nanette Fitch. We had to call her something, and when pressed you told us that her mother's dying wish was to name her Nanette after her grandmother. We registered her as Nanette Bean because Fitch didn't want anyone to be able to trace her true identity.' She shook her fist at George. ‘Ain't that a laugh? She owns your bloody house now, not you.'

Nettie pulled away from her. ‘What are you saying, you mad woman? I'm still Nettie Bean. I'm an actress and I'm going to be famous. I don't want to be related to him. It can't be true.'

‘I knew it,' Sarah cried triumphantly. ‘Grey tried to tell me your name. It was the last word on his lips, and you are a lot like her, Nettie. I don't know why I didn't see it from the beginning.' Sarah rushed to Nettie's side and wrapped her in a warm embrace. ‘Don't be upset, love. You're still you, no matter what it says on a bit of paper.'

Moorcroft beckoned to Constable Barley. ‘I suggest you take this man and this woman into custody, officer. There are witnesses aplenty to uphold your version of events. My brother will come with you and explain matters to your superior officer.'

‘Yes, sir.' Constable Barley saluted smartly and produced a set of handcuffs from his belt, which he proceeded to clip onto Fitch's wrist. He was about to do the same to Mrs Trigg but she drew herself up to her full height, thrusting out her bosom and fixing him with a defiant stare.

‘I'll come quietly, constable. I'm the innocent party in all this.' She turned her head to give Sarah a vicious look. ‘I'll get the cops to search the grounds. You won't get off easily, miss. I know that Trigg is here and when I find out what happened to him I promise you that you'll suffer for it.' She marched out of the room followed closely by Fitch handcuffed to the police officer, with Bertram bringing up the rear.

The door swung shut behind them and an audible sigh of relief rippled round the room. ‘Well!' Mrs Arbuthnot looked up at Moorcroft. ‘Who would have thought it, Martin?'

He sat down beside her, taking her hand in his. ‘It's quite breathtaking, my dear, but a happy outcome – at least, so far.'

She eyed him curiously. ‘I'm not sure what you mean, Martin.'

He patted her hand. ‘I'll explain in a moment.'

‘Does this mean that she owns the house?' Lemuel jumped off the window seat and came to stand beside Nettie, tugging at her skirt. ‘Are you going to let us stay here, miss?'

Mary hurried over to lay her hand on his shoulder. ‘Leave the lady alone, Lemmy. She's a bit overcome with it all.'

Nettie wiped her eyes on her sleeve and sniffed. ‘I'm fine, really I am, but it's been a shock, I'd admit that.'

Sarah passed her a clean handkerchief. ‘But a good one for all that, Nettie.'

‘I had a mother and we never knew each other. I don't even know what she looked like.'

‘I knew her well and I loved her as you would have done, given half a chance.' Sarah grasped Nettie's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. ‘She was a wonderful person. She had red hair just like you, and she was funny and a bit wild, just like you. She didn't give a jot for convention . . .'

‘Just like me,' Nettie said, smiling through her tears. ‘At least you had her to take care of you. It could have been me that ended up living as you did and I would have been with my own mother. That's very strange.'

‘And she would have loved you. She was fond of me but she never loved me, but I think you were always in her heart. She would have been so proud of you, Nettie.'

‘And I'll work even harder,' Nettie said, dabbing her eyes with a lace hanky. ‘I always said I'd be rich and famous and I will. You'll see.'

‘You're already rich, Nettie. You own this lovely old house and the grounds, not to mention the income from the properties in the village.'

‘Gawd almighty, I'm an heiress,' Nettie said, chuckling. ‘I'm a rich woman and I don't need to tread the boards for nuppence a week.' She frowned. ‘But I'll still keep on with my career. I won't always be a walk-on. I'll be a famous actress and an heiress at the same time. My ma will look down from heaven and cheer me on.'

‘Of course she will, my dear.' Moorcroft cleared his throat. ‘I knew your mother, Nettie. She was a fine woman, and there are things that you should know.'

Sarah's hand flew to her lips. All her instincts warned her that this was neither the time nor the place for further revelations. She caught Moorcroft's eye and shook her head. ‘Perhaps later, sir.'

‘I really would like to get everything out in the open,' he said, rising to his feet, but at that moment the door opened and Bertram rushed into the room.

‘The truth has come out, Martin. They're searching for a body,' he said breathlessly. ‘You'd better come quickly.'

SARAH WAS THE
first to reach the kitchen. Fitch remained handcuffed to Constable Barley and Mrs Trigg was seated at the table opposite the two men who had been witness to Trigg's demise. Sarah recognised them instantly and her heart sank. They were bound hand and foot, and she could tell from their grim expressions that they knew their days of freedom were at an end. They might decide to tell the truth or it could be a pack of lies if they thought that Mrs Trigg would stand by them. She looked for Davey and saw him standing at the back of the room being interrogated by two uniformed revenue men. Davey met her anxious glance with a barely perceptible shake of his head, as if warning her to say nothing, but there was a hint of a smile in his eyes that was for her alone and it gave her courage.

Nettie had followed her into the kitchen together with Moorcroft, Bertram and Mrs Arbuthnot, who had Lemuel and Jonah clinging to her hands. Mary moved swiftly to stand beside Sarah, giving her an encouraging smile. ‘I'm with you,' she murmured. ‘I won't let no one take you away from us.'

‘Don't worry, Mary,' Sarah said with more confidence than she was feeling. ‘Everything will be all right.'

‘What's going on, officer?' Moorcroft demanded. ‘I understand that you're looking for a body. Is that correct?'

The most senior police officer stepped forward. ‘And who are you, sir?'

‘My name is Martin Moorcroft and I am, or rather I was, Mr Fitch's solicitor.'

‘I am Inspector Giles of the Metropolitan Police. Following information received we are investigating Mr Fitch's affairs.' He jerked his head in the direction of Trigg's men. ‘We came to investigate a smuggling ring but this is now a case of murder. According to these men Mr Thaddeus Trigg met his end at the hands of one Tobias Grey.'

‘That's not true.' Sarah could keep silent no longer. ‘Trigg had a gun. I witnessed the whole thing. He was going to kill Grey: there was a struggle and he fell on the knife.'

Mrs Trigg let out a howl of anguish. ‘Murdered.'

‘It was self defence.' Sarah turned to Trigg's men. ‘Tell them, please. You saw it all. Tobias Grey is dead now, but he was no murderer.'

The man who had intervened on that fatal day nodded his head. ‘That's the truth, guv. She saw it all. Trigg was acting like a madman and he went in on the attack. What happened was an accident.'

‘What were you doing at the time of the murder?' Inspector Giles fixed him with a gimlet stare. ‘What was your business here?'

‘We was only following orders to collect goods and transport them to Mr Fitch's warehouse in London. It weren't our business to ask where the stuff come from.' He turned to his mate. ‘Ain't that so, Kelly?'

‘That's the size of it.' Kelly cast a look of pure malice in Mrs Trigg's direction. ‘She's as bad as her old man was. She gave the orders and she paid us for our trouble. We never asked no questions.'

Mrs Trigg leapt to her feet. ‘They're both lying. I didn't know that the goods were contraband. I was just following instructions from my employer, Mr Fitch.' She pointed at George, shaking her finger at him. ‘He's the villain, not my poor hubby, nor me. We was just dupes in the game he was playing.'

‘The woman is lying,' Fitch said angrily. ‘You surely don't believe her. She's from the criminal classes. You only have to look at her to see that.'

‘I will have me say.' Mrs Trigg's voice rose a pitch or two. ‘That devil thinks he can treat people how he likes because he's a toff, but he's no better than anyone here. He abandoned his own flesh and blood to the workhouse. That's her, over there – the carroty one with the skin the colour of whey. She's the real owner of this old pile of shit and much good it will do her.' She sank down on her seat as one of the constables made a move to restrain her. ‘All right, son. I ain't going nowhere.'

‘It's a pack of lies.' Fitch glared at Mrs Trigg as if he would like to throttle her. ‘I'm a respectable businessman who's been taken advantage of by a gang leader and his woman.'

‘That's enough, sir.' Inspector Giles stepped forward, holding up his hand. ‘You'll have your chance to prove your innocence in court, but this is neither the time nor the place.' He turned to Constable Barley and his two subordinate officers. ‘Take them to the Black Maria. This matter will be dealt with in the London courts.'