Free 03 - Murder at Sedgwick Court by Margaret Addison Page A

themselves with sipping
their drinks or lighting, and puffing at, cigarettes to give themselves
something to do before they turned their gaze from her and entered into their
own conversations.
    Rose had
just come to the conclusion that the evening was going to pass off without
incident, when Vera, who had been particularly quiet all evening, opened her
mouth and spoke in an unnecessarily high voice, the effect of which was to cut,
like a knife, through the various conversations going on in the room.
    ‘It must
have been awful for you, being kidnapped, I mean.’ Vera’s words were directed
towards Emmeline who immediately paled. She attempted to stutter a reply and
then gave Jemima a look of such distress that Rose feared she might be going to
faint. Theo, obviously of the same opinion, leapt to her side, clutched her
hand and put an arm around her to support her and thus prevent her from
falling.
    ‘Vera!
Really how could you?’
    Theo
almost spat out the words over his shoulder and that, together with the
accompanying look of fury on his face, saw his fiancée visibly retreat to the
corner of the room, reeling from the hatred and emotion expressed in those few
words. Jemima meanwhile was grim faced and was clutching at the back of the
armchair she happened to be standing behind. She had remained where she was
during the outburst, and only now did she venture forward to go and stand
before Vera, her eyes blazing with barely concealed emotion.
    ‘How dare
you! How could you be so unkind as to mention that? What sort of a person are
you?’
    Jemima’s
eyes had a wild look about them and she seemed close to tears. Felix went over
to her quickly and showed her to a chair on which she sank down heavily,
sobbing quietly into her handkerchief. Felix knelt down before her, whispering
words of comfort, before bestowing a look on Vera which equalled Theo’s in its
ferocity.
    Vera
retreated further to the edges of the room and looked as if she wished to
disappear into the shadows. The others meanwhile had been standing around in amazement,
not quite believing that they were witnessing such a spectacle in the drawing
room of Sedgwick Court. To make matters worse, out of the corner of her eye,
Rose saw one of the footman endeavouring to keep his face expressionless. She had
little doubt that news of the incident would soon be spreading around the
servants’ hall like wild fire. Inwardly she cursed Vera for behaving so rashly
and Lavinia for her meddling, which she felt had made the situation worse, and
which she was far from certain had been well meant.
    The outburst
had created an uncomfortable atmosphere among the party which threatened to
spoil the rest of the evening. Certainly everyone appeared at a loss as to what
to say or do to restore the agreeable ambience that had previously prevailed.
Cedric looked particularly ill at ease. No doubt, Rose thought, because he felt
as host it was his responsibility to repair matters. She caught his eye and saw
the look of desperation on his face.
    ‘Lavinia,’
Rose said quickly, ‘do you remember those silly games that we used to play in
the dress shop when Madame Renard’s back was turned and we had a particularly
difficult customer to deal with?’
    ‘Y-yes,’
said Lavinia, ‘although I’m not sure that I can remember …’
    ‘Oh, they
were very silly games,’ Rose said, lightly. ‘But it made me think about parlour
games. Don’t you think it would be awfully fun to play some now?’
    ‘Oh,
rather,’ Cedric said quickly.
    ‘You mean
charades or pass the slipper?’ Lavinia said with distaste and frowned. ‘I’ve
always been absolutely hopeless at charades and, really, I’ve never quite seen
the point of pass the slipper.’
    ‘Parlour
games are for children, I think, are they not?’ said Count Fernand, joining in
the conversation. ‘But I agree with Miss Simpson that games can be fun. You
ladies, you like fine gowns and fine jewels, do you not?’
    ‘Of
course,’