Murder at Missleberry Manor

Part 6

Picking up her skirt she hurried after her but looking round that corner there was no sign of her.

"Drat," Cecilia said softly as she scanned the area.

The hedges had ended and the area had opened up giving Mrs Hanbury any number of directions to go in including into the woods. If she had gone in there Cecilia knew she'd have no chance of finding her. She'd wandered in the woods a few times this week and there were so many diverging paths and trails that she'd have a hard time keeping up unobtrusively even if she could see Mrs Hanbury.

She was just about to turn round and head back to the house to find Freddie when she noticed a light on in the chapel that wasn't normally there. Perhaps Mrs Hanbury hadn't gone into the wood after all.

The inner door was ajar. Cecilia paused. Now that she was here she wasn't quite sure what she should do. Although demanding an explanation from Cat had worked well enough the circumstances weren't the same here, she didn't know Mrs Hanbury the way she knew Cat. And of course she couldn't be sure that she'd even come in here.

A woman began speaking inside and after a moment Cecilia recognised the voice as Mrs Hanbury. Well that answered one question. She was speaking so quietly that Cecilia could barely make out any of the words. The tone however was clear enough. She was not happy.

She paused and a male voice responded but as this one was even less audible Cecilia had no way of even identifying the speaker let alone what they were saying. It was barely more than a murmur to her. She edged closer to the door.

He was silenced as the crack of a slap across the face suddenly rang out from within the chapel followed by Mrs Hanbury's cold, harsh, voice, clear enough that Cecilia could hear every word.

"You fool. Do you want him to discover everything? You just need to keep your mouth shut and it will be forgotten soon enough. She was only a maid. And don't forget you've got a lot more to lose than I have"

Cecilia had heard enough. Whatever was going on, whoever was in there with Mrs Hanbury she needed to leave. That was as good as a confession that either Mrs Hanbury or her companion had murdered the maid. And if they'd murdered one young woman what was to stop them murdering a second if the need arose? Cecilia was suddenly all too aware that nobody back at the house knew she was down here.

She backed away slowly, not noticing the book that had been left haphazardly on the edge of the small table behind her until she bumped into. It clattered loudly to the ground. Cecilia froze while the voices within fell silent.

And then she heard Mrs Hanbury hiss, "Wait here."

Cecilia turned and fled from the chapel. The sunlight was dazzling after the darkness of the entryway. She spun around looking for somewhere to hide but there was nowhere sufficiently close. Any moment Mrs Hanbury would come and see her and know she'd been listening. There was only one thing for it.

With far more calm than she felt Cecilia turned back around and walked slowly back towards the chapel just as Mrs Hanbury emerged clutching the book.

"Oh Mrs Hanbury," Cecilia said lightly, her heart pounding in her throat all the while. "Good afternoon."

"Afternoon my dear," replied Mrs Hanbury in equally bright and breezy tone. "I don't suppose you saw anyone leaving here in the last few moments did you."

"I'm afraid not."

She was now level with Mrs Hanbury and up close there was almost nothing to suggest she had just been disturbed in the middle of an argument about a girls' murder that she may have been responsible for. It was only the coldness in her eyes, which Cecilia may not have even noticed had she not been looking for it, that showed that not everything was as it seemed.

Cecilia carried on. "I wanted to get out of the house for a while, find somewhere quiet, but it looks like you've had the same idea. If you'd rather be alone I completely understand."

After one last sweeping glance of the area Mrs Hanbury turned to Cecilia with a smile that still didn't quite reach her eyes and said, "Oh no, I'd welcome the company actually. If you don't mind."

Cecilia could only smile as Mrs Hanbury took her arm and led her in. With baited breath Cecilia looked around as unobtrusively as she could but there was nobody obviously there. Was there another way in and out of the chapel?