Mathew's Tale, page 24
‘I am sure that it would,’ he agreed, cheerfully. ‘To put it to the test, would you please tell him that Mr Mathew Fleming, Deputy Lord Lieutenant and magistrate of the County of Lanark is on his doorstep, and would be grateful for a few minutes of his time. Be sure to tell him also that it is a private matter, one that will be of great concern to him.’
The footman invited him to wait in the vestibule, then left to deliver his message. The man was no bodyguard, but a door to his right was slightly open, and Mathew could hear faint conversation behind it.
‘Please come up, Mr Fleming.’ The footman’s invitation came from the top of a flight of stairs. He wanted to run up, but took them slowly, one at a time.
James Douglas might have been recently elevated, but he had gained nothing in stature. He remained seated as his guest entered, as if unwilling to be towered over by him.
‘This is a surprise,’ he said. ‘I had not expected to see you in Edinburgh again. My future son-in-law tells me you have even shaken the dust of Carluke from your feet.
‘Between you and I,’ he added, in a mock whisper, ‘I do not blame you one bit. An undistinguished little place, I thought, not befitting the man you have become, a man with the power in London to change even my plans. I refer, of course, to the appointment of Edward Cooper as my successor, a man of no flair but numbing integrity.’
Mathew shrugged. ‘I hardly know the man,’ he replied. ‘As for Carluke, I am not as disconnected as Gavin Cleland might think. It is my birthplace, after all, and I still have considerable interests there.’
‘Then they will prosper, I am sure.’ Lord Douglas waved towards the chair that faced his. ‘I want to tell you,’ he continued, as his guest seated himself, ‘that I am sorry our last meeting did not go better for you, but it could not. It was nothing personal, you understand.’
Mathew felt his anger flare, but he controlled himself. ‘It was for me,’ he replied, quietly, ‘and for my late friend David.’
‘Who was convicted of murder, I must remind you, on the basis of the clear evidence that I put before the jury.’
‘Whose number were practically directed to convict by my Lord Bellhouse,’ Mathew pointed out.
‘Your friend angered my uncle, I am afraid. That is never a good idea.’
‘Angering me is none too clever either,’ Mathew countered, then went on quickly, denying Douglas any opportunity for a riposte, ‘but that is not why I am here. You mentioned your prospective son-in-law earlier. Can I ask you how you find him, as a man?’
‘I will allow you that one question about him,’ the judge said. ‘I find Gavin witty, courteous and charming. He is obviously devoted to my daughter, and frankly, the notion that he could have harmed his brother while intending to shoot another man in the back . . . well, sir, it beggars belief.’
‘Then I am sorry, my Lord,’ Mathew said, ‘for I do not doubt your sincerity. But I have known Gavin Cleland for longer than you. My view of him is somewhat different and it is borne out by these documents.’ He handed over the folder that he had brought with him.
He watched Douglas as he read, for a full ten minutes, his own expression remaining impassive as that of the other changed, curiosity replaced by concern, then by anger and finally black-browed rage.
‘Mr Fleming,’ he said finally, ‘if this is all trumped up, and if the accounts of these harlots have been bought, then you are finished, your family is finished, Mr Johnston is finished and indeed anyone who has ever known you is facing a doleful future.’
‘My Lord,’ Mathew murmured, ‘I will take you on anywhere, if I have to, so do not ever threaten me again. But I assure you, these women have not been paid, and I do not believe they have exaggerated a single one of those accusations.
‘The same cannot be said of the whores who condemned my friend David to death at Bellhouse’s hands, but I cannot prove their perjury, not yet. In the meantime, that is the man to whom you have betrothed your daughter. Disbelieve me, and God help her.’
The Lord Justice General sank back into his chair. ‘I wish I could, but I do not,’ he said, with a heavy sigh. ‘I know your agents, Mr Fleming, by name and by reputation. They are former constables of the city, and I have employed them myself in a similar capacity, both as Lord Advocate and before that in my private practice.’ He brandished the folder. ‘May I keep these?’
‘Of course. My solicitor has notarised copies; I will send another to you if you wish. I am sorry to be the bearer of this news,’ he added.
‘No, you are not,’ Douglas countered, ‘nor should you be, for I have given you no reason to be sympathetic towards me. You have put me in your debt now, and forced me to open my mind to some private concerns. While Sir Gavin was all that I have described around this house, I confess that when I visited his estate, I was a little concerned. It is not quite as grand as he described it; corners are being cut, and there is an air of decay about the place.
‘But it was in your church that I became most worried. I have an eye for people and their feelings, Mr Fleming, and among the congregation in that place I detected no respect for him, far less any love, only fear. It even radiated from your sad old minister. You know, I think back to his sermon that day, and I find myself wondering if he was trying to tell me something.’
‘There was a time when he would have told you straight out,’ Mathew said. ‘But you are right about the fear. He was too afraid of Cleland to speak for David in court.’
‘Then you can tell him that his hidden message has finally reached its target. Cleland’s betrothal to my daughter is annulled, and he is banned from this house. If I could forbid him the city, I would, but he would be well advised to absent himself in any case.’
‘He can go where he likes. When the time comes, I will find him.’
The judge smiled. ‘On that day, I would not be in Sir Gavin’s shoes. I think I would rather have you as a friend than an enemy, Mr Fleming. Will you take a whisky?’
‘Thank you, sir, but an old wound has left me with no taste for it, or any liquor for that matter.’
‘My God,’ Douglas laughed, ‘then you really are a dangerous man.’ He rose and crossed to an ornate sideboard against the far wall. He poured himself a generous measure from a square decanter, then returned to his armchair.
‘What you have told me does make me reflect on the case of the late Mr McGill. You do believe completely in his innocence, Mr Fleming? You are not simply being unshakeably loyal to a friend, and so blind to another possibility?’
Mathew shook his head. ‘I am one-eyed, but broad-minded. Have you ever been a soldier, sir?’
‘Me? No,’ he chuckled, ‘I am hardly built for it.’
‘Do not be so sure. The man who nearly killed me was not much taller than you. The Voltigeurs were chosen because they were small, fast, agile and lethal. I remember the little bugger charging on to my bayonet and being lifted clear of the ground, yet managing to thrust his sword into my guts as he died. I dreamed about him for many a year, and woke in terror.’
‘Do you still?’
‘I dream of him, but the horror has gone. Instead I am sorry for him, for I have awakened every morning since my recovery but he never did.
‘Being a common foot soldier introduces you to many things, sir,’ he said, ‘and chief among them is cynicism; you are prepared to doubt the motives of any man and the word of most. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, I do. You are telling me you considered the possibility that Mr McGill and his son might have been lying.’
Mathew nodded. ‘I did, briefly. But David was one of those men whose word I would not have doubted, and even if he had not been, the question of motive remained. He gave Gregor Cleland a beating for whipping his son, of that there is no doubt. If something similar happened to your daughter and you saw it, you would react in exactly the same way. Am I correct?’
‘Probably to no great effect, but I imagine I would,’ Douglas conceded.
‘Right. But you would not have shot him for it, as Gavin and his women described? Nor would David, and why else would he? He had absolutely no reason to do so. Your case, based on Gavin’s statement, alleged that he had motive, but that was not true. There was no grudge, ever. In fact, the day David was dismissed from his position was one of the best of his life, for it meant that he was no longer able to resist the pressure I put on him to come and work for me, for nearly three times the wage. The truth was that Gregor did him a favour, and David and I often laughed about it.’
‘And I believed Gavin,’ the judge murmured, then paused. ‘But not just him, there were the ladies, and their evidence.’
‘Ah yes, Gregor’s fiancée, and her lady’s maid . . . who have never been seen since,’ he smiled, ‘not even, I suspect, in your sanatorium in the north of England.’
‘Hold up there, Mr Fleming,’ Douglas exclaimed. ‘I had a sworn statement from the physician in charge that Miss Smith and her maid were there and unable to leave because of emotional distress.’
‘You did, and young Mr Irvine obtained his name from the trial documents, and I sent people to find him. They are still trying. There is no sanatorium, and there never was. If you want to know the relationship between the brothers and the ladies, hark back to the folder you have just read and use your imagination.’
‘Can that be proved?’
‘Yes, but gentlewomen can fornicate too, so that of itself does not prove them liars. I need the pair before me to do that.’
‘Then I will get them,’ Douglas snapped angrily.
‘How can you?’ Mathew asked. ‘You sit on the highest Bench in the land. You can do nothing without being asked by the Lord Advocate.’
‘Then go to him.’
‘I could, but I do not need to, not yet. I am a magistrate and as such I am entitled to raise simple proceedings. I am after Miss Smith and Miss Stout . . . or whoever they really are . . . already, and I am probably better resourced for the task than Edward Cooper.’
‘And Gavin?’
The one eye darkened, making its neighbour seem even more ghostly. ‘He has more to lose than an advantageous marriage, my Lord, before the shackles are locked on to his wrists and ankles, and further to fall than a few feet to the end of a rope.’
‘Then good luck to you,’ Douglas declared. ‘If it comes to it, I think I will have Bellhouse try him.’ As Mathew smiled, he added, ‘You would not have a drink, Mr Fleming, but will you dine with me . . . you and the hefty minder you have stationed outside?’
‘That is kind of you, my Lord, but we cannot. There will be no supper for me tonight for I have another appointment, but if that goes the way I hope, I will fairly enjoy my breakfast.’
Chapter Thirty-Nine
‘WHY DID YOU NOT tell me this before?’ Sheriff Stirling asked. ‘Do you not trust me after what happened in June?’
‘Of course I trust you, Robin. If I did not would I be telling you now, and giving you the chance to warn off my target?’
‘I am not sure it is a compliment to ask whether I might be capable of any partiality, but I will take it as such. Let me consider the situation.’
He sipped his brandy; Mathew and Sir Graham Stockley watched him across the dinner table as he thought, and came to a conclusion. ‘You may find these women,’ he said, once his response was formed in his mind, ‘but you may not. The Crown’s false letter from a false physician might be enough to have the case against David McGill reopened, but not much more, I believe.
‘To have his conviction quashed, yes, that will give some comfort to his family, but I can see that you want more, my friend. You want Cleland on the scaffold.’ He frowned. ‘And there was I thinking of you as a gentle Christian man.’
‘I would like to think that I am,’ Mathew said, ‘but experience has taught me that those who turn the other cheek usually wind up wounded twice. I am not after Sir Gavin out of vengeance alone. He holds the livelihood of many people in his community in his grasp, and he is not fit to do so. I want him removed for that reason alone, as well as the other.’
‘You might be able to do so without seeing him swing.’
‘Perhaps, but I have promises to keep; those I made to Matt, and to Cleland himself.’
‘Mmm,’ Sir Graham Stockley murmured, fingering his port glass. ‘What does Mrs McGill wish?’
‘Lizzie probably believes that hanging is too good for him. His head on the spike above the Tolbooth might satisfy her, but they knocked it down, so she must be satisfied with whatever sentence the court hands down, if we can ever bring him to trial, that is. Can we begin that now, without Smith and Stout?’
‘You think they may never be found?’ Stirling asked.
‘I have tried to put myself in Cleland’s position, an uncomfortable place to be. For his long-term protection, he would have been better killing them than sending them away.’
He paused. ‘But would he have the ruthlessness? I looked into his eyes before the scaffold in the Lawnmarket and I doubt it. I saw a coward in there, an opportunist, but a coward. I believe that in an instant he saw a chance to have the estate for himself, and he took it. But to kill the witnesses once their false statements were sworn? I did not see that in him.’
‘But what if you are wrong,’ the Sheriff countered, ‘or if the pair have been sent abroad, or to Ireland even? You ask if you can make a case without them. Well, first you must precognose those chambermaids and the laundry woman, take their statements formally and under oath. If you have that, you might have your man Innes petition the High Court for an appeal against conviction, but still you would be short of indicting Cleland.’
‘It would be risky too,’ Mathew said, ‘for Cleland has been spending much more time on the estate these last few weeks, since Lord Douglas banned him from Heriot Row, and let it be known that anyone seen speaking to him in Edinburgh would be no friend of his.
‘That meant automatically that his membership of the New Club was revoked. So all he can do in the city is lurk in Albany Street, or go down to Leith and the rough trade there. Philip Armitage’s questioning of the staff was discreet and private. Formal statements would not be so, and would even put the factor’s position in jeopardy. That is something I do not want, for I need the good Mr Armitage.’
‘I did not think you were fond of that man, Mathew,’ Stockley said. ‘Being unloved is part of a factor’s lot, is it not?’
He shrugged. ‘Whether I like the fellow or not is irrelevant, Graham. As I said, I need him, for reasons that will become clear soon, when certain matters have made their way through the Court of Session, as they will, for the Lord President is taking a keen interest in their passage, and also keeping them out of the public eye.’
‘I am intrigued.’
‘So am I,’ Stirling added.
Mathew smiled. ‘Then you can both stay that way, until I have further news for you. In the meantime, Robin, let us hold fire on the estate maids for a little longer at least. I am not without hope that the owners of the blond and red hairs on the Cleland pillows can yet be found.’
Chapter Forty
AN HOUR AFTER MIDDAY on a December Monday morning, three days before Christmas, a messenger on horseback arrived at Waterloo House, and delivered an envelope.
Mathew was in Coatbridge on business, driven by Beattie, and Hannah was visiting Lizzie in Carluke, and so the man was received by Miss Liddell, who chided him over the condition of his hard-ridden animal, even as she took possession of an envelope bearing the name, ‘Mathew Fleming, Esq. DL’. It was written in a spidery hand, not that of a professional clerk, and sealed with red wax on the reverse.
‘Who is the sender?’ she asked.
The travel-worn rider shook his head. ‘Cannae tell ye’, for Ah dinna ken. An officer gied me it. Confidential for Mr Fleming is a’ he said.’
‘And where was this officer? Or is that secret too?’’
‘Edinburgh.’
‘Then you’ll have a long trip back. Go round to the back of the house and find the kitchen. Get some warmth in your bones, and some hot food inside you for the journey. The groom will take good care of your horse.’
The letter was on Mathew’s desk, in his private parlour when he returned home, just after six that evening. He turned up the lamps to their brightest, but even so had to use his monocle to make out the detail of the wax seal. He smiled as he recognised it, then slit the envelope along the top with a knife, to preserve it.
Inside was a single page, a note that read:
It is done, decree is granted and the consequent order is issued. The documents will be with Mr Johnston this afternoon for delivery to the pursuer, through you; I imagine you might wish to make the enforcement in person.
In all the circumstances I do not imagine that I will ever be invited to visit, for although I beg forgiveness for my transgression, it is too much to expect that I might receive it. All that I can do is send the beneficiary my humble good wishes, and extend my hand to you, sir, in friendship.
Douglas.
Mathew gasped as he slumped into his chair. The plan had been a wild one, a gamble, literally, but its success had been beyond his most optimistic hopes.
He strode out into the hall, and retrieved his waxed cotton overcoat.
‘Mathew,’ Hannah called after him as he opened the front door. ‘Where are ye gaun? It’s freezin’ the nicht, and ye’re only just hame.’
He stopped and turned towards her. ‘I have to see Lizzie, Mother, and now. It can’t wait. Quickest for me to go myself than tear Ewan away from his dinner.’
‘Aw, son,’ she sighed, sadly, misinterpreting him completely. ‘Ah know this has always been hard for you, but gie the lassie time. Let her see this terrible year oot, and wash her hands of it. She and her weans are comin’ here on Thursday, mind, for Christmas. Ye can talk tae her then about the future, if ye must, although for propriety ye might want tae talk to young Matt first.’
