The Mystery of Hollingbourne House

The audience was a dark sea of gentlemen in dinner jackets and ladies in elegant dresses. The stage was ablaze with light, while the actors upon it performed their clueless love affair. The chairs although cushioned, were becoming very uncomfortable and my thoughts were straying. My mother's face even in the murky darkness you could see was rapt with concentration. I sighed and desperately tried to revert my interest to the tedious play.

There was a soft cough from the narrow aisle on my left as a steward attempted to gain my mother's attention without disturbing the rest of the congregation. "Excuse me Madam, but are you Mrs Rosemary Aldridge?"

"Yes," she replied clearly puzzled.

"It's just we've had an urgent call from your house keeper."

*****

My mother and I quickly signalled for a cab outside the Theatre Royal and we returned to our terraced house in Knightsbridge. As we climbed the steps towards the front door it was flung open by the maid Jessica.

"Thank goodness you're here!" she cried as she hurried us in and took our jackets and shawl. "Ella is in much distress and wishes to speak to both of you."

"Cousin Ella?" I asked checking the grandfather clock stood by the stairs. "Why on earth is she here at such an hour?"

"Never mind Jonathan," my mother said, taking control. " First we must comfort her. Where is she Jessica?"

"She is in the front room, Miss."

We followed her down the tiled hallway and through to the front room. There we found Ella staring into the roaring fire in the grate casting half shadows across her pale face. She gazed up as we entered the room and threw herself upon her aunt's shoulder.

"My dear, what's happened?" my mother asked helping Ella into a chesterfield chair.

"Oh…it was horrible…I…. can't believe it, so close to their wedding…I just can't!" She pulled out a lace handkerchief and wiped her tear-stained face.

"What was?" I questioned as Jessica brought in a silver tray with tea and lit some more lamps, which sent a ghostly glow across the unexpected company.

"Do you remember Katy's Fiancé, Andrew Parnell?" She replied in a small voice.

"Of course," Mother said, "we received the invitations only last week."

Ella picked up her cup and slowly drank the warm tea, "He's dead," she said shortly.

"No," I whispered startled, doing the smallest of double takes not sure if I had heard her correctly. "How? When?

"Our chambermaid, Sarah found him dead in his bed," she sniffed and again pulled out her handkerchief. "Oh goodness, look at me."

"It's quite understandable that you're upset," Rosemary soothed placing her hand on Ella's shoulder reassuringly.

"Is there anything we can get you, or do for you?" My mother continued taking a sip of her own tea.

"Well there is something…"

"Yes?"

"Well the police came, of course yet they came up with nothing except that he was suffocated with his own pillow and they would now be launching a full scale murder inquiry," she sighed. "Katy has locked herself in her room and refuses to speak to anyone."

"Oh poor dear," I sighed.

"Well since Uncle John was a detective and you sometimes helped him, I remember you being very could at it. I was wondering…" she hesitated slightly. " I was wondering if you could come back with me to Kent and try to put all our minds at ease."

"We'll both come," my mother said, gesturing towards me and I nodded noticeably. My Mother sighed heavily, "but I don't know what use we'll be."

"I suggest we go to bed and travel first thing in the morning", I said. Ella looked exhausted and I was trying hard to stifle my yawns.

So the next morning we travelled to Maidstone. The journey took longer than was anticipated. Conversation died away and came back again, and died away and came back and finally died away completely. Ella dozed in and out of sleep as the coach bumped along the roads to Kent, I doubted she got much sleep last night. My mother occasionally read her huge book or sat staring out of the window.

We arrived at Hollingbourne House at nine o'clock. As we drove down the oak lined drive nearer to the house you could just make out two policemen disappearing around the side of one of the gardens through the mist that surrounded the house. I had been to the house many times as a child it didn't seem much different. The ivory crept over most of the face of the manor hiding the red bricks beneath. The sweeping lawns, that ran down to the edge of a small forest. You could just see the apple orchard peeping around the side of an old barn. Then suddenly you could hear the crunch of gravel as the carriage proceeded onto the main drive in front of Hollingbourne House and parked beside the large oak tree.

I made my way across to the front doors pulling my coat tighter around me, as I felt the icy December wind chill my cheeks. As I pulled the bell I heard hurried footsteps. I looked back across to the cab where my mother and Ella were making their way across steadily, fighting the strong winds. I dug my chin deeper into my jacket and rubbed my hands together in a futile attempt to warm them and remembered desperately that I'd forgotten my gloves.

I turned back towards the door as I heard someone opening it. My Aunt Louise's appeared. She looked older than I ever remembered her being. Her greying hair was tied tightly back into a bun at the bottom of her neck. She smiled gently and hugged me tight as she whispered in my ear, "Lovely to see you again Jonathan, it's just a shame it had to be here in such strange circumstances."

She led us through to the sitting room passing several policemen on the way; in the room were several comfy chairs and a very welcome fire.

"Would you like something to eat, it must have been a long journey." Asked Louise.

"Yes please," I replied eagerly just as my mother said, "No thank you, if it's all the same to you I would like to have look around straight away."

So we left the warmth of the fire and were led to Andrew's room, my stomach still empty. My mother immediately went over to the window. I looked over to the bed and Ella's word echoed in my head, twisting my stomach. My mother mean while was tracing her fingers around the frame of the window.

A young woman with dark hair and in a white apron entered the room. " Is there anything I can get you?"

My mother spun around, "are you Sarah?"

"No Miss," she replied. "Sarah is down in the kitchen."

"Could you take us to her now?"

Happy for any excuse to be out of the room, I followed as we were taken down to the kitchen and we found Sarah peeling potatoes by the kitchen sink. She looked very pale and I was surprised to see her working after such an event.

"Sarah?"

"Yes miss," she answered standing up trying to hide her confusion.

"No it's alright sit down," my mother said pulling up another chair. "I'm Rosemary Aldridge, the girls' aunt. This may be difficult for you, but we need to know exactly what happened last night can you please try to remember anything you can."

"It was about half past eight in the evening. Katy had just come out of the bath and I was collecting towels and dropping clean ones off. I'd been asked to put some clean towels in for Mr Parnell. The door was locked so I knocked and called out but there was no reply. I tried several times and still I didn't get an answer so I used my own set of keys. Then I went in and…and," her voice faltered and a single tear ran down her cheek, "… and I found him dead in the bed. Excuse me."

Sarah fled from the kitchen in floods of tears.

"Poor girl," I murmured, "must be terribly traumatised."

"Yes, poor dear," sighed Rosemary, "Some fairly useful information though."

Ignoring my confused look she left the kitchen and went back out into the grounds. I quickly followed instantly regretting it, as it was still bitterly cold and my breath rose in clouds before me. If I was bewildered before it was nothing to match what was happening now. I followed my mother around the side of the house. She stopped suddenly and started rattling one of the windows, tracing a finger around the pane.

"Mother?"

She simply replied with, "what's the time?"

"Very nearly one o'clock," I answered replacing my pocket watch.

"Good, nearly time for lunch I think."

Once back in the warmth of the house we headed towards the dinning room on the west side of the house. Upon entering we found my mother's brother Richard. Just as I remembered him, a tall balding man, slightly large around the belly and constantly with a lit pipe in one hand and a newspaper in the other. The usual twinkle in his eyes had vanished and his familiar cheery smile had disappeared. He looked a somewhat broken man. He stood up and made his way around the great oak dinning table. He shook my hand firmly and embraced his sister.

"It's going to be tough but you have to be strong for Katy," she whispered.

"Yes you right as always, I'm distressed but I cannot even begin to imagine what Katy's going through. How are you?" he asked as we sat down.

"Shocked to say the least, I'll do all I can I promise,"

The dinner of roast lamb was eaten in silence and a very sombre mood seemed to have settled upon the estate. The police from the local parish returned after dinner and spent the rest of the afternoon questioning the staff and the rest of the family. My mother and I returned (myself rather unwillingly) to Andrew's room to check over anything the police may of missed. My mother once again examined the windows and this time the door.

"Jonathan, can you check the floorboards and look closely at the walls for any strange bumps," she asked opening the window and looking at it from the outside letting in a blast of cold air.

"Shouldn't we persuade Katy to talk to us or the police, I mean her room is next to this one, perhaps she heard something, "I said getting down on my hands and knees looking around the floor boards by the ancients beams in the walls.

"Although I would really like to go to talk to her we must give her time," my mother said, "but there are other people to ask."

She turned and swiftly left the room. I found her an hour later sitting in the drawing room softly pressing the keys on the piano playing no particular tune. I walked over and asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"Certainly, you just did."

"Why were you so interested in the windows and doors?"

"I was trying to work out how our murder got in," she replied. "Sarah had said the door was locked when she came to put the towels in, when I looked there was no way in without making an awful amount of noise, which would send everybody in the house running. Do you agree?"

I nodded slowly.

"And if the culprit had come through the window they would have to break them as there is no way you're getting through them from the outside, I know this because I tried earlier. This means…"

"…That the murderer was already in there or there is another way in and out," I finished quickly.

"Correct," she continued. "But why was he in bed so early?"

I returned to my room on the north side of the house thoroughly confused with the whole case. It was nearly seven and on my way up the carpeted stairs it was announced that supper would be served at eight. I unhurriedly made my way over to the painted bowl on the large mahogany dresser that stood by one of the windows. As I dipped my hands into the Luke-warm water I stared out into the bare winter gardens. The mist had from this morning had not cleared but had become denser and had crept silently around the house like a wild cat stalking its' prey. I sneezed suddenly and promptly dried my hands on the soft towels. I must have been getting a cold that will teach me not to forget my gloves.

After supper I sat in the sitting room with my mother by the sidelight again engrossed in her book, Uncle Richard in an easy chair by the fire puffing gently on his pipe, a frown creased across his brow. Aunt Louise sat by the firelight, hands shaking as she worked upon her embroidery. I sat there reading the evening newspaper where a small article had been published on Andrew Parnell's sudden death. Ella was in the drawing room practising on the piano, her sad melodies flowing through to the room where we sat. Katy was still shut in her room refusing to speak to anyone. As the clock chimed ten I excused myself and headed for bed trying to ignore the chill that had settled in the house.

The next morning I was awoken by a terrible scream. I sat up briskly and slid my glasses up my nose. I sat there for a moment still drowsy and trying to rub the sleep from my eyes. I quickly came to and jumped out of bed pulling a jacket over my nightwear and rushed out onto the landing. There I found Ella sobbing into her father's chest. I opened my mouth to ask what had happened, but my uncle put a finger to his lips and pointed to the door that lead to Katy's room. I tiptoed across the landing and pushed open the door. I carefully made my way in and gasped, closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself. My mother was bent over the side of the bed picking up some pills and an empty pill bottle from the rug. Aunt Louise clutching Katy's white hand, her grief seemed beyond tears. My mother started sniffing.

"I know this sounds awful, but what is that peculiar smell?"

Louise too started sniffing the air, Katy's hand and smiled sadly, "It smells like Andrew's headache stuff to me."

"I realise this is the most inappropriate thing to ask right now and I apologise, but is that the reason Andrew went to bed early?" My mother continued striding over to one of the beams on the wall.

Louise nodded mutely.

"Does he put it on his pillow?"

"Yes" she replied one of her thin eyebrows arched.

"Excuse me," she whisper as she hastily left the room I quickly followed wondering my mother was suddenly asking bizarre questions I followed out onto the landing with a small crowd of staff had gathered. My mother had gone into Andrew's room and was pulling one of the beams. To my astonishment it had opened into quite a small passage. My mother gasped herself, sat down on the window seat and broke down into tears. I had rarely seen my mother cry accept when my father died. I sat down by her side and put an arm around her.

"I can't believe it…she wouldn't…." my mother choked gasping for air.

"Who wouldn't?"

"Katy, I can't tell them this!"

"Mother, calm down you're not making any sense," I said.

"Andrew was suffocated with his own pillow. He'd gone to bed early complaining of a headache and put his stuff on the pillow," she whispered, her hands shaking. "We agreed that there had to be another way in to this room because you couldn't get in through the window or door. Well there it is," she said pointing to the beam which she just revealed had a secret passage behind.

"That only leads to Katy's room, Katy was the only one here, she'd just taken a bath," she continued. "Katy's hands smelt of Andrew's stuff which he put on his pillow. Andrew was suffocated with his pillow!" she repeated still keeping her voice in a deadly whisper.

"Mother what are you saying?"

"I can't tell them, it would break their hearts!"

"Mother what are you saying" I repeated more urgently.

"Katy killed Andrew!"