The Mystery of Wickworth Manor by Elen Caldecott

Patience was taken from us as she entered the first bloom of womanhood. I cannot speak of the terrible anguish we felt, Father especially. A sickness of the heart and soul struck him upon hearing the dreadful news. He took to his bed, never to rise again.
    ‘“Oh, Father. It is to you that this prayer is offered. You asked something of me that day that I could not do. I could not. The shame would have fallen heavily upon the whole family. Our enemies would have used that shame against us. All would have been lost and men such as Wilberforce and Sharp would have taken it all.
    ‘“But all was lost anyway.
    ‘“Now I know that the shame of breaking my promise was so much worse.
    ‘“I have failed. And now I am too sick to even try. So, I have hidden the one painting in the place where Patience laid her last. All else, in truth, I have commended to our Lord, with the hope that those who should have been honoured will be so in the life hereafter.
    ‘“I am weak. I will hide this prayer too. I will place it inside the globe you loved so much, Father. The globe you brought from the West Indies along with the coach boy, Christopher, whose very name caused me so much shame. I am ready to relinquish this life and submit to judgement in the next.
    ‘“Amen.
    ‘“Verity Burton”’
    Curtis put the paper down. ‘Wow,’ he said.
    ‘Christopher,’ Paige said. ‘The Wickworth Boy was called Christopher.’
    Curtis stood up. He held the letter and moved towards the window. Paige noticed how upright he stood, as though every muscle in his body was tense.
    ‘She sounds like a right piece of work,’ Curtis said.
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘Wilberforce and Sharp were campaigners against the slave trade.’ Curtis’s voice sounded tight, angry.
    Paige moved to his side, and looked out over the lake. ‘So, whatever Verity knew, it would have helped the campaigners? People stayed slaves because she didn’t want to be embarrassed? That’s horrible.’
    Curtis nodded.
    ‘But whatever it was that Verity did, the promise she broke, she felt bad about it. She says so in the letter.’
    ‘Well, that’s all right then,’ Curtis snapped. ‘So long as she’s sorry.’
    ‘There’s no need to take it out on me.’
    There was a pause. ‘Sorry,’ Curtis said. ‘I didn’t mean that. I just feel so angry for Christopher. Whatever happened to him was kept a secret for all these years just to stop a family from being embarrassed. We have to find out what happened to him. We have to put this right.’
    Paige felt a lump form in her throat. She swallowed it down. ‘I want to find out too.’
    ‘Good.’ Curtis moved towards the end of the bed, where Christopher’s portrait was propped. The photograph of his death mask was there too. Curtis added the letter. ‘It’s almost a shrine,’ he said. Then he turned to face her. ‘Any ideas? What should we do next?’
    ‘Well,’ Paige said. ‘We need to think. But just now we’re late for canoeing.’
    Curtis smiled. ‘I can think and paddle at the same time.’

Chapter 26
     
    CJTE/059 Hairbrush and combs, 18th C.
     
    He wondered, sometimes, about the people who rode inside the coach. The family. Did they notice the servants around them? The older girl didn ’ t, of that he was certain. She thought they were no more than wooden puppets, with no mind or thoughts behind the dark surface. Sometimes, she talked as though there was no one but family in the room to hear. Her maid heard all manner of indiscretions as she set the girl ’ s hair; brushing, combing and listening to every word. And all that was said was quickly common knowledge in the servants ’ hall.
    But the younger one? It wasn ’ t clear. She had been heard to say please and thank you. It was said that as a child she had helped her nurserymaid with chores, though that seemed unlikely. She had asked if he would mind rowing her across the lake, she didn ’ t order him to do it.
    Not that he would have been