Charlotte House Affair 01 - My Particular Friend

you, they stopped to help?’
    ‘Yes they did, all of them except the man whose pocket was picked, and they were very apologetic but brusque as they wished to continue the chase.’
    ‘And how long afterward did you notice your pocket had been picked?’
    Mr Simms appeared startled by Charlotte’s question. ‘How did you know that?’
    ‘It is an old trick. Please continue.’
    ‘I had progressed down Milsom Street, almost to Quiet Street, when I thought to ensure I still carried Violet’s ring—I felt quite a fool for having forgotten it earlier. That is when I discovered it still safe, but found my purse missing. I returned to where I had been knocked down but could not find it, and then it occurred to me that it had been stolen. I followed in the direction the men had fled but I saw no sign of them.’ #
    ‘Doubtless they ran in a different direction once you were out of sight.’
    ‘Er … yes, that is exactly what happened. I asked passers-by if they had seen the men flee and I learned they had indeed taken another direction. But by then they were already out of sight. And I was already out of my mind for without my purse I could pay neither the registrar nor the chairmen. And I was already late.’
    Mr Simms’s recitation was agitating him afresh and Mrs Fitzhugh said, ‘Calm yourself, sir. This was not your fault.’
    ‘Indeed it was not,’ I added.
    ‘Please continue,’ Charlotte said, upset both by our interruptions and our visitor’s distress. ‘You resumed your journey to the register office.’
    He nodded. ‘I decided I must not delay longer. It would be cruel to keep Violet waiting, so I ran as fast as I could to the Guildhall.’ After these words, grief seemed to take hold of Mr Simms. He looked down to his hands and we heard great wracking sobs and watched his body convulse with anguish. As usual, my tender heart would have me rush to the poor man, but I remained seated, somehow aware I would interrupt Charlotte’s questioning. And I was correct, for she continued: ‘And did you find her already delivered to the register office?’
    ‘What?’ Mr Simms asked in a strangled voice. He looked up to reveal his tear-stained face.
    ‘Was Mrs Brown awaiting your arrival?’
    ‘No, I thought I said, she never stept out the chair.’
    ‘The chair you found waiting for you at the Guildhall? For it must have arrived before you.’
    Confusion was evident on the poor man’s face. ‘No, it arrived at almost the same time as I.’
    ‘Despite your being delayed and the chairmen leaving before you, everyone arrived at the same time?’ Charlotte asked.
    ‘Yes, but that is unimportant. When they lowered the chair and opened the door, my Violet did not exit but another woman entirely!’
    Mrs Fitzhugh and I gasped, but Charlotte displayed no surprise, not even the lifting of an eyebrow.
    ‘Describe this woman,’ she commanded. ‘Does she resemble Mrs Brown?’
    ‘Not at all! My Violet has warm lustrous brown hair and her eyes, oh her eyes are a deep violet and thus her name.’
    ‘Yes, Mr Simms, I’m sure she is lovely, but my question is whether the woman who emerged from the chair resembles Mrs Brown in general?’
    Mr Simms stopped his praise and said, ‘Oh! I suppose she resembled Violet as much as any woman of moderate height with long brown hair.’
    ‘And were they dressed similarly?’
    ‘Yes, I suppose they were. Violet wore a dark blue Spencer with a golden coloured dress and this lady wore a light blue Spencer with a cream dress. But Violet wore a cap and this lady a bonnet.’
    ‘Do you have this woman’s name?’
    ‘I … I believe her name was Mrs … Mulberry?’
    ‘You are not certain?’ I asked.
    ‘No. There was much confusion. I cried out to the chairmen, “Where is Violet?” But they did not understand. I told them the woman who emerged from the chair was not Violet and at the same time the woman demanded to know why she had been brought here.’
    ‘How did the chairmen explain that the woman who emerged was not the woman who had entered?’ Charlotte asked.
    ‘As I just said, they did not explain it. They insisted the woman they delivered was the woman who entered their chair. I asked them whether they remembered me helping Violet inside and they said “of course,” but they insisted this Mrs Mulberry, or whatever her name, was Violet. I called them liars and all the while this woman was angrily accusing the chairmen of abducting her. Then the