Charlotte House Affair 01 - My Particular Friend

‘but he gave me a penny too and sent me to buy him a sweet. And one for me.’
    Charlotte could not control our surprise at this, nor did she try. The boy did not seem to feel it directed to him and instead smiled, as if he had done a conjuring trick. Charlotte opened her reticule and gave the boy a coin.
    ‘Here you are, Kenneth, for being a clever boy. You may buy yourself a sweet whenever you like. Now run along.’
    The boy took the coin, bobbed his head in thanks and flew from the room. Once he had left, she turned to us and said, ‘So now we know that with the boy gone Edward had ample opportunity to remove the map. But we must have proof that the map has been taken. Mr Clarke, would you open the strongbox?’
    Mr Clarke looked surprised at this request. ‘But I do not have the key. We were to have another made, but at present only Mr Haversham has a key.’
    ‘H’m, that is most annoying. Until we can confirm that the map was stolen …’
    ‘It most certainly was not stolen, Miss House,’ the partner assured us. ‘I talked to George later that day and he told me he locked the map in this strongbox, which as you can see remains unopened. Let me speak frankly—and I regret what harm this might cause you, Miss Streetham—there can be no good in looking into this matter. What is done is done. We speculated and we lost.’
    ‘You are remarkably philosophic, sir,’ I said. Privately I wondered whether Mr Clarke’s losses were as severe as Mr Haversham’s.
    ‘We are in business, ma’am. Business is risk. Now I don’t wish to be rude, but this reversal of fortune does not mean I have leisure for conversation. Far from it, in fact.’
    ‘Of course, Mr Clarke,’ Charlotte said. ‘I appreciate your taking the time to talk to us. We shall see ourselves out then.’
    But she stopped our departure to ask one further question. ‘Mr Clarke, can you remember whether the door to the office was locked the next day?’
    He hesitated but a moment before answering. ‘Yes, I remember unlocking the door the following morning.’
    We made our goodbyes again and left, although as she was leaving, she caught the attention of Kenneth and bade him step outside the office.
    ‘Kenneth, is it your job to keep the office neat and tidy?’ she asked him.
    He nodded uncertainly.
    ‘Do you throw out the trash every day?’
    He nodded. ‘Then you haven’t done a very good job of it. I saw a box filled with trash in the office. Why don’t you empty it now?’
    The boy eyes widened. He ran back into the office and emerged a few seconds later with the box.
    ‘Let us follow him,’ Charlotte said.
    We were puzzled but followed and found the boy behind the building where he put all the paper into a large box, presumably to be later given to the rag and bone man.
    ‘Thank you, Kenneth. Here, have some more sweets,’ she said, and gave another coin to the boy, who took it and ran away.
    ‘What was that all about?’ I asked. ‘Was it really necessary to chide the boy?’
    ‘Oh, Jane, he is not harmed. Sweets will soothe any unpleasantness. And now we are done here, I think.’
    ‘Have you come to any conclusions, Miss House?’ Miss Streetham asked.
    ‘Oh, it is too early for that. But I have made some observations that may prove useful. What I need now is to talk to Mr Edward Haversham, and if you can arrange that Miss Streetham, perhaps some conclusions may be in the offing.’
    —&—
    We returned to Mr Haversham’s house with the short winter day long gone. Advised by Miss Streetham, Charlotte despatched messages to Mr Edward, hoping that she might find him in Bath, prevailing on his friends, or in Bradford at any of the inns he frequented. The difficulty being that as his circumstances rose but mostly fell, his lodgings became increasingly casual, making it difficult for a communication to reach him.
    ‘I fear it may be some time before we hear from him,’ Miss Streetham warned us. ‘If any of his ventures are successful, usually proceeds from a card game, then he indulges in luxury. But George has also told me of some of the more squalid hiding holes in which he has found Edward. He is so forgiving of Edward and almost seems to envy him at times.’
    ‘That is an unusual comment,’ I said. We were seated at dinner, which had been delayed by some further distress afflicting Mr Haversham, necessitating a call from an apothecary who supplied a sleeping draught. It had been very distressing to hear the