Page 35 of The Vanished Sister

Everett Carstairs stood alone, his wife having left him in a defenseless position.

If, that is, he had not created this situation in the first place.

Sergeant Perkins, having jotted down everything that had been said, looked up expectantly.

Inspector MacDonald drew a deep breath. “Mr. Carstairs, according to your sister-in-law Mrs. Watson, Mrs. Carstairs loved you and had always loved you. Why be so wary of her? Why erect so many obstacles to simply loving each other in a union sanctified before God?”

“Did Mrs. Carstairs say that?” Mr. Carstairs smiled ruefully. “I do not wish to accuse Mrs. Carstairs of dishonesty, especially when she’s not here to speak on her own behalf. But I’ve discovered that it isn’t difficult for people to convince themselves of more elevated emotions, especially when it’s convenient. For a woman who wished to become the mistress of Noble House, did it not appear more honorable to fall in love with the man who held it than merely with the prestige attached to his position?”

All the other “men” in the room glanced at one another.

“Let me hasten to add that I do not believe Mrs. Carstairs found me lacking. In fact, I believe she was very satisfied with the master of Noble House. But her love was more that of an expert appraiser, if you would, the delight one takes in a valuable item that also happens to be aesthetically pleasing.”

Once upon a time, the former Lady Ingram had broken the unspoken rule for real-life Cinderellas. The decree, as Charlotte saw it, was that a poor woman who married a rich man for whatever reason should manage a creditable impression of being in love with him, because his wealth had been responsible for her betterment in life and it was the least she could do.

The woman responsible for High Burrow’s charming domesticity could not have failed to clear that minimum standard.

But there was also a corresponding rule for real-life Prince Charmings: They should not discount the appeal of their wealth and position, nor put the affections of their Cinderellas through too many trials by fire. Had Everett Carstairs broken the rule on his end of the spectrum, as Lord Ingram had, in Charlotte’s opinion?

“I wanted more than that. I wanted to be loved for myself, rather than merely for what belongs to me,” said Everett Carstairs, confirming for Charlotte his zealous rule-breaking. “Mrs. Carstairs, being highly perceptive, would try to accommodate that. But it was never anything more than a sop to my vanity. Sometimes she would mount a serious effort, sometimes a punctilious one, but it was always an effort to convince me that she loved me. She was fundamentally incapable of the kind of love I hoped for. So, for the sake of my dignity, I wished her to think that there was a corner of my heart that belonged to someone else.”

Charlotte did not have the highest opinion of marriage as an institution, but the Carstairses’ union sounded exhausting.

However, she had not encountered these disclosures in a confession booth. Every word Sergeant Perkins had written down today, Everett Carstairs had uttered with the intention of clearing his name.

Still, of husband and wife, one was lying. Or were they both flat-out wrong about the person who occupied the most essential place in their lives?

Or were they exactly right about the other but lying about themselves in order to appear more sympathetic in the eyes of the beholder?

Inspector MacDonald took a swallow of his tea and had the dissatisfied look of a man in need of stronger fortification. “Mrs. Albright, who had been conveniently abroad all these years, came back,” he pointed out.

“She did.” Mr. Carstairs emitted a rueful sigh. “And that was an undesirable development, to be sure. I didn’t want my wife to realize that during all the years of our marriage I’d never truly cared for anyone else. So I had to write Mrs. Albright and arrange for a stay for her somewhere near High Burrow. And then invite her to attend our gathering, et cetera.”

“Was Mrs. Albright surprised by your consideration?”

“Perhaps. But she was happy to benefit from it. And I was not above using her to see if I could spark some jealousy in my wife.”

“Did you succeed?”

“I thought I did. When I heard she’d locked herself in her room, I was thrilled. When it became obvious she wasn’t anywhere in the house, I was even more thrilled. But now, all this.” A muscle leaped at the corner of Mr. Carstairs’s eye. “I can only hope that she is now beyond vexed that I haven’t found her yet. I can only hope so.”

Inspector MacDonald had invited Sherrinford Holmes to take part in the questioning of Everett Carstairs. But Charlotte was content to spectate, except to ask, at the very end of the interview, whether Mr. Carstairs knew that his wife had gifted a valuable diamond parure to Mrs. Watson.

Everett Carstairs’s eyes widened. “I did not. She informed me that she’d seen Mrs. Watson quite by chance and invited the latter to join us—I had no idea a bribe had been involved in addition.”

“Did Mrs. Carstairs give a reason as to why she wished for this rather abrupt reconciliation?”

“Only that it was time to let bygones be bygones.” Everett Carstairs shook his head, apparently still astounded by Charlotte’s revelation. “That was truly extraordinary. My wife dearly loves her jewelry and has not gifted anything so fine even to her daughter.”

Did Charlotte detect a note of dissatisfaction? “Do you have any guesses, sir, as to why Mrs. Carstairs went to such lengths to secure Mrs. Watson’s presence at High Burrow?”

“I have given it a great deal of thought, especially after we discovered her missing. But it wasn’t until I met you last night, Mr. Holmes, that it occurred to me that perhaps she wished the matter of her disappearance to come to your attention.”

Everett Carstairs, whose gaze was at once exasperated, resigned, and curious, locked eyes with Sherrinford Holmes. “Do you not agree, sir?”

Mrs. Albright’s hired trap arrived as Mr. Carstairs was about to climb into his own carriage. He stopped, went to the trap, and assisted her in her descent.

Despite this courteous gesture, his demeanor was aloof. This, presumably, was not how he had acted during the house party. Yet Mrs. Albright did not seem either surprised or vexed.