Death at Glamis Castle Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  CHAPTER ONE - Wednesday, 14 August 1901 Housesteads, Northumberland

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE - Near Kirriemuir, Forfarshire, Scotland

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE - Wilhelmstrasse, Berlin

  CHAPTER SIX - Glamis Village, Forfarshire, Scotland

  CHAPTER SEVEN - Thursday, 15 August 1901 Glamis, Forfarshire, Scotland

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - Friday, 16 August 1901

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR - Saturday, 17 August 1901

  AUTHORS’ NOTE

  REFERENCES

  “Robin Paige’s detectives do for turn-of-the-century technology and detection what Elizabeth Peters’ Peabody and Emerson have done for Victorian Egyptology.”

  —Gothic Journal

  Death at Glamis Castle

  “Gypsy prophecies, singalongs at the pub, a possible ghost or two: There’s something for everyone. And if you don’t fall in love with Glamis Castle, you haven’t a wee dram o’ romance in your soul.”—Kirkus Reviews

  “An excellent mystery that involves German spies, a dark conspiracy, and a servant who is loyal and devoted to a once-crowned prince. This work is rich in atmosphere and gives the audience a feel for the period after Queen Victoria’s death.”

  —The Best Reviews

  “Dualities abound in Paige’s mix of real and fictional characters.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  Death at Dartmoor

  “Paige has crafted another convincingly detailed Victorian mystery, sure to please fans and new readers alike.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “A fantasia on themes from The Hound of the Baskervilles whose focus on the Sheridans shows an altogether more lighthearted side of the moors than Doyle ever revealed.”—Kirkus Reviews

  Death at Epsom Downs

  “Enough danger and intrigue to keep readers turning the pages, which are filled with vivid historical detail.”—Booklist

  “Readers who like their historical mysteries on the lighter side will find much to enjoy here.”—Publishers Weekly

  “Even-tempered prose, period conversation, historical characters, dialect, and culture will make this a solid addition to the series.”—Library Journal

  “The cleverly arranged mystery absorbs the audience, but takes a backseat to the human drama at the tail end of the nineteenth century. Robin Paige provides a page-turning novel that will entice historical fiction buffs and Victorian mystery readers to seek her previous works in a strong series.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “If you like mysteries with real characters and historical settings, you will enjoy this series.”—The Stuart News (Stuart, FL)

  More praise for Robin Paige’s Victorian Mysteries

  “I read it with enjoyment . . . I found myself burning for the injustices of it, and caring what happened to the people.”

  —Anne Perry

  “Wonderfully gothic . . . A bright and lively re-creation of late-Victorian society.”—Sharan Newman

  “Good stories with a nice feel for the period. Intriguing and intelligent.”—Mysterious Women

  “An original and intelligent sleuth . . . a vivid re-creation of Victorian England.”—Jean Hager, author of Blooming Murder

  “Absolutely riveting . . . An extremely articulate, genuine mystery, with well-drawn, compelling characters.”

  —Meritorious Mysteries

  “Robin Paige provides readers with an excellent historical mystery that will have genre fans searching for the previous novels in this special, one-of-a-kind series.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  The Victorian Mystery Series by Robin Paige

  Death at Bishop’s Keep

  ... in which our detectives Kate Ardleigh and Sir Charles Sheridan meet for the first time as they are drawn into a lurid conspiracy ...

  Death at Gallows Green

  ... in which two mysterious deaths bring Kate and Sir Charles together once more to solve the secrets of Gallows Green ...

  Death at Daisy’s Folly

  ... in which Charles and Kate discover that even the highest levels of society are no refuge from the lowest of deeds—such as murder ...

  Death at Devil’s Bridge

  ... in which newlyweds Charles and Kate Sheridan begin their lives at Bishop’s Keep—only to find a new mystery right in their own backyard ...

  Death at Rottingdean

  ... in which a seaside holiday for Charles and Kate becomes a working vacation when the body of a coast guard is discovered on the beach of Smuggler’s Village ...

  Death at Whitechapel

  ... in which a friend of the Sheridans’ is blackmailed—by someone who claims to have proof that her son’s father was none other than the notorious Jack the Ripper ...

  Death at Epsom Downs

  ... in which a jockey is murdered on Derby day, leaving Charles and Kate to embark on a race for justice ...

  Death at Dartmoor

  ... in which Charles and Kate head to Britain’s most notorious prison to clear the name of a man who insists on maintaining his own guilt—despite evidence to the contrary ...

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  DEATH AT GLAMIS CASTLE

  A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author

  Copyright © 2004 by Susan Wittig Albert and William J. Albert.

  All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. For information: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  eISBN : 978-0-425-19264-1

  Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. The name BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the BERKLEY PRIME CRIME design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  This book is dedicated to the memory of

  Cha
rles P. Albert

  1908-1999

  TO THE READER

  We occasionally (and deliberately) leave plot elements unresolved in our books, with the intention of taking them up later. Death at Glamis Castle is a continuation of two previous books: Death at Whitechapel, which dealt with Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, eldest son of Bertie and Alexandra, and heir presumptive to the throne of Great Britain; and Death at Rottingdean, in which a German agent, Ludwig von Hauptmann, attempts to smuggle arms into England in preparation for an invasion. In this book, we continue the story of the unfortunate prince for whom the crown was a curse that he could not escape, and his unwitting role in the Great Game.

  Robin Paige

  Bill and Susan Albert

  Bertram, Texas

  December 2001

  CAST OF CHARACTERS * Indicates historical persons

  Glamis Castle: Visitors, Residents, Staff

  Charles, Lord Sheridan, Baron Somersworth

  Lady Kathryn Ardleigh Sheridan, Baroness Somersworth, aka Beryl Bardwell

  *Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward (Eddy), aka Lord Osborne, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, eldest son of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra

  *Princess Victoria (Toria), daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra

  *Lady Glamis (Cecilia Bowes-Lyon), wife of Lord Glamis, eldest son of Claude Bowes-Lyon, thirteenth Earl of Strathmore

  *Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, youngest daughter of Lord and Lady Glamis, afterward wife of King George VI and mother of Queen Elizabeth II, beloved as the Queen Mother

  Angus Duff, Glamis estate factor

  Simpson, house steward

  Hilda Memsdorff MacDonald, housemaid (deceased)

  Flora MacDonald, housemaid, daughter of Hilda MacDonald

  Gladys, housemaid

  Mrs. Leslie, housekeeper

  Mrs. Thompson, cook

  Mrs. Wollie, laundress

  Sally, kitchenmaid

  Douglas Hamilton, assistant gamekeeper

  Glamis Village, Residents and Visitors

  Doctor Henry Ogilvy, village physician and the King’s Coroner

  Oliver Graham, village constable

  Herman Memsdorff, visitor from Edinburgh, nephew of Hilda MacDonald

  Alan Donovan, visiting collector of Scottish ballads

  Taiso, itinerant gypsy tinker

  Military and Diplomatic Personnel

  Colonel John Paddington, Coldstream Guards

  Captain Andrew Kirk-Smythe, British Intelligence

  *Friedrich von Holstein, First Counselor, Political Department, German Foreign Ministry

  Count Ludwig von Hauptmann, German Intelligence

  Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,

  “Onward,” the sailors cry;

  Carry the lad that’s born to be king

  Over the sea to Skye.

  “Skye Boat Song”

  Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be

  What thou art promised.

  Macbeth

  William Shakespeare

  PROLOGUE

  Sing me a song of a lad that is gone,

  Say, could that lad be I?

  Merry of soul he sailed on a day

  Over the sea to Skye.

  Give me again all that was there,

  Give me the sun that shone!

  Give me the eyes, give me the soul,

  Give me the lad that’s gone!

  “Songs of Travel” Robert Louis Stevenson

  Huddled in the back of the cold, damp cave, under a heap of loose straw, the man woke with a start. His hands were bound behind him and he was gagged, nor was this the full extent of his discomforts. He couldn’t remember when he had last eaten a full meal, or worn dry clothing, or slept in a dry bed. All he could remember was the cold, wet, unending slog through wild and desolate glens and dismal forests, where he stumbled often, his clothes wet through from falling into rippling burns, his arms and legs scraped and bruised from tumbling down rocky banks. It seemed as if he had been wandering for centuries; his past life, whatever that may once have been, was now utterly obliterated, and he recalled only that he had been shut up somewhere in a castle, was mindful only that he must reach the Isle of Skye, where there was refuge and safety and a ship that would take him to France.

  He closed his eyes, wishing that his head did not hurt, that he could think more clearly, that he knew what day it was. He had been dragged from the castle in the evening—one or two evenings ago?—and had been brought to this cave, and bound and gagged and hidden under the straw. From time to time, when both of the men were there, they’d let him loose to answer the call of nature. Then they’d given him a piece of dry bread and a cup of tea, and tied him up again, heaping straw over him to hide him.

  He groaned despairingly. His men, those faithful Highlanders who had rallied to the Stuart flag of Bonnie Prince Charlie—where were they now? Lost in the forest? Dead on the bloody field at Culloden? Or just as likely waylaid and murdered by Cumberland’s bloody British troops, who had for the past months pursued him through the Highlands like a wounded stag. And it was not only him they were after, but all those who had given him their trust, killing and plundering and burning, even among the peaceful clans who had not joined the Forty-five Rebellion.

  And where was Flora, the young woman who had served him so long and so devotedly? If only she were here, all would be well, for she had the strength he seemed now to lack, courage and strength and common sense. If Flora were with him, she would see him to Skye, and safety, and the ship to France.

  Even if he could manage to free himself, he knew he would never reach Skye without Flora’s help.

  Without Flora, he was lost.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Wednesday, 14 August 1901 Housesteads, Northumberland

  We now enter Housesteads, this city of the dead. All is silent; but dead indeed to all human sympathies must the soul of that man be who, in each broken column, each turf-covered mound, each deserted hall, does not recognize a voice telling him, trumpet-tongued, of the rise and fall of empires, of the doom and ultimate destiny of man.

  The Handbook of the Roman Wall, 1885

  J. Collingwood Bruce

  Finding a comfortable spot among the basalt outcrop-pings, Kate Sheridan set down her camera, dropped her canvas pack, and took several long breaths. Climbing to the top of the craggy peak had not been easy, but her perch afforded a stunning view of the rugged north country.

  Below and to the east, she could see the remains of the old Roman Wall erected at the command of the Emperor Hadrian, snaking across the green hills of Northumberland, its spiny ridge lost at last in the late-summer haze and clouds along the distant horizon. Nearer at hand lay what was left of the stone walls of Housesteads, the fortified Roman camp where her husband, Lord Charles Sheridan, was helping to complete the excavation of the main street, the via principalis, in the company of five or six members of the Newcastle Society of Antiquaries, and where Kate had been taking photographs. Earlier in the day, she had walked through the ancient fort with something like awe, treading on the stones that had been worn by the feet of Roman soldiers, tracing with her fingers the Latin words dedicating a stone altar to Jupiter, reflecting on the rise and fall of that long-ago empire and its gods, now all but forgotten in the crusade to build a new British Empire.

  Kate picked up her camera—a compact twin-lens model—and looked through the viewfinder. This was a fine vantage point from which to take photographs, and she snapped several, intending to develop them that evening in her new portable developing tent. As she turned to take another, she noticed her husband, who was seated far beneath her on the stones of Hadrian’s Wall, gazing contemplatively over what had once been the home of the fierce and barbaric Picts. Not far away, their Panhard was parked at a precarious angle on the slope beneath Housesteads—the very first automobile, according to the Newcastle group, ever to have jolted its bone-jarring way to this section of the Wall.<
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  When Kate finished taking pictures, she sat down and opened her pack, pulling out the packet of letters she had received that morning at the Princess Lodge in Haydon Bridge, where she and Charles had stayed the night before. The first smelled faintly of lemon furniture polish and was from her housekeeper Amelia, letting her know of the goings-on at Bishop’s Keep, where Kate and Charles lived for much of the year: the cozy, domestic details of kitchen and garden, of household staff and the nearby village of Dedham, that made home seem suddenly sweet and precious to her. They had been away for a fortnight on this trip, and now that autumn was almost upon them, she was anxious to be back in East Anglia.