"Yes. If it were possible that I might be called as a witness I could
tell the Court things that would probably astonish it; but I leave
everything to the two persons I have brought," she replied in a
tremulous voice.
The jury grew impatient. The excitement was intense.
In a few moments a young and rather showily-attired woman stepped into
the box. As she turned towards me I was puzzled to know where I had
seen the face before. The features seemed quite familiar, yet I could
not recollect.
"You are Jane Maygrove?" asked my counsel.
"Yes."
"Tell us what you know of the murder of Mrs Inglewood. Relate it in
your own way."
She hesitated for a moment and commenced:
"Before I married I was maid to Mrs Inglewood. Mistress was a very
quiet lady, and lived with a cook and myself in Bedford Place. I was in
her service about three months, and although she told me she was
married--and she wore a wedding-ring--her husband never visited her.
Several foreign ladies came to see her on different occasions, but only
one gentleman. He also had the appearance of a foreigner but spoke
English without an accent. One evening, in the latter part of July,
mistress dined alone with this gentleman, and I overheard a conversation
which took place in the drawing-room afterwards. I--"
"Was this gentleman to whom you refer the prisoner?" asked Mr Roland.
"No he was not. On that night I heard the visitor advising mistress to
withdraw her money from a company which he said was on the brink of
collapsing, and place it in his hands to invest. At first she demurred,
and appeared to discredit the rumour that the company was not safe; but,
after a long argument, he exacted a promise that she would withdraw the
money and hand it over to him in cash on the fifteenth of August, when
it was arranged that he should re-invest it for her."
"And what happened on the latter date?"
"Mistress was at home during the day. A clerk called in the afternoon
and handed a small leather bag to her, for which she signed a receipt,
after counting the money. When she had finished, I saw her place the
bag under the sofa, at the same time leaving a small roll of bank-notes
upon the mantelshelf. Previously I had mentioned the matter to my young
man, and it was he who prompted me to act in the manner I did. Well,
about seven o'clock the gentleman arrived, and shortly afterwards
mistress and he went out--to the Cafe Royal, I believe--to dine, as
Mary, our cook, had been dismissed that morning for dishonesty.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account