The Egyptian Mystery (Penny Green Series Book 11) (Penny Green Victorian Mystery Series) by Emily Organ

Author:Emily Organ [Organ, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

“Absolutely not!” exclaimed James when I explained Father’s request that evening. “I hope you made that abundantly clear to him!”

“Almost.”

“Almost?! What do you mean almost? There is no possible way we can have his common-law wife and five children living under our roof! We have three bedrooms and one of those is your writing room. Where do you propose to put them all?”

“I’m not proposing anything. I just need to find a way to tell him it isn’t possible.”

“Yes, you do. The gall of the man! Fancy making such a request of his daughter. Can you imagine what the neighbours would say if we let six members of an Amazonian tribe move into their street?”

“I’m not particularly interested in the opinion of our neighbours.”

“Neither am I, usually. But they would stand outside the house and stare! Is that what you want?”

“No, and I know that I need to turn down his request. The difficulty is, I simply don’t know how.”

“You just need to tell him straight, Penny. That should be the end of the matter.”

James poured himself a whiskey. Once he had calmed down a little, he told me about his visit to Wormwood Scrubs prison earlier in the day.

“I was the guest of Mr Jack Tremmel there,” he said. “A former associate of Charles Hamilton.”

“I hope he was a good host,” I replied with a smile.

“Not too bad, considering that convicts don’t tend to like policemen as a general rule.”

“I wonder why…”

“It’s rather a puzzle, isn’t it? Anyway, I think he might have warmed to me a little given that I managed to negotiate five days of parole for him in return for helping me with my investigation. He’s been incarcerated for four years, and seems to be a well-behaved inmate.”

“What did he say about Mr Hamilton?”

“He knew him as Robert Higgins.”

“Is that his real name?”

“I doubt it, somehow. He told me Higgins liked to consider himself a gentleman, despite his humble beginnings. He put on airs and graces, and apparently went around telling people he was descended from a French marquess.”

I sniggered.

“It might be true, Penny!” He winked. “Anyway, Tremmel painted a picture of a man who liked to think he was a little better than he was. He envied the large homes of the landed gentry and aspired to be just like them. Tremmel told me Higgins was a clever man, with the ability to absorb knowledge. He took a keen interest in the arts and regularly went to the theatre, concert performances and lectures. In the brief time Tremmel knew him, Higgins managed to significantly elevate his status.”

“Although he was actually a thief.”

“Yes. We’ve come across gentleman criminals before, haven’t we? Although I’m not quite sure Higgins ever managed to fully acquire the genteel manners of the upper classes. Tremmel told me that Higgins spent a great deal of time touring villages close to London and looking up the homes of wealthy folk. He read the newspapers every day, looking out for any mention of

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