Elizabeth Mansfield Read Free Page A

being made to defend himself, but he had no choice but to swallow his pride. “Yes, sir. If you say so, sir. From the beginning. This here ladybird came up to m—”
    “Dorking!” Mr. Chast admonished.
    “Sorry. The young lady came up to me asking for cambric. I showed her three or four bolts, and she chose the stripes here. Said she needed five yards. I measured them off and cut the piece.”
    “Where did you do the cutting?” the officer asked.
    “Right there, where the yardstick is.”
    Captain Rossiter carefully inspected the counter and the floor below. There was no coin. “Very well,” he told the clerk. “Go on.”
    Dorking smirked. “
Told
you there’s no guinea there.”
    “Go
on
, I said!” Captain Rossiter snapped.
    The smirk on Dorking’s face vanished at once. He’d finally perceived what Mr. Chast had noticed long before—that this gentleman was not one to cross. “Yes, m’lord. Sorry, m’lord,” he mumbled hurriedly and proceeded with his tale. “After I cut the goods, I folded it like always and then I went to the table there, where we keep the wrapping paper, and I made up the parcel. Then I took it over to the lady, handed it over and asked for thirteen shillings fourpence. And that’s when she said, I already gave you a guinea. But she never did.”
    “No,” the girl said, glancing from one to the other fearfully. “It wasn’t like that.”
    “Then give us
your
account, ma’am,” the officer urged. “Go on. There’s no need to be afraid.”
    The girl clenched her fists bravely. “He … he cut the cambric, brought it here where I was standing and folded it in front of me. It was then, you see, that I handed him the guinea. I
did, truly
! He took the coin and the fabric, turned and walked away to the wrapping table.”
    “Hang it,” the clerk burst out, “it’s a damn lie! She never—!”
    “Dorking, watch your blasted tongue!” the linendraper hissed.
    Captain Rossiter knit his brow in thought. “If she
had
given you the guinea, Mr. Dorking, what would you have done with it?” he asked.
    “Dropped it in the cash box, of course,” Dorking answered promptly. “But she didn’t.”
    “But what if she did? Where is the cash box?”
    “Right there, on the table near the wrapping things.”
    “Ah!” The captain’s eyes lit. “Isn’t it possible that you could have dropped the coin in the cash box before you wrapped the parcel? Without thinking about it?”
    Mr. Dorking was not going to back down, even for a nob. Even for a nob as awesome as this one. He shook his head firmly. “No, my lord, not at all possible.”
    “But why not? What if you were thinking of something else? You could have dropped the coin in the cash box quite automatically, couldn’t you? It
is
possible, I suspect. Dropping coins in the box must surely be a habit by this time. After all, it is something you do all day, every day.”
    “It isn’t likely he wouldn’t be aware of it,” Mr. Chast put in. “You see, when he puts money in the cash box, he must note the amount on his ledger.”
    “But if his mind was preoccupied … if he wasn’t thinking—”
    Mr. Chast rubbed his fingers on the bridge of his nose. “Let’s admit that there is a possibility that he dropped the coin into the box, my lord. I shall look into the matter. I give you my word that I shall personally tally up Mr. Dorking’s cash box at the end of the day today, and if there is an overage of a guinea, I shall make restitution to the young lady myself.”
    Miss Chivers made a sound of despair in her throat. She couldn’t help herself. The linendraper’s words had upset her. So long a delay would spoil everything. If he didn’t find her guinea until the end of the day, she would not be vindicated before the onlookers, and, what was worse, she would not be able to go home until terribly late.
    Captain Rossiter fully understood her feelings. “Oh, no, Mr. Chast, that won’t do,” he said firmly, placing a