Scarlet Widow by Graham Masterton

didn’t steal your money, ma’am, and I will swear to that on the Holy Bible.’
    ‘Jenks!’ snapped cousin Sarah. Jenks blinked at her and cupped his left hand around his ear to show her that he was listening.
    ‘Have you been dipping your hand into my jar of coins, young man?’
    Jenks frowned at his hand, turning it this way and that. It was obvious that he didn’t understand what she meant.
    ‘Have you taken any of my money, Jenks? Have you been helping yourself from out of this jar?’
    Jenks vigorously shook his head. ‘No, Mrs Chimney. Not me.’
    ‘ Minchin ,’ cousin Sarah corrected him, but Beatrice could tell by the way she closed her eyes that this wasn’t the first time, and wouldn’t be the last.
    Then cousin Sarah said, ‘Well! Since none of you will confess to taking my money, but one of you must have done, then all of you will have to pay it back. Elizabeth, Agnes, Jenks – you will each have threepence deducted from your weekly wages until the loss is made up, and from you, Beatrice, I will take a shilling from the proceeds of your father’s business.’
    ‘But I didn’t steal any of your money, cousin Sarah!’ Beatrice protested. ‘Why should I have stolen it, when I have so much money of my own?’
    ‘You do not have money of your own, Beatrice. The proceeds from your father’s business are under my trusteeship now, to recompense me for taking care of you, and believe me, that money will not last forever. What then? Will I throw you out on to the street? Of course not.’
    ‘But I still didn’t take any money out of your jar!’
    Cousin Sarah shrugged. ‘I believe that you probably didn’t, my dear. But if the true culprit refuses to come forward and confess, what choice do I have? Why should the poor and the hungry of this parish have to suffer because one of you is so dishonest? Why should they go without shoes, or food for that matter? Goodness me, six shillings and fourpence would buy them three whole pigs, or a dozen rabbits.’
    Elizabeth said, ‘Threepence a week, ma’am? I have my own family to feed.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Elizabeth, but my mind is made up. Or would you rather I called for a bailiff? Please get back to your chores, all of you. If any of you wish to come to me privately and admit that you stole my money, you may do so at any time. In the spirit of Christian charity I will not have you arrested, but I will expect you to return it.’
    They left the dining room and went downstairs to the kitchen. Elizabeth was shaking with anger. ‘I have never in my life done a single dishonest deed!’ she protested. She picked up her pastry-pin and clubbed the ball of pie dough that she had been rolling out on the kitchen table, as if it were cousin Sarah’s head, ‘For Mrs Minchin to accuse me of such a thing and then to take threepence out of my wages! It’s scandalous!’
    ‘Well, it weren’t me, nee-thuh,’ said Agnes. ‘If I thought that I could foind another jub, Oi’d walk right out of that door and not come back.’
    Jenks scratched his head and shrugged. ‘I never took it. What would I spend it on? Besides, I didn’t even know she had it. Or did I? I can’t remember if I did or not.’
    ‘Perhaps somebody came into the house from the street and stole it,’ said Elizabeth. ‘The front door’s often left ajar, isn’t it, when Agnes is sweeping up?’
    ‘That doesn’t really make sense,’ said Beatrice. ‘If a thief had come in from the street, they would have taken the whole jar, wouldn’t they? I think it’s somebody in the house, because they thought they could take a few coins without them being missed.’
    ‘There’s nobody, is there, apart from us, and Mr Roderick, and Master Jeremy?’
    ‘Well, we shall have to see,’ said Beatrice.
    ‘And what does that mean, pray?’ demanded Elizabeth. ‘I’m still going to be short by threepence a week. And I can’t see Mrs Minchin explaining to my children why they have to go a day without