The story of my first enquiries in Hampshire is soon told. Not a single person in the village of Blackwater could remember exactly when Sir Percival Glyde had left. Even the gardener at the house could only say it was some time in the last ten days of july.
‘So, on to the next plan,’ I said to Marian back in London,’which is to pursue the secret. I need to talk to Anne Catherick’s mother, but first I must find out something about her from Mrs Clements, Anne’s friend. But how do I find Mrs Clement?’
Marian had the answer to that. ‘You remember the farm she and Anne Stayed at near Limmeridge? We’ll write to them – they might know Mrs Clements’ address.’
We were lucky. The farmer’s wife did know the address, and wrote back by return to tell us. It was in London, not far from our rooms, and the next morning I was knocking at the door.
Mrs Clements was anxious to know if I had brought her any news of Anne, and very sad to learn that I had not. However , she was willing to tell me everything she knew.
‘After leaving Limmeridge, sir,’ she said, ‘Anne and I went to live in the north east of England, and that’s when Anne started to suffer from heart disease. She wasn’t at all well, but she insisted on travelling to Hampshire, because she wanted to speak to Lady Glyde. So we went there and stayed in a village near Blackwater – not too close as Anne was so frightened of Sir Percival.
‘Each time Anne went to the lake to try to speak to Lady Glyde, I followed her at a distance. But the long walks made her so exhausted that she became ill again, so finally I went to the lake in her place tp meet Lady Glyde. She didn’t come that day,
But a very fat man came instead with a message from her. The message was that we should return to London immediately , as Sir Percival would certainly find us if we stayed longer. Lady Glyde was going to London herself very soon and if we sent her our address, she would contact us.’
‘But she didn’t,did she?’ I said, thinking how cleverly Count Fosco had lied to this kind woman.