Chapter 15

“Thank you, Chef. You certainly pay attention; despite being stuck in the kitchen for most of the time.”

“Mr. Jeeves, that young lady visits me here from time to time, and we chat. She is an interesting young woman, for a teenager.”

“I am sure you are right, Chef. Thank you for the information.”

I retreated and headed for the back door. Passing a window, I looked out at the weather, and saw it was bright and sunny, fine for a walk in the gardens without an overcoat.

Going out the door, I scanned for Miss Catherine. She was perched on a long garden seat, the kind with metal uprights and polished wooden slats to sit on. In the distance, the gardener could just be seen clipping a hedge.

I strode slowly towards her, uttering a small cough to warn her of my approach. She smiled brightly at my appearance.

“Hi, Jeeves. Something up, to bring you out into the real world?”

“You could say that, miss. I have a concern I would like to share with you, if I may?”

She looked surprised at this concept. “You value my advice, Jeeves? That is indeed a compliment for a girl not long finished school!”

“Miss, it is not a concern for myself that I have. I fear your father might be facing a possible industrial tribunal, if he does not reassess his priorities.”

“Ah, I see. You don’t want to approach him yourself, as you think it is not your place to do so?”

“Quite correct, Miss. There was a contretemps between him and Miss Frobisher earlier, and I fear that his treatment of her on the occasion was, on her part, frightening.”

“Frightening? What was Daddy up to? That is not him, normally.”

“He had his own worries, miss, but the subject is not one I can talk about for the present. Suffice it to say, he lost his temper and began shouting at her, making heinous accusations. I was able to arrive and intervene verbally, and calmed the situation somewhat.”

“That sounds horrible, Jeeves. It must have been difficult for you.”

“Indeed, Miss Catherine. Your father is still uptight and so I considered it advisable to absent myself for a while, rather than bring up this question. You see, miss, with what has occurred, Miss Frobisher has a clear case for going to an industrial court, claiming verbal abuse and unwarranted accusations. She would probably be able to claim substantial damages, and probably constructive dismissal, such that further compensation would possibly be awarded.

I am sure that your father would not want to be involved in such a high profile case, that would inevitably be reported in the media.”

Miss Catherine regarded me fondly. “You are a good man, Jeeves. You try to look after the reputation and character of everyone around you, even when that is at times not fully justified. I will speak to Daddy, and get him to treat Miss Frobisher carefully.”

“Thank you, Miss Catherine. That is all I ask.”

She seemed still preoccupied with something else, so I asked her, “Miss Catherine, was there something you wished to learn from the gardener? I have some experience of gardening, at my parents’ home, if that may be of help.

“Oh, no, Jeeves. I was watching to see if Frobisher would appear.”

“I am confused, miss. What would Frobisher’s appearance here have to do with the gardener? Is she looking for gardening tips as well?”

“That’s what I want to know, Jeeves. She has a habit of walking in the garden when the gardener is about, from my occasional observation. I thought it might be a romantic interest, but she has an interest in you, Jeeves, so that two romantic inclinations at the same time seems excessive.”

“Interest in gardening seems a much more persuasive argument, miss. The young man appears to be a bit younger than her, as well.”

“There is that, Jeeves. Of course, I am much younger than you, for that matter.”

I felt myself blush. “Miss Catherine, I have already explained my position vis-à-vis you.”

“You have, Jeeves, and I have accepted it for the time being. How long is your contract for?”

“It is one of indeterminate length, miss. There is a basic period, which I believe is six months, and it will be reviewed thereafter. It is a matter between the Company and the client, not of myself.”

“So if I can get Daddy to sack you, you become available for romantic entanglement?”

“That is unfair of you, Miss Catherine, and unbecoming a lovely young lady. I expect better of someone in your position.”

“Phooey, Jeeves. A girl does what a girl has to do, so there.” She stood and flounced off, back to the house.

I left off getting in touch with Miss Frobisher for the moment. Dawes would continue to regard her with suspicion, I expected, so I did not want to be tainted by appearing too concerned for her.

It was the next day, late morning, before I spotted Miss Frobisher headed out to the back garden. I followed her, and when at last she realised I was there, she rounded on me.

“What do you want, Jeeves? I have enough troubles from Mr. Dawes without being followed by his butler.”

I made sure she saw me examining her intently before I spoke in a quiet voice. “Miss Frobisher, you are in a tricky position, but I have your best interests at heart. I steered Mr. Dawes away from accusing you, as I don’t think your cover could stand up to full scrutiny.”

“Eh? What are you saying? You are talking balderdash!”

“Really? If we switch to art, do you think the painting in the reception hall is a Constable? Mind you, I think Constable moved to London from Suffolk, not Yorkshire.”

She gaped at me, but I could see her mind slowly linking some of my words together in the desired configuration. I decided on a final push, and continued quietly.

“Miss Catherine is puzzled at your garden walks so often coinciding with the presence of the gardener. She though it might be a romantic interest, but I see it more as a point of communication with nature.”

She stopped dead as this hit home, but said nothing.

I continued, “I asked Miss Catherine to convey to her father that you might go to an industrial tribunal and seek damages for verbal abuse and unwarranted accusations, possible grounds for constructive dismissal. I advised that this might possibly be avoided if he treated you better. I know that you would never expose yourself to such a tribunal, so I would suggest that your best action is to take your leave of the household.”

She stared at me again, then whispered, “Who are you, Jeeves?”

I raised my hand as if brushing off a fly. “Nothing that need concern you, my dear, but you and I have similar interests, if at somewhat different levels. I think your talents might be better employed elsewhere.”

She said nothing for a while, as we resumed a gentle walk between the hedges and flower beds. Then she spoke.

“I think I shall resign shortly, Jeeves. Present circumstances are not conducive for me to work at my best. Can I assume you will look after Mr. Dawes’ ... interests ... effectively?”

“I am already doing what I can, Miss Frobisher. With Mr. Dawes’ current financial crisis, my employment may not last much longer here. However, he has other non-financial assets that still retain some value.”

Her face lit up. “You mean these objects that you photographed?”

I glowered at her. “Felicity, that file is password protected.” I deliberately used her first name.

“But your pictures were not, prior to linking to your inventory,” she retorted.

“True. I shall consider myself reprimanded for that.”

I found that we had wandered through the hedge pattern almost in a circle, and were coming out facing the house, so I cut off our deep discussion in case we were overheard.

“It was nice to chat to you, Miss Frobisher. I am pleased that you have calmed down, as I was concerned for your balance, and remain so.”

Thankfully, she was also able to switch to ‘harmless’ mode.

“I enjoyed our discussion, Jeeves. It is nice that a fellow employee shows consideration for my mental health. I must get back to work now, and I still cannot tell you what I am doing for Mr. Dawes.”

We parted amicably, going our separate ways.

It was a shock to be accosted by Mr. Jones half an hour later. “Jeeves! What were you up to with Frobisher?”

“Pardon?” I asked. “What do you mean, “up to?”

“You were out in the garden with her, talking.”

I frowned at him. “Yes... ?” I managed to look puzzled at the question.

“What were you talking about?”

I glowered at him. “Mr. Jones, I am not here to be interrogated by you when I speak to another member of the staff. I have my own staff responsibilities as butler.”

“No, it is not that. Mr. Dawes wanted me to keep an eye on her and what she was doing.”

“Oh, I see. Well, no problem there. I saw she was heading out to the garden, and after what had happened to her, I was afraid she might run away, or burst into tears, or something. I wanted to be there for her, and show my concern for her well-being. She was not too upset, as it happened, but she appreciated my concern.”

“Okay, Jeeves. I can understand that. It was just that you were out of sight of the CCTV cameras for a while.”

“Cameras? Oh, I had forgotten about that. I am so seldom in the garden. The cameras cover parts of the layout, do they?”

“Yeah. Maybe we should have more cameras in the garden?”

“I quite agree. We should have cameras all over the grounds, so we can keep an eye on the gardener, to make sure he is doing his job properly. However, that would be a considerable extra expense, more work by someone to check on what the cameras are seeing, and it is just as easy to have a look at the garden and see what the gardener has done, just like most residents would do.”

“Oh. You don’t think it is a good idea, Jeeves?”

“Honestly, Mr. Jones, I think it would be a waste of time, unless the cameras were aligned to watch the boundaries of the house grounds. That is the weak spot: the fences and walls on the perimeter. Link them with movement sensors, and that makes checking simpler and more effective. Frobisher is not a threat, but intruders certainly would be.”

As he absorbed this, I continued, “One possibility might be these teenage boys that I had a run-in with. They could approach at night, get into the garden, and look to attack me by surprise if they could. That is a simplistic example, but makes the point about the perimeter. Other than that, we are now cognisant that we have valuable artwork in the house, which would be an attractive prospect for a burglar.”

“I take your point, Jeeves. Your insight into security aspects is quite sharp. You should ask your Company to retrain you for security services to the wealthy.”