the inquest

The inquest into the death of Rebecca de Winter was held on the Tuesday afternoon at two o'clock in Lanyon, a market town six miles beyond Kerrith. It was convened after the discovery of Rebecca's sunken sailing boat, Je Reviens, in the bay, with her body lying on the cabin floor. The proceeding was presided over by the Coroner, Mr Horridge, a thin, elderly man in pince-nez, whose slow, careful manner and tendency to go into irrelevant details made him a difficult figure for the anxious participants. The hearing was attended by Maxim de Winter, Frank Crawley, Colonel Julyan, Doctor Phillips, Captain Searle, and the boat-builder James Tabb, as well as by Mrs Danvers and Jack Favell, who sat at the back of the small, stuffy room.

Evidence and the Shift from Accident to Suspicion

The inquest began with straightforward evidence. Captain Searle and the diver testified to the discovery of the boat and the body. Doctor Phillips confirmed the identification of the remains as those of Rebecca de Winter. Maxim de Winter gave his evidence, stating that he had made a mistake in identifying a different body at Edgecoombe over a year ago. The Coroner then called James Tabb, the boat-builder from Kerrith who had converted and maintained Rebecca's boat. Tabb's testimony dramatically altered the course of the inquest. He stated that the boat had sunk on sandy bottom, not on the rocky ridge, and that there were no marks of a rock on her. He then revealed that he had found three holes driven into her planking below the waterline, that the ballast had been shifted, and that the seacocks—fittings that let water into the boat—had been turned full on. Tabb declared his opinion that the boat had never capsized at all but had been deliberately scuttled.

The Coroner's Questioning and Maxim's Testimony

Following Tabb's revelation, the Coroner, Mr Horridge, began a rigorous and pointed examination of Maxim de Winter. He asked Maxim if he knew anything about the holes in the planking, and Maxim replied that he did not. The Coroner pressed him on the implications of Tabb's evidence, forcing Maxim to concede that whoever took the boat out that night must have driven in the planking and opened the seacocks. The atmosphere in the room grew tense and oppressive. The Coroner then asked the most personal and dangerous question: whether relations between Maxim and the late Mrs de Winter had been perfectly happy. Maxim, who had been struggling to maintain his composure, answered the question, but the strain of the interrogation was immense. The second Mrs de Winter, who had slipped into the room to hear the remaining evidence, felt the heat and the pressure become unbearable. As the Coroner continued his questioning, she fainted, and Maxim called out for someone to take her outside.

The Verdict and Its Immediate Aftermath

Despite the dramatic shift in evidence, the jury returned a verdict of suicide. The Coroner and the jury accepted the narrative that Rebecca de Winter, for reasons unknown, had deliberately scuttled her own boat. The verdict was a profound shock to many, including Beatrice Lacy, who telephoned that evening to express her disbelief, calling the idea preposterous and insisting that Rebecca was not the type to kill herself. For Maxim, the verdict was a temporary reprieve, but it immediately opened a new front of danger. Jack Favell, Rebecca's cousin and lover, who had been present at the inquest, used the verdict and the note Rebecca had written to him on the day of her death to accuse Maxim of murder and attempt blackmail. The inquest thus did not close the case but instead set the stage for a final confrontation, forcing Maxim and his allies to travel to London to consult Doctor Baker, whose evidence would ultimately reveal the true motive for Rebecca's actions and provide the legal and moral resolution to the crisis.