Murder at Locke Abbey (18 page)

“But you haven’t been staying very long.”

“I know, but when things are sorted and our guests finally return home, everything will be as it used to be and we’ll have time for stories and to go riding and walking.”

“Then I hope they go soon.” Sylvia smiled.

“Miss Sylvia, that is rude, the governess, Mrs Cutler said as she entered the room.

Cole caught his sister’s eye and gave her a mischievous wink. “Me too.”

“We have to resume our studies now, Master Cole. Please also remove that dog, he is not allowed in the school room.”

“Of course. Thank you, Mrs
Cutler.” He went to Marie and kissed her goodbye as well, then took Thea’s hand and led her from the room.

“They’re lovely children,” she said.

“Aren’t they? I’m not convinced they’re related to me but they are very dear to me.”

Thea looked surprised. “Do you have proof?”

“No, only the fact that they look nothing like my father, myself or any of my siblings. Since they are not boys though, it matters little; if anything should happen to me, they will not inherit over my sisters.”

“That’s very magnanimous of you.”

“They’re sweet children; if in fact they are not blood related, they make it very hard to blame them for their parents’ sins. Do you feel in the mood for a walk?” he asked.

“
That sounds very nice, there was something I wanted to discuss with you, actually.”

“I thought there might be.”

Thea and Cole made their way out into the grounds, heading north, away from the
Abbey.

“This morning, I…” She swallowed. “I discovered something that troubled me and made me doubt you.”

“Did you perchance see Eliza Buchan leaving my room?”

She stopped walking, surprised by his candour. “Not exactly, I overheard you talking as I passed your room.”

“Eliza came of her own volition, I did not invite her. She seemed to have noticed my partiality for you, my dear, and decided to declare her love for me. I told her no, as nicely as I could.”

“So when you flattered her?”

“I was attempting to soften the blow. Shortly afterwards she began insulting you, and I sent her away with a flea in her ear.”

Th
ea visibly sagged. “Papa said there would be an explanation but I made assumptions and stuck with them. I’m sorry I didn’t ask for your side sooner.”

“And me.” He stopped walking and turned to face her.

He caught an escaped strand of hair and ran it through his fingers for a moment, until he caught her eye and felt unable to look elsewhere. His own desire was reflected in her eyes and he knew he was about to behave in a very ungentlemanly manner.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“I do hope so.” She teased.

“In full view of the house, where anyone with a mind to look out can see us.”

“I don’t care.”

“I do,” he smiled. “I want everyone to know that it is you I have chosen.”

His words surprised her, given that last night he had said only that he wanted to explore their feelings together. “You have?”

“Indeed.
Up there in the school room, I had a glimpse of our life and in that moment, knew I could not have a family with anyone else. I love you, Thea.”

Tears stung her eyes but she didn’t reply and after an interminably long wait, Cole spoke again.

“Do you… do you think you could feel the same about me?”

“I have thought myself in love before,” she admitted, “but now I see that what I felt then is just a pale reflection of how I feel now, as pale as the reflection of moonlight when compared to the sun.”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”

She didn’t deny it but she did smile at his charm.

“I’m frightened, Cole.”

“I know you are, which is why I won’t offer you any false sentiments or assurances.” He reached both hands up and cupped her face. “I cannot promise that we will always agree, or that we will never quarrel, or that I will never say anything hurtful; I am only human and as flawed as the next person. I can promise
you that I will always love you, that I will never try to clip your wings or stifle your spirit, and that I will do my best every day to prove myself worthy of your love. Does that sound like someone you could marry?”

She raised her hands to cover his and laughed, causing her tears to spill over.

“Is that a ‘soothyes’?” he asked, thoroughly confused by the mixture of laughter and tears.

“Yes,” she laughed. “It’s a
‘yes’.”

He grinned and put his arms around her, pulling her to him and squeezing so tightly that her feet left the ground. Taking advantage, he spun them around in jubilation and quickly overbalanced, falling to the grass but making sure he broke her fall.

Thea shrieked in surprise as they fell but was soon laughing once she realised she was in no danger. Thea lay atop him and he joined in with her merriment, knowing that they had doubtless attracted watchers now, if they didn’t already have them.

“Kiss me,” he ordered.

“You’re bossy,” she told him, her lips nonetheless edging closer.

“You confuse my desperation with bossiness,” he assured her.

“Is that right?”

“It is.”

Suddenly things didn’t seem quite so funny now, in fact as she stared down into his eyes, she felt anticipation eclipsing her joy for a moment. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his.

She felt a wild, almost primitive need to be closer to him, to rip and tear at his clothes until they were skin to skin, and just the thought made her give a small mew of pleasure.

If kissing him could do this to her, she had no idea what making love to him would do. She could only assume that it would drive her temporarily insane with need but even if that proved true, it was worth it.

One of his legs had wrapped around hers and she felt heat pool in her pelvis, in anticipation of the delicious delights she had yet to savour.

Someone coughed nearby and they both froze, having completely forgotten that they were visible from the house.

Thea buried her head in Cole’s neck,
and he peered over her shoulder.

“Ah, Black. Something we can help you with?”

“The magistrate, Lord McAllister is here to see you, Sir.”

“Right, of course, we’ll be right in. Thank you.”

Dismissed, Black gave a sniff and with his head held high, headed back to the Abbey.

“He’s gone,” Cole assured her, rubbing his hand up and down her back
to soothe her.

“I can't believe we did that.” Her words were muffled by his neck.

“I can, I’m just pleased Black came out when he did.”

Thea groaned. “How am I ever going to face everyone?”

Cole began to laugh, which made Thea rear back. “Don’t you dare laugh at me!”

She tried to get up but Cole tightened his hold arou
nd her waist and goddamn it, the man was much stronger than he looked.

“I’m not laughing at you,” he assured her. “Not exactly.”

She ceased struggling to glare at him.

“Be sensible, Thea, you have no qualms about drilling into a skull-”

“It wasn’t drilled,”

“-and examining the brain. Y
ou have no problems putting grown men in their place when you find their politics wanting, and you even goaded one of those gentlemen into solving a magic trick he had no hope of solving, under threat of you donating his money to a cause he dislikes! But you are afraid what people might think of you kissing your future husband?”

“Well, when you
put it like that…” she muttered. “Although to be fair, no one but you and I know that we just got engaged.”

“They will soon enough. Now, let’s go and see the magistrate so we can get on with solving this crime and I can get t
hese parasites out of my house. Then we can focus on important things, like our wedding, and honeymoon, of course, mustn’t forget that. Where would you like to go?”

Thea laughed. “You are insane.”

“I’m crazy for you, if that’s what you mean.”

“You win, Mr Cole, I will go inside with my head held high and
stare any detractors down.”

He smiled, stole one last, quick kiss, then released her. They brushed themselves down for grass and leaves as they walked but bef
ore they entered the house, Thea stopped him with a hand on his forearm.

“Thank you,” she said with sincerity.

In the face of his problems, with his father dying and suffering, her embarrassment was nothing in comparison, yet he had set his own woes aside to tease and cajole her into being brave. She hoped that when the time came to return the favour, she would know what to do for him.

***

Lord Copley shook his head and turned away from the window.

He was thrilled that Thea had found someone worthy of her and he trusted her judgement, mostly, but he was still the father of a daughter, with all the usual desires to watch over and protect her.

His wife had taught him not to protect her too much, to allow her to trip and fall, to make mistakes so that she could learn to correct them, but it had never come easily to him.

There had
better be a marriage proposal imminent, that was all he would say.

With four daughters and only one son
, he was going to be white haired by the time his youngest was ready for marriage, he was sure of it.

He and his wife had agreed to take steps to prevent
pregnancies from occurring too closely together and thanks to his wife’s knowledge of anatomy and his of preventative methods, they were quite successful (without needing to abstain). That meant there was an average of five years between his children, save for one set of twins.

Oh, why couldn’t he have had
all boys? Rightly or wrongly, he would not feel nearly so protective of sons.

Lord McAllister
was a dour sort and, as he freely admitted ‘a simple man’, meaning that he did not overthink things, or spend too much time thinking at all, it seemed. As far as he was concerned, someone was hiding in the room when Mrs Garwood locked the door and after killing her, he hid again and slipped out at some later time.

Mary Potter was meeting a boyfriend, probably another ser
vant, and he had killed her in a fit of rage. Perhaps she had stepped out with someone else, or perhaps she refused an offer of marriage, either way, the killings were unrelated.

He simply would not countenance any other explanations; the witnesses had to be wrong, Thea had to be wrong, Dr
Kerridge had to be wrong.

Of course, none of his
explanations provided him with a viable suspect, but it was one of the servants, of that he was sure.

To Cole’s surprise, Thea quickly ceased trying to argue with him and the meeting was ended after less than thirty minutes.
Lord McAllister’s primary purpose in coming, was to interrogate the staff once more, to try and bully a confession, or uncover an inconsistency.

“Vile, wretched little man,” Thea said as they entered the library. “I’m surprised he had the intelligence to tie his own shoes.”

“To be fair, he probably has a valet to do that, so you may well be right,” Cole noted, and she laughed. “So, what would you like to do next?”

“I think we should find my father. He will no doubt have heard about… well. We should tell him that we are not
in fact trying to ruin my family but do have honourable intentions.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Father!” they turned to see him standing in the doorway. “We were just coming to find you… To tell you the good news!”

“So it’s true, you are betrothed?”

“I asked while we were walking in the grounds,” Cole stepped forward, standing slightly in front of Thea, almost protectively. “I apologise for not asking your permission before-”

Copley held
up his hand to stop him. “Any man who believes that daughters are possessions to be traded between gentlemen, is a fool. My daughter’s agreement is all that is necessary but given the haste in which this union was made, I would ask you to delay marriage, at least for a short time.”

“Of course, Sir.” Cole was suitably contrite.

“Absolutely not!” Thea stepped around Cole. “You and Mama knew almost instantly that you were right for each other and
her
behaviour was not exactly chaste either, was it?”

“Thea, your mother was a widow when w
e met, not an innocent like you!”

Ann moved to stand between them, growling at Copley, completely unaware that her small stature made the gesture seem sweet, rather than threatening.

“She was widowed from a loveless marriage that had been arranged by her father, you were her first and only love, Papa, and she yours. You were both as innocent as I in matters of the heart.”

“Thea,” Copley calmed his voice somewhat and stepped towards her. “I am not worried about your chastity, you will still be my first born and you will always have a special place in my heart.”

The dog was becoming distracting and working herself up into a lather.

“Ann, quiet!” Thea commanded and to Cole’s surprise, the dog obeyed
.

Thea began to walk towards
her father and now that he was calmer, she had relaxed too.

“I’m worried about your heart
, Thea. The hardest thing for a parent to do, is to see their child suffering.”

“I know, Papa,” she gave him
a gentle smile. “And given my past attempts at romance, I do understand why you are worried but… I don’t have the words to truly express how I feel, but I finally understand the stories you both told me about when you met.”

“Darling girl, it was never your heart that I doubted.” He looked over her shoulder to Cole, and Thea turned
as well.

“
There is no way that I can prove my feelings to you, Sir, other than the test of time. I will accept any limits you choose to put on our courtship, and I will do my best to prove myself worthy.”

“He may accept your limits but I won’t,” Thea asserted. “Not if they are unreasonable.”

“Thea! I am not saying ‘no’, I am asking you to be patient. If this relationship truly is all that you believe it to be, then a little wait will make no difference, will it?”

“That depends on your definition of ‘little’.”

“I don’t want to argue with you, Thea.”

“Nor I with you.”

“Then can we at least agree that there will be no more graphic and public displays of your affection for each another? At least, not before marriage?”

“Yes, father, I can agree to that.
”

“Good.” He put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “I suppose that means that congratulations are in order.”

A tentative smile formed on Thea’s lips. “Do you mean that?”

“Of course I do. I think Mr Cole is a very good match for you.”

“But then why-”

“Because even I am not infallible, Thea. I will never stop worrying about you, regardless of how old you are.”

Copley looked up then, Cole felt a fraction of the torment he must feel. Were he the one charged with finding a husband for Thea, even assuming he wouldn’t feel jealous, how could he trust anyone with her? She was too precious for such a decision not to be agonised over, and at length.

Copley had already shown him a great deal of trust and
now he recognised how much that trust cost him, how much he was risking. He nodded to the gentleman, hoping that he could convey the depth of his new found understanding.

Copley returned the nod.

Cole would not be able to keep away from Thea entirely but knowing how much her father worried, he would surely be far more discreet.

“How did your interviews go?” he asked
Copley, hoping they could cease dwelling on subjects that caused friction between them.

Copley took his arm from around Thea and
took a moment to compose his thoughts.

“Well, I believe. Two
servants have said that Miss Potter’s mood was unusually good the last few days, and that she spoke more frequently of going to America. They tried to enquire why, but she was unusually tight lipped, just told them that they ‘would see’.”

“So it’s probably safe to say that she believed she had money coming to her,” Cole suggested.

“Indeed. Passage to America doesn’t come cheap, although I cannot fathom where this money was coming from.”

“Have you finished talking to the servants?”

“Only the females. Mr Black advised me not to continue once he learned of Lord McAllister’s intention to talk to them again. Apparently he is rather confrontational and makes everyone feel defensive and unlikely to talk, to anyone. I will try and speak to the men tomorrow, although it’s unlikely she confided in any of them. How have you two fared?”

“Not much better,” Thea admitted. “I have more information but it is of little use as yet. I feel as though I am missing something important.”

“It will come,” Copley assured her.

“I believe I
may have an explanation for the ghost that was spotted,” Cole said.

They both turned to
him.

“The ghost was seen heading into the woods that lead to the Reynolds’
estate. At night, viewed through thick and old glass, which would distort the image, I believe they viewed someone in their night clothes, heading towards some kind of assignation.”

“Do you know who?” Thea asked.

“Not definitely but I have suspicions.”

“Oh?” Copley asked.

“I’m not confident enough to speak of them yet.”

“Exchanging theories is part of the process,” Thea pleaded.

“Well, it is just a feeling, but I have noticed a budding attraction between Emily Small and Michael Reynolds, Lord Reynolds’ son. On its own it means little but Emily has also been showing a lot of affection towards my step-mother, trying to cultivate a friendship there, yet I feel her overtures are not heartfelt. That leads me to believe that she would like an invitation to remain here and if she is going to such lengths to obtain one, her feelings for the Reynolds boy must be rather strong. Perhaps strong enough to throw caution to the wind and risk a night time assignation. Knowing that she had been seen, even if the incident was passed off as a ghost, has probably made her more circumspect, which is why the ghost hasn’t been sighted again.”

“It sounds reasonable,” Copley agreed. “I will see what information I can glean in conversation.”

“And I thought I might invite the Reynolds to dinner again this evening, so we could observe them together.”

“Your step-mother has already done so,” Copley informed him. “She wants the psychic to give another demonstration this evening.”

Thea sighed heavily. “I thought we had put that nonsense behind us.”

“It seems she finds her entertaining,” Copley explained. “Although I confess, her behaviour puzzles me.”

“How so?” Cole asked.

“First, Mrs Cole asks her to come here but during the séance, when the messages appeared on the tablets, she became very quiet and
wary. Your demonstration almost seemed a relief to her and now that she is proved a fraud, she wishes her to remain.”

“Perhaps the show of supernatural skills spooked her,” Thea suggested. “Even I have felt uneasy while here, especially after the séance.”

“Did you notice any other odd behaviour during the séance?” Cole asked Copley.

“Some. I believe the few who did not attend can be considered suspicious, even the sceptical
among us were interested in watching.”

“So who wasn’t there?” Cole asked.

“Mrs Lanning,” Thea answered, “although I think we can consider her innocent. She has been spending most of her time in her rooms since her husband passed. Mr Garwood also didn’t attend, but he too suffered a recent loss, so I don’t know if we should read much into that. Lord and Lady Small were also absent, although their children Flora and Emily did attend.”

“Possibly because the Reynolds’ son was there,” Copley suggested.

“My thought also,” Cole agreed.

“So are we suggesting that the Smalls were involved in some way?” Thea asked.

“I don’t see what they would gain from harming Mrs Garwood or the maid,” Cole mused. “But it’s possible that there is a motive that we are unaware of.”

“Do they know the
Garwoods?” Copley asked.

“Not well. They were my father’s guests, and the
Garwoods were my mother’s choice. I also haven’t observed any significant conversations between the two families; either before or after the murder.”

“I asked the maids about all the guests,” Copley interjected. “They noticed no interactions between anyone and Mary Potter.”

“Assumptions lead to incorrect conclusions,” Thea said softly.

“I’m sorry?” Cole asked.

“It’s something my mother often says. I think we need to go right back to the beginning and question every assumption we’ve made.”

Abruptly she left the room, leaving Cole and Copley little choice but to follow her. They caught up with her in Mrs Garwood’s room, wandering around, looking at every surface, as if they held the vital clue that could solve all this.

“What are the most basic assumptions we’ve made about this killing?” she asked.

“That someone got into and out of this room without being seen?” Cole suggested.

“Even more basic than that.”

“That someone killed Mrs Garwood here.”

Thea’s head whipped around. “That’s it!”

“I’m sorry?” Cole asked. “I don’t follow; there’s no doubt that Mrs Garwood was killed.”

“Yes but was she killed
here
?” Thea asked. “What if she only
died
here.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Cole admitted.

“There isn’t much blood on the rug and the whole scenario would make a lot more sense if she were stabbed somewhere else, then managed to get back here and lock herself in.”

“What about the signs of a struggle?” Copley asked.

“It’s not much of a struggle, is it? Some letters on the floor, a knocked table and broken vase.” Thea walked over to the writing bureau and sat down, picking up the sheet of paper with only a line written on it.

“
We couldn’t explain this before but what if she was stabbed in the hallway, then managed to lock herself in here before he could finish the task. She heads straight for her writing desk, perhaps knowing that her wound is fatal. She’s scared, perhaps unable to open the ink well in the desk set, so she takes it out and leaves it sitting on the desk.”

Thea did most of the actions she was describing, although she left the ink well closed.