Chapter Nine
A couple of hours later, Mary accompanied her husband down to the sitting room where they would conduct more interviews.
After that coupling with him in the laundry house, her brain had indeed cleared, and she wasn’t as tense as she’d been before. He’d helped her wash her hair—while bedeviling her a bit with wandering hands—but he’d been a prince among men by combing out her tresses then he’d gone on to plaiting the locks. She’d tied off the end with a ribbon. A salve for healing was applied to the wound she’d received when she was attacked. Though it burned like the devil for a few seconds, she was fully confident it would enhance the healing process.
When he sat beside her on a low sofa in the sitting room, she laid a hand on his thigh, and his muscles tensed beneath her fingertips. “I am feeling very much myself at the moment, thanks to you,” Mary said in a whisper.
He glanced at her with a grin and heat in his eyes. “As am I. Though the episode started with peril, it certainly ended spectacularly.”
Heat went through her cheeks. “Do stop, Bright. Mrs. Rightenour has arrived.” But she removed her hand from his person.
Apparently, the new arrival remained ignorant of the banter, for Priscilla’s sister came into the room. She nodded at them both and then perched on one of the delicate chairs with the gilt-painted legs. “Good afternoon, Inspector… Mrs. Bright.” With a smile, she included them both in her gaze. “Priscilla has told me about the pair of you, and I’m excited to talk with you.”
Bright cleared his throat as he drew his notebook out of the interior pocket of his jacket. “Unfortunately, this won’t be a social call.”
The younger woman nodded. She resembled her younger sister, but where Priscilla had blonde hair, Patrica’s was mixed with brown. And where her sister had blue-gray eyes, the woman who sat before them had brown. “More’s the pity, but I understand. These past two days have been full of fretting and tears for my family.”
Mary nodded. “I’m sure they have. When one comes for a wedding, one doesn’t expect to be waylaid with a murder.” With what she hoped was an understanding smile, she continued. “We’ve heard a bit of gossip that you and your husband have indulged in more than a few heated arguments. That is a bit unusual for a couple who have been married only a few years. Might I ask what about?”
Patricia briefly held her bottom lip between her teeth in a gesture that was reminiscent of one her sister did. Then she blew out a breath. “It is true that I’ve been out of sorts with Robert for a while.”
Mary raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
A blush stained her pale cheeks. “It doesn’t reflect kindly on me or him.”
It was Bright’s turn to answer. “That doesn’t matter. We are here to investigate the murder of your husband’s brother. You can help us or not, that is your prerogative, but if we discover your husband is guilty, you will be charged as an accomplice for hindering us.”
Silence reigned in the space for a few moments, then Patricia nodded.
“That makes sense.” She focused her gaze on her hands clasped in her lap. “One of the footmen told me that Robert had laid with a maid in this household, who is now pregnant.” The blush in her cheeks deepened. “How could he break our vows like that?”
Oh, dear.
“Are you certain it was Robert who, ah, was that close with the maid?
Patricia snorted. “Who else would it be? ”
“Well, Robert is a twin. It could have been his brother who’d put the maid into such a scandalous position.”
“No.” She shook her head. “The footman swears it was Robert, that the maid said his name once when she was being, uh, serviced by him. Which was what the footman overheard.”
How very odd. “Have you asked your husband about it?”
“Of course, which is the reason for the arguments.” When she raised her gaze to Mary’s, confusion and anger mixed in her eyes. “He denies it. Says he has never been with another woman since we married.”
Bright scribbled a few things in his notebook. “Was there ever a time when the brothers switched places?”
“I don’t know.” Patricia frowned. “I’ve never asked Robert anything like that.”
He shrugged. “I used to work alongside a pair of twins during my days at Bow Street. They often had many stories to tell regarding their school days in which they would oftentimes switch places with each other for one reason or other.” When he offered the charming grin he used to disarm suspects, Mary suppressed the urge to chuckle. “If Edwin’s scandalous past is to be believed, it’s entirely possible he didn’t want another lecture from his mother, or another scandal to add to his reputation, so he might have told the maid his name was Robert. All she would have known for certain was that Viscount Parsington has twin sons who are grown.”
“I suppose that could be true.” Then tears welled in her eyes. A few fell to her cheeks, which prompted Bright to give her his handkerchief. They went through so many of those squares of cloth. “Does this mean I have had a recurring row with a man who could be innocent? I’ve accused my husband of something he didn’t do?”
Mary gave her what she hoped was a look of sympathy. “There are worse mistakes, but now you can apologize, and all will be well between you again.”
A few seconds of sniffling and wiping her cheeks followed before she nodded. “And save my marriage,” she said in a soft voice.
“Isn’t that what’s important after everything?” Mary couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes. Of course you’re right.” Patricia gave her a tremulous smile. “Thank you. I knew I wasn’t wrong. Robert would never have done something like this.”
“Now that we’ve managed to solve this mystery…” Bright once more cleared his throat. “Since this is your father’s country estate, do you know if there is another entry into the parlor that someone could come and go undetected? A secret passageway perhaps?”
“I don’t believe so.” Slowly, Patricia shook her head. “Mama and Papa have never mentioned anything of the sort, and none of the maids have ever said there was.”
“I apologize if this next question sounds indelicate.” Bright stared at her before speaking again. “Could you, believing that Edwin was Robert and thinking he’d betrayed your marriage vows, have gone into the parlor that morning, and in a fit of rage, stabbed him with the tuning fork? Or rather shove him so hard that he stumbled backward and hit his head on a table?”
“No!” She shook her head. “Of course not! No matter how angry I’ve been with Robert, I could never do something like that to him or anyone.” Dabbing at the moisture on her cheeks, she implored him. “Ask my sister or parents. I’m usually the one championing for others who are in trouble.”
“Fair enough. Is there anyone in your opinion who would have had issue with Edwin on a personal level? So much so that they would have wished him harm?”
“Ha!” Patricia snorted. “Any woman he’d touched? Any man he won coin from at the gaming tables?” She pleated the handkerchief. “Perhaps his uncle as well. That man gives me the shivers each time he’s near, but Edwin seemed to follow a course that would destroy his reputation, regardless that he would soon be the viscount once his father passed.”
Mary frowned. “And now Robert will take the title,” she said in a soft voice. “How does he feel about that?”
“He is relieved that the family name will cease to be drug through the muck, of course, but he’s also on edge, especially with Edwin’s violent murder.” A gasp escaped her. “Unless the killer should have killed Robert instead?”
“Let us not jump to conclusions.” Bright put a hand up. “From all accounts, it appears that Edwin was the intended target.”
“Though…” Mary’s chest tightened. “We can’t rule out Robert as being in danger too.” She exchanged a speaking glance with her husband. Why had they not considered that angle before?
Gabriel nodded. “Noted, and we’ll look into that in a bit.” He consulted his notebook while Mary wrote in hers. “Let’s go back to the uncle. Was he invited to the wedding?”
“I’m not certain, but he might be visiting his brother’s country estate since the viscount is so ill. My father-in-law’s physician said to gather the family, for it won’t be long now. The cancer in the stomach has advanced so much that the only thing he can do for the poor man is to increase the dosage of laudanum and keep him as comfortable as he can. ”
“Oh, no.” Mary patted the other woman’s hand. “I’m sorry. No wonder the viscountess is so out of sorts right now.”
“She is, poor thing. I have been going back and forth between houses at opposite times as Robert, and with the wedding postponed, it makes things quite difficult.”
“I can imagine,” Gabriel said before the ladies could launch into conversation that would once more detour the investigation. He flipped through his notebook. “Where were you the morning of the murder?”
Patricia shrugged. “I was with my sister and our close friends having a ladies only breakfast in the orangery. It’s so pretty there, I’m surprised she’s not using that as the room to say her vows.”
“What time was that?”
“Around nine o’clock? We had all risen early that morning due to excitement.”
He frowned. That was still early enough that one of them could have slipped out on the excuse of doing the necessary and then come back, yet again, there was the matter of strength needed to ram the piano fork into the deceased’s chest. “Your sister mentioned the Earl of Kendrick, and that he was a university mate of the twins. Do you know him socially?”
“We’ve met a handful of times.” Patricia nodded. Her expression seemed a bit brighter than it was before. “When Robert and I first married, he spoke a few times about a tight knot of friends he used to have during his school days, but then, after a bit, I never heard anything more about them.”
He frowned. “Why do you suppose that was?”
“I couldn’t say.” She shrugged. “I just assumed they’d had a falling out. It happens.”
“Have a look at this.” Mary took the signet ring from her pocket and held it up for Patricia to see. “Does your husband still have his ring that looks like this?”
“Oh yes.” The younger woman nodded with enthusiasm. “He never takes it off. Is that Edwin’s?”
Bright shook his head. “No, the deceased had his on his finger when I checked the body yesterday.”
Patricia frowned. “Then who does it belong to?”
“I would have no idea. Who were your husband’s and Edwin’s bosom friends in university?”
“I don’t know!” Once more in tears, the soon-to-be viscountess jumped to her feet. “He never talked about them, said it was an unsavory time in his life, and he would rather move forward instead of look back!” She shook her head. “Ask Kendrick.” Then she frowned. “In truth, I don’t know why Kendrick is here. He actively avoided my husband and Edwin, I thought, and there is certainly no love lost between him and Mr. Forsythe, but he is friends with Henry.”
Finally, they might be getting to the heart of the matter. “Did he have words or contretemps with your husband or Edwin?”
“Honestly, Inspector, my husband never talked about his past, and I never asked because it didn’t matter. I didn’t want him going down the same path as his brother.” She bounced her gaze between him and Mary. “Is Robert in danger? Am I?” Then she gasped. “Is Henry? He’s a couple of years younger than the twins, but he is friends with them.”
God, I hope not. With a tight chest, Gabriel shook his head. “It is too soon in the investigation to know that, so do not panic, Mrs. Rightenour. And do not, under any circumstances, upset the bridal couple. They are already under immense stress as it is.”
She wrung her hands, and again he realized how much he appreciated Mary’s level-headedness when it came to a crisis, for his wife was never a damsel in distress. “What should we do now?”
“Remain calm, and keep close to your family. In fact, for the rest of this day, perhaps you should spend time with your ailing father-in-law. Take Robert with you, and stay there until the rescheduled wedding. Understand?” Perhaps it was best to start compartmentalizing the suspects.
“Yes, of course. What do I tell Robert?”
Gabriel shrugged. “Tell him you want time with him and his parents before the viscount passes, which isn’t a lie in any event. You can never replace time with your family.”
“I will.”
“And one more thing. What is the name of the maid? I will need to speak with her.”
“Nancy. Her name is Nancy.” Patricia glanced at Mary. “Priscilla said the two of you were clever and kind. I must say I am a tad jealous you are not my in-laws.” She softened the words with a smile.
Mary chuckled. “I’m sure Robert’s parents are perfectly lovely.” But there was a hint of a blush in her cheeks that he adored.
“Well, thank you. I’ll collect my husband and walk over to his father’s manor this afternoon and hopefully take tea with them.”
Once he and Mary were left alone, he sighed. “Why does it feel like we’re just chasing an invisible suspect around in circles?”
“I’ll admit, this is a complicated case.” She left her chair and then closed the distance between him as he put his notebook into his pocket. “Everyone seems to be a suspect yet those same people we talk to have ready answers and alibis. ”
“We will figure this out.” Mary laid a hand on his arm. “Do you think the maid who is with child is the one Cassandra referred to? The one the governesses were gossiping about?”
“It could very well be. We should talk with her post haste.” So saying, he crossed the room then told Jon the footman to summon the housekeeper. Turning back to Mary, he grinned. “Afterward, I’d like to check on Henry.”
“Is he not doing well?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but I want to set his mind at ease if he is. This can’t be easy on him and Priscilla. I know I don’t show it while I’m investigating, but I truly do want to see them both wed. It breaks my heart they’ve had to postpone their nuptials.”
“You might wish everyone to know you are strong and perhaps intimidating,” she said as she drifted to the door to stand beside him, “but deep down, you have a soft center and are a secret romantic. It’s sweet.”
“Well…” When he slipped a hand about her waist and pulled her close, he whispered, “there is only one person I’ve shown my vulnerabilities to, and I know you’ll never betray me.”
“Of course not.” She laid a palm on his chest while peering up into his face. “You are a complex man, Gabriel Bright. And I adore the challenge.”
Before he could kiss her as he intended, the housekeeper arrived at the sitting room with Jon in tow. With a wink, Gabriel set his wife at arm’s length and turned toward the thin woman with graying brown hair and half-moon spectacles perched at the end of her hawkish nose. “Ah, Mrs. Lawson. I am glad you are prompt.”
“As if I could be anything else, Inspector.” She folded her hands together that her waist. “What is it you need?”
“I realize you are quite busy, but I shall need to speak with the maid, Nancy. It seems she has a piece of information we need for this investigation.”
“Oh, dear.” Mrs. Lawson tsked her tongue. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“Well, just yesterday, she admitted to me that she was with child. At least three months along. Not only is that scandalous with her unwed, but we simply cannot have a pregnant maid on the staff. It’s not done. I was forced to sack her.” She shook her head. “It is increasingly difficult to keep good help.”
“It wasn’t Nancy’s fault, Mrs. Lawson,” Mary said in the maid’s defense. “She was seduced.”
“Yes, by that no-good scoundrel, Mr. Rightenour,” the housekeeper said as she stared at Mary from over the tops of her lenses. “I warn the maids regularly to stay away from him. ”
Bright nodded. “Which one of them was it?”
Mrs. Lawson huffed. “Edwin, of course. He knew he would soon be a titled gentleman and put on such airs.” She pointed her gaze briefly to the ceiling. “But he was handsome and charming, far more than was good for him. Always chasing skirts, and poor Nancy was merely the latest in a long line who’d fallen for him.”
He exchanged a look with Mary. “There is talk that Nancy said it was Robert whom she’d been with. Is there any chance she was confused?”
“Of course she was. Not much between the ears with that one.” The housekeeper waved a hand in dismissal. “If a man told her his name was Father Christmas, she’d believe him, but I know who I saw when they both sneaked back into the house one day.”
“And it was definitely Edwin?”
“Oh, yes, he had a specific laugh, much different from his brother’s.” She nodded, as if that were the end of it. “And what’s more, he was constantly bedeviling her. Why, the day before the house party began, Nancy was assigned that parlor and the room across the corridor to clean and tidy for the guests. I stopped by to see how she’d progressed, only to catch that bounder climbing out the window and her putting her clothes back to rights.”
A groan escaped him. “Well, that explains the scuff marks on the sill.”
“Or it explains that someone else used that window as an access point, Mary said in a low voice. “Perhaps Edwin himself told that someone about how he used it as well.”
“Indeed.” Gabriel nodded. “Thank you, Mrs. Lawson. I’m sorry you’ve had to let Nancy go.”
“Such is life, Inspector. No matter how much of a weasel a man is, it’s the girls who pay the ultimate price. She was given enough coin to ride the mail coach back to her family on the other side of Surrey. What becomes of her now is anyone’s guess, but I cannot tolerate scandal within my staff.” Then she continued along the corridor, no doubt in search of more wrongdoing among the army of maids.
Mary scribbled the notes into her book. “I doubt a disgraced maid who was with child had the wherewithal to kill a man much larger than her.”
“So do I, but we can mark her off the list, and perhaps say a prayer that everything comes out right with her. I’m afraid the path she’ll walk will not be an easy one.” It made him all the more grateful that he’d rescued Cassandra from the streets before she had a chance to be preyed upon by men of that ilk.
“This whole case is dismal with everything we’ve uncovered.” She stuck her pencil within the book and closed it, then tied the leather strings to keep it together. “But then, there are always skeletons and pasts unearthed when it comes to murder.”
“At what cost, though?” Snatching up her free hand, he tugged her from the room. “Now I desperately need to see my son, if only to reassure myself he is well.”
Not long afterward, they found Henry on the terrace, sitting by himself with a game of backgammon sitting open at a small table in the sun. Other guests indulged in croquet on the lawn, while a walking party was visible in the distance heading toward the hedge maze.
“Henry? Might I have a quick word?”
The young man glanced over his shoulder, and upon seeing him, his face lit. “Papa! It’s good to see you. And Mary, too.” He jumped up and then ushered her into the empty chair. “I’m waiting for Priscilla, but clearly she’s been delayed.”
“Such a gentleman,” Mary murmured as she seated herself. Her eyes were kind, and the delicate skin at the corners crinkled when she smiled. “How are you doing?”
“Well enough. Trying not to worry.” With a sigh, he sank back into the chair he’d just vacated. “It’s tragic, of course, but Priscilla is taking the delay hard. You know how ladies are when the schedule is upset.”
“Yes, especially when they’ve planned for something and then it doesn’t occur as expected.” She nodded. “Your father is doing his level best to solve the case.”
“As is Mary,” Gabriel was quick to add.
They both chuckled.
“Henry, have you made up with Priscilla after the argument you had with her?” The concern in Mary’s voice caused Gabriel’s heart to squeeze in sympathy, for their own wedding day had been fraught with high emotion and misunderstandings.
“I have.” His son reached across the small, round table and took Mary’s hand. “I’ve decided that past indiscretions don’t have any bearing on my future—our future. Because of Papa, I also know that if I want forgiveness in my own life, I must be willing to give that to her.” Henry glanced at him. “Compromise and communication is key.”
Not able to help it, Gabriel put a hand over his heart. “You are going to make a fine husband, Henry, and eventually, a father. I’m so damned proud of you.”
Tears welled in Mary’s eyes, but her smile was wide. “There is no better man than a Bright one,” she quipped and then snorted with laughter while Henry guffawed. “I’m also proud of you, Henry. If you continue to make level-headed choices, and meet problems with logic and compassion, you will surely go far. ”
He nodded. “Thank you. I’m learning that giving Priscilla support when she needs it and allowing myself the freedom to also show my emotions brings us closer. It is quite different from how I was raised or even how men acted when I was in school.”
“That is what the love of a good woman will do,” Gabriel said around a lump of emotion in his throat. Why men felt compelled to keep a stiff upper lip astounded him, but then, Mary had taught him that. “Before your bride joins us, let me ask you one thing. Did you truly mean to kill Edwin when you shouted after him in the corridor the day of his death?”
Ruddy color rushed up the young man’s face over his cravat. “Of course not. It was a nodcock thing to say in a fit of anger.” He frowned. “I wasn’t happy with him trying to encourage Priscilla to leave me for him; I was even less pleased to learn of their history together, but because of that, we are now closer than ever.” With a shrug, he stood. “I am your son. Everything I have learned, good or bad, has come from you, and quite frankly, you taught me to be better than someone who harbored so much hate in his heart that the only recourse was to kill.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.” Gabriel dropped a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I merely needed to definitely cross you off the suspect list.”
“I understand.”
“What do you know of the friendship between the twins and the new Earl of Kendrick?”
Henry shrugged. “They were close, pulled pranks and misdemeanors instead of spending time studying like I did. After a while, I lost track of them, our friendship thinned because I wanted to leave university with honors over shame.” He sighed. “There was something about a prank involving a painting of Prinny, I think, but I don’t know the details. It was them and a couple of other young men, but that year, my courses were quite difficult, and it was all I could do to keep abreast of studying.”
“Good man. I’ll find out, though.”
“I know you will.” Then his whole face lit as Priscilla entered the terrace. “Are you close to solving this, Papa? I can’t wait to marry her.”
He couldn’t help but grin. “I am doing my best, but fear not. She’ll be yours soon enough.” Then he extended a hand to Mary and pulled her into a standing position. “We’ll leave you to your game.”
When Priscilla joined them, she frowned. “Won’t you join us, Inspector?”
“Unfortunately, Mary and I have a couple more interviews to do and notes to compare.” He winked. “The sooner the case is solved, the sooner you can have your wedding. ”
A blush stained her cheeks. “You are so kind.” Then she tittered while Henry ushered her into the chair Mary had vacated.
With a soft laugh, his wife led the way into the manor house. “You can’t help yourself, can you?”
“What?”
“You simply must charm everyone you meet.” She squeezed his fingers. “It was one of the things that first attracted me to you.” Then her laugh turned a bit throaty, and the sound went straight to his groin. “Well, that and the fact you are quite a lovely kisser. Each time I’m in a carriage house, I always think of that first meeting.”
His grin widened. “Clearly, we were meant for such a life when we started our relationship together in such a scandalous fashion.” And meeting her had changed his life.
“Clearly.” She brought his hand to her lips and kissed the back. “Let us take a small break from the case so we can spend the afternoon with the children. We can all benefit from some downtime and to regroup as a family.”
“You’re right. Let’s go tell them.” Because when they’d adopted the children, he vowed to himself he would never forget what was most important. Murder could wait for a few hours.