Chapter Thirteen #2
Bridget lowered her book and sighed. Why was Nate taking so long to return?
She hated that he’d gone out in the dark after dinner.
He should have met Collins during the day.
If there was a connection between George and Mr. Collins, then the latter was certainly the killer.
A vision of Nate’s mutilated body lying in the daffodils flashed in her mind, and she shuddered.
Bijou, who sat in his basket next to the fireplace, lifted his head. A low growl emanated from his throat. Then he stood up and let out a flurry of high-pitched barks.
“Quiet, boy.” Bridget held a finger to her lips.
But Bijou could not be mollified. Something had gotten his attention.
He shot out of the library, barking. Bridget grabbed her lantern and followed her wayward dog, only to almost collide with Nate, who’d caught Bijou and secured him under his arm.
Her heart almost exploded with relief and happiness upon seeing him in the dim passageway.
“You’re awake,” Nate said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten Bijou.”
“He’s excited, not frightened,” she said, taking the terrier from him. “And it wasn’t Bijou you frightened; it was me. I’ve been worried sick about you.”
They moved back into the drawing room, where Nate put down his lantern and picked up the crystal brandy decanter. Then he paused and put it down again as if having second thoughts. “Why were you worried?” He asked. “You knew I’d gone to meet Collins at The Black Horse.”
“Exactly. You went to meet a potential killer late at night.” She put Bijou on the ground, and he trotted back to his basket. Then she placed her lantern back in its place on the table.
“Bennett drove me there in my carriage, so I wasn’t alone.
Furthermore, I’m not about to let Collins or anyone else, for that matter, kill me.
” He gave her a teasing smile, but Bridget could not find the humor in his comments.
What she’d learned from Charlie had truly frightened her and set her imagination running.
“What’s the matter?” Nate asked, glancing at Bridget’s hands tightly clasped together.
Aware of his gaze, she released her hands and went to sit on the settee. “I spoke with Charlie today, and I asked him about George. He doesn’t know much about his background—he said George was always evasive about that—but he did mention something that I found quite alarming.”
“What is it?” Nate came to sit beside her on the settee.
“He said George had gone to school in Harrogate. And I think that cannot be a coincidence.”
Bridget could see Nate’s body momentarily freeze. “Good God,” he finally said. “It’s all coming together.”
“My sentiments exactly,” Bridget said. “Did Collins confirm his past relationship with Mrs. Groby?”
Nate hesitated.
“If you withhold information from me like you did in the summer, Nate Squires, I shall never forgive you!”
Running a hand through his dark, wavy hair, Nate sighed. “Very well,” he said. “But you must promise not to do anything rash. Promise you won’t attempt to talk to Mrs. Groby or Collins without me.”
“Believe me, I shan’t go anywhere near Collins on my own.”
Bridget listened as Nate told her about his meeting with Collins. “So, after being dismissed and disowned by his father, Collins worked for Alice’s father for three years in the hope of discovering what had happened to her?”
“That’s right,” Nate said.
“Astonishing! Just like Jacob worked for Laban in the Bible. Only he worked for seven years, not three.”
“Collins might have labored for longer except that Lockwood died unexpectedly after three years, and he was able to reconnect with Mrs. Groby. So, I suppose he got what he wanted in the end—until George Otis took it all away from him—at least that’s my hypothesis.
We still have no proof that it happened.
But now that you’ve told me George went to school in Harrogate—assuming that’s correct and the school he attended was St. Joseph’s—I have to wonder why Collins didn’t tell me that he knew George. ”
“I agree. If George was one of Collins’s pupils at St. Joseph’s, he would have known about the scandal,” Bridget said, putting it all together in her mind. She paused. “Do you suppose he was the one who reported Collins to the headmaster?”
“The vicar said the boy’s name was Phillips.
I think it’s more likely he came to some arrangement with Collins—possibly for money—where he agreed to help facilitate meetings between Collins and Mrs. Groby under the guise of giving her reading lessons.
But then the unthinkable happened. Otis and Alice Groby fell in love, and she lost interest in Collins. ”
“It’s a strong motive for murder,” Bridget said.
“Exactly my thinking,” Nate agreed. “Collins slaved for three years for Alice’s father in the hope of winning her hand, not knowing she was already married.
But since that was a forced marriage, and they shared a child, he still had hope.
They resumed their relationship. And then George stole Alice from under him. That would be intolerable to bear.”
“Yes, it fits perfectly. George took Alice’s heart away from Collins, so Collins, quite literally, took George’s heart,” Bridget said. “Unfortunately, it is all based on a lot of guesswork. We have no proof that any of this is true.”
“Not yet,” Nate said. “But I have a feeling we are on the right path. All we need to do is a little more digging.”