Chapter 62
62
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Unknown
At midnight in Leith’s candlelit Virginia Street study stood John Tennant once again.
He spoke slowly as if wanting Juliet to remember details. “We now have one death accounted for. Havilah Buchanan’s supposed suicide was in fact brought on by madness caused by calomel poisoning. There will be expert testimony at your husband’s trial, based on the residue tested by a renowned physician admitted to Havilah’s chambers at Virginia Street.”
Juliet put a hand to her suddenly aching head. So many frightening details.
“We have also located the missing maid—rather, she came forward when she heard that your husband was being charged for a crime he did not commit.”
Tennant turned as the door opened and Niall entered without knocking. Juliet felt another beat of alarm. What was her brother-in-law doing here at such a late hour? Was Loveday with him?
Nay, not Loveday, but a petite woman who resembled Minette. édith?
Introductions confirmed it was she.
“Does Minette know of your return?” Juliet asked her in concern.
“Not yet, madame. I am being safeguarded until the trial. I have information that may help your husband. Afterward my sister and I shall be reunited.”
Thanking her, Juliet looked to Niall.
“Loveday is safely asleep at our townhouse,” he said quickly, the flickering light showing shadows beneath his eyes. “I came under cover of darkness to avoid notice. I’m not wanting to rouse Euan’s suspicions. Given that, it might behoove us to work together instead of separately.”
“So, you suspect him like I do.” Though Juliet hadn’t asked a question, he gave a nod. “And you’re working with private investigators like Mr. Tennant here.”
“I can’t determine yet the depth of his and Cochrane’s involvement, though embezzling is just one concern.”
“Murder is another,” she said without pause.
Niall looked more grim. “Leo Tate, you mean, not only Havilah.”
“I feel certain he met his demise resisting them or uncovering more about their schemes. But I don’t want the search for him ended till you know for sure.”
Tennant nodded, relieving her somewhat, only to raise her concerns with his next utterance. “The trial is expected to turn ugly. There’s concern, given Cochrane’s unpopularity, that there may be mob activity, and it’s thought you and the twins should move to the safety of Lamb Hill till the verdict is announced.”
Lamb Hill, not Ardraigh Hall. She needn’t ask why. The latter wasn’t any safer than Virginia Street. “Will my sister go with us?”
“Of course,” Niall said. “I’ll have my coach sent round after breakfast if you and the children will be ready. Loveday already knows and is fully agreeable to the plan.”
“What about Lyrica?” Her mind kept circling back to her sister-in-law with more urgency. How much did Lyrica know of Euan and Cochrane? She hated to think ill of her, but...
“She’s being watched,” Tennant said when Niall seemed to grapple for an answer. “She continues on at Buchanan Street with Euan and has no plans that we know of to leave Glasgow.”
“Any news of Leith?” How she ached to know his state of mind, his surroundings. The strength of the case against him.
“He’s been moved to an undisclosed location,” Tennant said. “As for the coming trial, I believe the entire debacle may hang on the expert witness regarding the poison. There is a veritable army of character witnesses in the wings waiting to testify on your husband’s behalf, the maid édith foremost.”
“But servants are rarely considered valid testimony,” Niall said. “And Leith has his enemies, namely Cochrane’s many associates. We’ve nae idea what they’ve prepared for the courtroom.”
“Whatever it is, Mr. Buchanan’s legal counsel has mounting evidence against Cochrane,” Tennant told them.
Relief crossed Niall’s tense features. “Which I hope pressures Cochrane to turn from accomplice to testifying against Euan so that he’s granted protection from prosecution.”
A sudden lull had Juliet saying, “I’ll prepare to leave for Lamb Hill in the morning.” She thanked them both, though their meeting set off another alarm inside her. She’d get little rest tonight.
Leith shifted on the bench beneath the barred window. An isolated cell gave a man plenty of time to think. Here there were no ledgers, no clerks or clocks, no frantic, profit-induced pace. Just a cold, damp corner that was only slightly preferable to a public hanging. Amazing how one’s focus crystallized and sharpened when life’s least extravagances fell away. He’d been allowed nothing but a Bible, which he’d not taken much interest in before.
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
He’d read entire passages to pass the time, Proverbs in particular. He held the Bible, yet it seemed to grab hold of him.
The way of the L ORD is strength to the upright, but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
And today of all days he was four and thirty. Celebrating a birthday in gaol was doubly sobering, especially when he’d spent his last at the Sarry Heid playing billiards and consuming so much whisky he could barely walk.
Now, a year later, the Leith Buchanan of before had lost a stone from humility and degradation, love and desperation, a potent combination. He felt the need to better explain himself, apologize to all who knew him, Juliet especially. She’d been here only two days ago, but it seemed two years. Ever since, his heart hung so heavily it seemed too large for his chest. Had she tried to see him again but been turned away? Was she well? Were the twins safe?
If he stood convicted of murder, would the authorities even allow Juliet a final visit before his execution? If he was exonerated, he had in mind to consider more pressing needs than imports and exports, starting with the tolbooth and other prisons. The continuous cries of the children kept with gaoled adults were like a sort of Hades on earth, as were the cries of all those charged for petty crimes with no counsel. He wanted to do things differently, build a life with a more lasting legacy than a street named after him and the colony he’d exploited.
Simply put, he would give all that he had to gain all that he did not.
A vibrant double rainbow arched over Lamb Hill. The twins exclaimed over it as the carriage turned off the main road onto the mansion’s driveway. Juliet blinked, hardly believing her eyes.
“A double blessing!” Loveday leaned toward the window to better see the sight. “Such a promise then and now.”
Gloriously hued, the rainbow arched like shimmery ribbons over a deep green meadow. Juliet’s eyes filled at the sight, then she clenched her jaw lest she lose her wits altogether. Lack of sleep was taking a toll. Was Leith feeling the same?
“I like the blue part,” Bella said, reminding Juliet she’d been teaching them their colors with some success.
Cole pointed to the pond they were passing. “Uncle Niall has white swans, not black ones.”
“Black as burnt sausages,” his sister replied nonsensically.
“Swans aren’t burnt!” Cole grew more indignant. “Your hair is black too.” He tugged hard at one of her ringlets as if to verify the accusation, and Bella burst into tears.
“Come now,” Juliet admonished softly if sternly. “That’s hardly the behavior of a gentleman, even a wee one.”
“Sorry, Mam.” He looked penitently at Juliet and then at Bella. “Sorry, Sister.”
“I do believe a nap is in order,” Loveday said. “But first a nursery tea.”
In a half hour they’d washed and gathered at the low table assigned for the task. The windows of the makeshift nursery were open wide, and the sun seemed to have melted the rainbow, for it had vanished.
Juliet said grace and the twins practiced their best manners, passing a plate of crumpets and a small bowl of ripe summerhouse strawberries. Nurse, usually hovering, had been given a leave of absence to visit her ailing sister in Aberdeen, and Juliet wondered if she’d return, having been scandalized by the ... well, Buchanan scandal. A young maidservant from the nearest village had taken her place, at least for the time being. Beatrice was as jolly as Nurse was dour.
Bella yawned and Cole followed suit, as if sleepiness could be as easily caught as a cold. They’d stopped asking “Where’s Da?” to Juliet’s mingled relief and dismay. Children had that rare ability to live solely in the present, and for the moment that consisted of mostly milk tea and sugared pastries.
Beatrice soon entered, smiling. She whisked away the dishes and then the twins shortly thereafter while Loveday and Juliet went downstairs.
“I suppose we should keep indoors. No walking about in the garden or riding out.” Loveday went to a window. “Your new guard is certainly vigilant. And elusive. I didn’t even notice him following us on the drive from Glasgow.”
“He’s a fine horseman.” Juliet joined her at the glass. “And one of Edinburgh’s best private investigators.”
“Ah, those enigmatic men who court crime.”
Juliet sighed. “You make it sound more romantic than nefarious.”
Loveday turned away from the window. “What did Tennant do with your first guard?”
“Returned him to the investigation regarding Leo Tate.”
“I pray Mr. Tate reappears unharmed. You lost quite an ally, and the court an expert witness. But we mustn’t lose hope. I find meaning in the double rainbow today, a special significance.”
Hope? Juliet had forgotten what it felt to be hopeful. “For some time now it seems I’ve been fighting the darkness ... and the darkness is winning.”
“What do you mean?”
“From the first I sensed something awry with Euan. Hard as marble, he reminded me of Leith in his darker moments. Niall is entirely different. I see Leith and Euan as similar, their many choices hardening or softening them, decision by decision, depending on which has the upper hand. A contest between good and evil, if you will.”
“And Euan had chosen the darkness. A world of selfishness and greed and far more.”
Juliet put a hand to her head unwittingly. How had it all come to this? When a brother turned against a brother—or, in this case, two brothers. It had all the makings of a Shakespearean tragedy. Or at least a sonnet.
For I have sworn thee fair and thought thee bright, who art as black as hell, as dark as night.