Chapter Twelve
Katherine
Katherine pressed her hand to her racing heart. “You’ve been sitting there the whole time?” She cleared her throat, not liking the squeak in her voice. In a lower tone, she said, “You should have announced yourself when we entered.”
Lady Mary rose and pushed her spectacles up her nose. “And if you want a private conversation, you should check behind every chair and curtain. Amateurs.”
Katherine’s eyebrows shot up. “So it is my fault that I’ve been spied upon? Twice now?”
“Three times really.” Mr. Evans crossed his arms over his wide chest. “I listened the first time you and Mr. Taylor snuck out on the terrace for conversation.”
Katherine’s cheeks heated. She threw her hands in the air. “And I’d thought Lord Perrin the most ill-mannered person here.” She flounced to a settee and dropped onto it, crossing her own arms.
Lady Mary tossed a book onto the seat of the wingback and leaned against the armrest. “I was trying to determine which poison might have killed Perrin, but this book has not been helpful. Do either of you remember what symptoms he displayed the night he died? I remember he was sweating a bit, but I had thought that was due to proximity to the fire.”
“He was irritable,” Mr. Evans said.
Lady Mary dipped her chin. “He was always irritable.”
Mr. Evans scratched his chin. “He rubbed his chest frequently. His chest might have been hurting.”
“Good.” Lady Mary looked at Katherine expectantly. “You?”
“Me?”
Lady Mary tapped the toe of her boot. “Did you notice anything that might point to which type of poison killed him?”
Katherine pursed her lips. Had she? “Well, he staggered up to me and grabbed for me. I thought he had a lewd intent, but he could have been dizzy? Or his legs may have no longer held him.”
“So, weakness in the body, as well.” Lady Mary shook her head. “That might not narrow the list down much. Did you learn anything new in Perrin’s study?” she asked Mr. Evans.
“No, but there is still much to go through.” He rubbed his jaw. “It could take me weeks to read every document.”
Lady Mary nodded. “As it stands, we know three people here who have financial reasons to want Perrin dead. Four if you include that Mr. Taylor,” she said, nodding her head at Katherine.
Katherine chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Mr. Taylor had no financial motive.”
“With all due respect to your charms, I don’t see Taylor killing simply for your company.” Lady Mary gazed at the ceiling. “No, he would want your money and the status marrying an heiress would bring him.”
Katherine inhaled sharply, trying to control her tongue.
She would not get into a battle of words with the aunt of a duke.
Smiling as sweetly as possible, she said, “Be that as it may, Mr. Taylor had no way of knowing I would give Lord Perrin the gentlest of nudges just as he was dying from the poison and that Perrin would fall down the stairs, leading me to believe I had killed him. And without the threat of exposure, Mr. Taylor must have known he had no chance to convince me to marry him.”
Mr. Evans nodded. “It does sound more like the secretary was an opportunist after the fact.”
“Perhaps. Some people, however, are most deluded in their own worth and prospects. He might have thought he could woo Miss Smith here to wed him instead of an earl.”
Laughter burst from Katherine’s lips. She covered her mouth and feigned a fit of coughing to cover just how ridiculous that idea was.
“All right, all right.” Lady Mary grimaced. “But the man plunged a knife into a corpse. Better than sticking a living person, I’ll grant, but still not an action a decent person would take. I don’t trust him.”
A small smile crossed Mr. Evans’s face, his eyes lighting with humor, and something in Katherine’s belly fluttered.
He truly was a handsome man, if one ignored his sneaking about and listening in on private conversations.
“You don’t have to trust him,” Mr. Evans said. “That still doesn’t make him a killer.”
Lady Mary sniffed. “Well, he remains on my suspect list with the others. He might not have known Katherine would push—”
“Nudge!” Katherine couldn’t have others exaggerating.
“—Perrin down the stairs, but he could have poisoned him just the same. The opportunity to extort Miss Smith could have just been the cream on top of the pudding.”
“The others?” Katherine sat up straight, remembering Lady Mary’s earlier words. “You mentioned three people with financial motives? Who?” Dread spiraled through her gut.
Mr. Evans ran his hand through his dark hair. It needed a trim, but the unrefined look somehow added to his appeal. “Perhaps we shouldn’t discuss—”
“Well, Lord Havenstone, of course.” Lady Mary rubbed the bridge of her nose. “He invested in one of Perrin’s schemes and lost everything. That kind of humiliation doesn’t sit right with most men.”
“Then why come to Perrin’s house party if he disliked him so?” Katherine leaned forward, grasping the armrest of the settee. “And why would Perrin invite him?”
“Both excellent questions.” Lady Mary looked about and sighed. “I do wish I had my walking stick, but I usually only use it when I go out of doors.”
Mr. Evans hurried to her side. “Are you feeling unsteady, my lady?”
Lady Mary scowled. “No. It is simply more satisfying making points when I have the stick to jab into the floor for emphasis.” She turned to Katherine.
“As to your first question, the only reason I can see why Havenstone accepted the invitation is for revenge. Which puts him near the top of my list.”
There was talk of that list again. Did everyone have a list of people they suspected of killing Perrin? Should Katherine have one? “And the other two?”
“Mr. Bertram Withers.” Mr. Evans gave Lady Mary one last concerned look before stepping away. “Perrin lost a good sum of money to him gambling and paid it off with a worthless mine.”
Lady Mary cocked her head. “Bertram and Perrin were related. There have been family events since that incident they’ve both attended with no acrimony. I’ll admit Bertram wasn’t overly fond of the earl, but not being sad someone has passed is a far cry from killing him.”
“Very few murderers have what most people would consider good reasons for killing.” Mr. Evans cocked his shoulder against a bookcase.
Katherine popped up. “Why are we even discussing this? Uncovering who killed Perrin is a job for the authorities.” She started for the door.
“Don’t you want to know who the third person is?” Lady Mary called.
Katherine stopped, her shoulder blades drawing close. “No.” Because she already knew. Just as she knew he couldn’t have done it.
“Your father has one of the strongest motives of all,” Lady Mary said. “He came to this house party expecting to finalize your marriage contract and instead learned that Perrin was trying to trick him into trading for another parcel of land than the one agreed upon.”
“The deception would have angered my father, like it would anyone, but it isn’t a financial blow.
” She bit down on the inside of her cheek.
There were periods when her father became ‘cash poor’ as he was wont to call it, having tied up his money in purchases of land or businesses.
There were times when their finances had become tight waiting for his investments to produce.
But while cash might become limited, her father was still wealthy.
He could sell one of his assets if he ever needed to.
She turned to face them. “Besides, my father wouldn’t know the first thing about poisoning someone. If he were to kill, it would be in a different manner.”
“That’s not a defense I would recommend using before the magistrate.” Mr. Evans arched an eyebrow.
“My father doesn’t need me to defend him.
Besides, both of you are ignoring the prime suspect and motive.
Unrequited love. Miss Walker wanted nothing more than to become Lady Perrin.
It was obvious in the way she treated Perrin Manor as her own, the way she spoke to the earl, and the low way she treated me when I arrived. ”
Lady Mary pursed her lips. “That seems like more a motive to kill you than Perrin.”
Mr. Evans nodded in agreement.
“She has been his neighbor her whole life. Watched, heartbroken, as he married Mr. Withers’s sister, and thought she finally had a chance upon her death.
” Katherine warmed to her idea. She could see it in her head, the bitter, spiteful woman Miss Walker had become after waiting so long.
“She thought she might finally have her chance, but Perrin goes and chooses someone else. Again, she’s spurned, and she’s finally had enough. ”
“A dramatic story,” Mr. Evans said dryly, “but you’ve absolutely no evidence.”
“And you do?” Katherine stepped up to him, needing to tilt her head back to look him in the face. He was most annoyingly tall.
He examined her, tilting his head. His eyes were the color of a fine whiskey, and they seemed to see more into her mind than she wanted.
She shifted on her feet. With his brawny size and blunt features, Mr. Evans appeared more a laborer than a professional.
She would have to remember there was a sharp mind in that attractive head.
Lady Mary interrupted their little battle of stares. “Right now, all we have are suspicions. What we need is proof, and I suggest we look for it.”
Katherine snapped her head around to look at Lady Mary. “What? You want us to look for a killer? Are you mad?”
“I’ve been called that before.” Lady Mary pushed her spectacles up higher on her nose. “But I tend to get results and that’s what matters. There is a killer in this house, and the magistrate is still days away.”
“Yes, the magistrate is just days away.” Katherine shook her head. “There is no reason we cannot wait for his arrival.”
“I don’t like waiting.” Lady Mary sniffed.
“It might not be safe to wait,” Mr. Evans agreed.
They were mad, the both of them. Katherine took a step back.
Lady Mary made an exasperated sound. “I’m not asking you to climb through windows or interrogate anyone. Just keep your eyes and ears open. If you say your father is innocent, this would only be of help to him.”
Katherine narrowed her eyes. Well, that was low, but it wasn’t wrong. Her father would be under suspicion. Lud, she might still be, as the unwilling bride.
She nodded. “I won’t investigate, but I will look and listen.
If I learn of anything important, I’ll let you know.
” And she knew right where she would start.
Mr. Evans and Lady Mary might not think much of her theory, but Katherine knew better than most that a heart shouldn’t be trifled with.
Knew what it was like to dream of a future only to have it ripped out from under you.
Her father might be at the top of Lady Mary’s list, but Miss Walker was at the top of hers.