Chapter 10 #2
“The fact of the matter is that each of the Birnams seems to have had a motive for wishing Miss Whitlock either silenced or out of their lives,” I continued.
“We don’t know that murder was the actual intent or if disfigurement and impairment were the goal.
In all likelihood, it was the latter, or else a method other than acid would have been chosen. ”
“What motive could Mr. Birnam have possibly had?” Trevor queried, recovering himself. “You heard Matilda. He treated Miss Whitlock very well.”
“Yes, but how might he have reacted if he thought she was about to reveal something damning about his businesses?”
Trevor was taken aback by this. “You think…?”
“Miss Whitlock asked me to meet with her in private. And she referenced Gage’s and my work as inquiry agents. That’s why she was near the blue room at that late hour. I’d suggested we meet in the small chamber off the breakfast room.”
He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck again, struggling with these ramifications. “Did she tell you it was about Birnam’s businesses?”
“No, but the possibility has to be considered. She was his private secretary, and she was anxious about being overheard.”
He nodded.
“And I found Birnam standing over her dead body.”
Trevor was not entirely shocked by this. Given the state of Birnam’s hands, the guests already knew he had been present—just not the details. “But he picked up the bottle,” he protested. “Why would he do that?”
“We have to consider the possibility that this might have been a ruse to cover up the burns he’d already received. After all, I’d entered the room before he could get away.”
“Yes, but Birnam knows how corrosive oil of vitriol is. He owns the factory where it’s produced, for God’s sake! He would never have handled it without gloves.”
“People do stupid things when they’re in the heat of fury,” I countered calmly.
“Though I do admit, I struggle to believe it myself. But there are other factors to consider. Such as the note he claimed Miss Whitlock left him asking him to meet her. When we requested to see it, he couldn’t produce it.
And while she was speaking with me, she gave no indication that she wanted someone else to join us. Quite the opposite, in fact.”
Trevor stared miserably back at me, his bewilderment evident.
“You understand our difficulty. I don’t want it to be Birnam. Heaven knows, I don’t. Or Mrs. Birnam, or Jemmy, or any of them. But someone did it. And we owe it to Miss Whitlock to find out.”
His posture deflated. “Yes. Yes, we do. Even if the truth stings.”
I reached for his hand then. I couldn’t stop myself. “I’m sorry, Trevor. I know how you feel about Matilda. You were…are planning to propose, are you not?”
He hesitated but for a moment before nodding. “I’d planned to at the ball. But…”
I squeezed his hand when he couldn’t find the words to explain, letting him know I understood. Whatever the truth—good or bad—he needed to know before he took such an irrevocable step.
“We need to know more about Miss Whitlock,” I entreated him. “And unfortunately, the Birnams seem to be the only ones with that information.”
“I’ll keep trying to convince Matilda to confide in me.” He didn’t sound confident, and this troubled him. After all, Matilda was the woman he wanted to marry, but if she couldn’t or wouldn’t trust him, what did that say about their future together. “Otherwise, you might try Mrs. Birnam.”
“We will,” I promised, though I was even more doubtful that she would unburden their family’s secrets.
We turned to watch as the kingfisher took flight, circling the river twice before landing on a perch overhanging the water.
“Jemmy made an interesting claim,” I remarked almost offhandedly. “He insisted that Miss Whitlock was a deceitful liar.” I studied my brother for his reaction. “That his father was blind to it.”
Trevor glowered. “But of course he didn’t explain why she was deceitful.”
I offered him a humorless smile. “No.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know what he’s alluding to. Except…I don’t find Jemmy Birnam to be the shrewdest judge of character.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say that if his father hadn’t put a stop to it, he would have been bilked out of a considerable fortune by some prospectors from Cuba.”
I couldn’t withhold my surprise. This must be the copper mine Jemmy had told Alfie about.
Trevor removed his hat, swiping his forearm over his brow. Even in the shade surrounding the river, the rising heat was noticeable. “I tried to tell him about my own youthful follies with my finances, but he didn’t want to hear it.”
I gestured for my brother to join me as I made my way back along the shore toward the clearing where our picnic was laid out.
“That was kind of you.” I knew he was ashamed of his past mistakes with gambling and, as such, it wasn’t his favorite topic of conversation.
For him to admit to his own faults in order to try to help Jemmy was generous.
Trevor grunted, brushing it aside as if it was nothing. “All this is to say that Jemmy isn’t the most insightful fellow. And one can be certain he doesn’t view Miss Whitlock fairly.”
“Because his father persisted in throwing them together?”
“I’m sure that’s part of it.” His eyes narrowed. “But there’s more to it.” His face fell. “If I can only convince Matilda to divulge what.”
I wished I could offer him some consolation, but if he was to wed Matilda, they would have to work this out between themselves. My inserting myself in the middle would not help. The added pressure of the information she was withholding perhaps pertaining to a murder was enough without my piling on.
Of course, I wasn’t sure our older sister would see it that way.
Alana caught sight of us as we emerged from the trees, striding determinedly toward us. Trevor glanced anxiously at me, and I knew without his saying a word what he was asking. I gave him a minute nod of reassurance. We had often colluded like this, much to our sister’s vexation.
“There you are,” she declared, giving us both a searching look. The taut quirk of her lips suggested she already knew we were conspiring against her. I struggled not to feel guilty. “Mrs. Birnam feels faint.”
I began to move forward. “Oh, no. Then we should have a carriage…”
“Return her to the hall,” my sister finished, falling into step with me. “It’s already being prepared.”
“I should go with her to be sure she’s settled comfortably.”
“No, you should stay with your guests. I’ll go,” Alana stated as if the matter had already been decided. And I supposed it had, for she was right. I needed to stay.
“Then perhaps…” I didn’t need to finish this remark either, for my sister and I exchanged our own bit of silent communication. She would pry what information she could from Mrs. Birnam.
“Perhaps I should go,” Trevor offered, misunderstanding. But Alana cut him off.
“No. You should stay.” She arched her eyebrows at him meaningfully. “And make sure Matilda stays as well.” She would get more from Mrs. Birnam without her daughter present, especially if the details were in any way sordid.
Trevor caught on. “I see. Then I’ll stay.” With this, he tipped his hat to us and went in search of his near-fiancée.
“What else should I know?” I asked Alana as we traversed the remaining yards between us and the others.
“Birnam nearly came to blows with Baron Foley.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
“Apparently, he made a disparaging insinuation about Miss Whitlock.”
“And Birnam took offense?”
“Told Foley that Miss Whitlock was a respectable maiden, and if he dared imply otherwise again, he would see him over pistols at dawn.”
“A duel?” Never mind that they were illegal and rather old-fashioned.
“A duel,” Alana confirmed.
“Mrs. Birnam couldn’t have liked that.” Which was perhaps the cause of her feeling faint as much as the warmth of the day.
“I imagine not.”
We were nearly upon the others then, so I spoke in a hushed voice. “We need to know more about Miss Whitlock’s past. We need to know why she was sent away.”
Alana’s jaw firmed. “I’ll see what I can do.”