Katherine nodded. “It was Papa’s. He wore it for a performance with a group of local players many years ago, and then into a trunk in the attic it went. It has held up rather well. I came across it one day while I was going through his old things, missing him.
“Gave me an idea. A way to slip out at night without being recognized. Mamma insisted I always have a chaperone when I went out—a footman or her lady’s maid, Martine.
“And they were not the only ones to dog my steps. Dr. Marsland has a very jealous nature and seemed determined to discover if I had another suitor. So I had to avoid him as well.
“I grew rather desperate for freedom ... and to spend time with a certain man I’ve come to admire. Another man Mamma had forbidden me to see socially, let alone marry. His were the letters Mamma confiscated. I pretended to go along with her decree as I had before, but I was not prepared to give him up.
“I only dared don the costume after dark, so no one could see my face well enough to recognize me. It became a private game between us. A way to meet. In the churchyard, or a lonely stretch of the mill stream, deserted after dark and sheltered by trees...”
A sudden realization struck Anne. “That story the old man told at the mill barn, about seeing Mr. Palling kiss the ghost of King Charles in the churchyard. He actually kissed you!”
Miss Fitzjohn blushed. “Mr. Palling told me about that. Please don’t think the worst. Our meetings have remained quite innocent. I love him, and he loves me, but we are biding our time. We still hope to marry.”
“Forgive me for saying so, Miss Fitzjohn,” Dr. Finch said, “but your mother standing between the two of you gives you a strong motive for wanting her gone.”
Tears filled her eyes. “That is where Jude had it wrong. He thought I would be glad if Mamma died, and that I would be eager to marry him once she was gone.”
She shook her head. “He wanted the inheritance, you see. The estate is not entailed and I am the primary beneficiary. Marrying me would have given him control of the money. It’s part of the reason Mamma was overprotective. She was afraid I would fall prey to fortune hunters. She never stopped seeing me as the weak, timid girl I once was. But as Jude often said, I am stronger than I appear.”
Still refusing to believe Jasper had been the one to put bees in that vase, Anne said, “Can you explain something to me? The night I found you searching your mother’s room, I heard you tell her you were sorry. May I ask what you were apologizing for?”
“Oh. Many things. For not being the daughter she wanted. For sneaking around behind her back. For dismissing her lady’s maid—her favorite companion of many years. Mammarefused to let Mr. Palling call on me or to give me his letters, and her maid enforced her edicts. Martine followed me around and made it very difficult to slip away to see him or to have any freedom at all. It’s one of the reasons I found a way to dismiss her, spy that she was. I told you about that, remember? I knew she was stealing trifles from us, yet I also knew Mamma would refuse to let her go without evidence, so I entrapped her with that little shopping errand. Martine truly did take the extra money, though it was only a few shillings. I still feel guilty about it. I was relieved when Mamma grew fond of Rosa in her place, but that doesn’t make it right.”
Katherine’s chin trembled. “I don’t deny my mother was a difficult woman, and that I resented her controlling interference. Even so, I am deeply sorry she is gone. I loved her and shall miss her the rest of my life.”
Yes, Anne thought. She probably would. The mother-daughter bond ran deep, with or without regrets, as she knew from firsthand experience.
The constable and Colonel Paine returned to Painswick Court at last, arriving midmorning. The coroner had been called away on another case, so it had taken longer than expected for Jasper to find him and report Mr. Dalby’s suspicious death. The man promised to come as soon as he could gather a jury.
In the meantime, Katherine led the rest of them down to the cells. Dr. Marsland claimed innocence, insisting the others were in league against him. Katherine calmly stated her version of events, and Anne and Dr. Finch gave evidence as well.
Colonel Paine added his voice to the others’, saying that upon his return from London, he had seen Dr. Marsland enter the woodshed, where the archery equipment was kept,and had wondered why. Now he knew. He had not waited to see him emerge, but the man would have no other reason for going in there.
In the end, the constable believed them and led Dr. Marsland away to the local lockup. He also accepted their account that Miss Fitzjohn had wounded Dr. Marsland to prevent him from killing the other two and perhaps even herself. The magistrate would have his say, of course, but it was unlikely Miss Fitzjohn would face any legal consequences for her actions.
When the constable left with Marsland, the four remaining—Anne, Katherine, Jasper, and Dr. Finch—sat down together for a respite of relative calm before the coroner’s jury arrived. Anne took advantage of the quiet time to ask Jasper the question that had been weighing on her mind.
“The scullery maid, Kezia, told me you recently brought down a small blue vase of flowers for your aunt’s tray? As a surprise for her?”
Katherine’s gaze sharpened at this, but Jasper shrugged, seemingly unconcerned.
“That’s right. Why do you ask?”
“That vase held three bees, in a stupor due to the cold, that came to active life in Lady Celia’s room.”
“What?!”
“Thankfully, I was able to move the vase outside before any of them stung her.”
His mouth hung loose as he stared at Anne, clearly dumbfounded. Then he said, “I had no idea. Jude handed me the vase of flowers and asked me to run it down to the larder for him, as he was expected at the mill. A little surprise for Aunt Celia’s tray, he said. I assumed you’d picked them, Kat. I delivered them and thought no more about it. Bees? When he knew of Aunt Celia’s reactions? ‘Little surprise’ indeed.”
Katherine said, “And he used the vase I’d made as a girl,knowing how hurt I was when she threw it away. Probably so she wouldn’t guess the ‘surprise’ was from him.”
Jasper’s lip curled in disgust. “Why would he do that?”
Katherine said, “I imagine he did it out of spite when she kept refusing to give him money, although I don’t know for certain. And now, I suppose we never shall.”
Ernest Finch spoke up. “Dr. Marsland said Mr. Dalby was also responsible for the incident with the soup and the digitalis overdose.”
