“And you met him at that time?” Adalyn watched Giles’s face.
“No, he vanished into Wales, and I have a feeling that he had help from a certain aristocratic family. They knew what she was capable of,” he replied. “He was there for several years, building a new life for himself. I met him at a horse fair—oh probably six or seven years ago now. I told him of Wolfbridge, and a year later he appeared. We needed a man who could handle our stables, and he’s been here ever since.”
Questions trembled on the tip of Adalyn’s tongue, but since they were not relevant to the current discussion of Trick and his situation, she kept them to herself.
“Well.” Jeremy returned to his seat. “I suppose, given that terrible history, accusing Trick is not completely unlikely. But this encourages me to ask how on earth Baxter Fairhurst knew of this incident? And what does he have to gain by pointing the finger at Trick…”
“I asked Sir Gerald the same thing,” answered Giles. “And he had no way of explaining it other than wonder if Fairhurst had been a guest at the evening when all this happened. All he, Sir Gerald, could do was honour his commitment to the law. If Sir Amery was poisoned, then one should be looking for a poisoner. And it turns out there was one in the dining room at the time.Quod erat demonstrandum.”
“Thus it has been demonstrated,” translated Jeremy, his voice low.
“But…” Adalyn couldn’t get the words out fast enough. “We know he didn’t do it. I can testify to that.”
“Yes, you can,” said Daniel. “And now we’re getting to the interesting part. If I may?” He raised his eyebrows at Giles, who waved him ahead.
“We asked Sir Gerald what the next steps were, and what we should do to go about proving Trick’s innocence. He answered that of course a court appearance would be logical. At that point you, Adalyn, could testify about the evening in question and that at no time did Trick leave your presence or approach Sir Amery or his food in any way that could have allowed him to place poison there.”
“That’s correct,” she nodded. “I’d stake my life on that.”
“If we decide to take that option, it might mean as much as a year in confinement for Trick, though. The only judge in the county is seriously ill; and nobody knows if or even when he’ll recover. Thus the other courts that might have helped are already months behind with their cases.” Daniel folded his hands together tightly. “There are only four judges left to administer all the courts in three counties. The sheer numbers are appalling, Adalyn.”
“A year’s wait in a cell? For something he didn’t do and which can be proven with one short statement?”
“Yes.”
“Utter stupidity,” she mumbled.
“Well, there’s more.” Giles looked at her. “Sir Gerald suggested we might wish to speak personally to Mr. Fairhurst, in the event he could be persuaded to withdraw the charges, once he understands we can prove them false.”
“Did you?” Jeremy blurted out the question.
“Yes, we did.” Daniel glanced at Giles. “And he was every bit as unpleasant as we might have guessed.”
“So not amenable to dropping the charges?” growled Jeremy.
“On the contrary,” Daniel’s mouth curved in anger. “He was perfectly ready to drop the charges. If…” He paused dramatically. “If—in addition to her statement—Lady Adalyn would sign over the rights to the Wolfbridge river, and the land bordering it for a distance of fifty feet.”
“What?” Adalyn was stunned.
“He wants the river and the riverbank.” Giles spoke through clenched teeth.
She shook her head. “I do not understand any of this. To free Trick, I have to give away land. I’d be buying his freedom with a piece of Wolfbridge as currency. Has this entire situation been engineered by this fellow to obtain the river? And if so,why? It’s a very complicated plan, and let’s not forget that a man died because of it. What on earth use would it be tohim?”
Daniel held up his hand before the others could add their questions to Adalyn’s. “There are a couple of answers. First, we are not sure that Baxter had anything to do with Sir Amery’s death. He may just be using the unfortunate occurrence for his own gain. As far as the river goes, I believe the reason for his interest lies in a growing trend. Canals.”
Jeremy raised his head. “Ah, yes. Now I begin to understand.”
“I don’t.” Evan frowned. “You’d better go on, Daniel…”
“I learned from the servants that Fairhurst has contacted two lawyers who specialise in inheritances. Rumour has it that Judith Fairhurst may be the only heir to Fivetrees, and if so, Baxter will contest the will.”
“So he wants Fivetrees…” Adalyn murmured. “And if he has the river as well…”
“He can use it as a formal canal and charge a toll for everyone who ferries anything downstream, or upstream for that matter.”
“Then there’s the possibility of building locks, which will drastically alter the flow of water around our fields,” added Giles.
Jeremy nodded in agreement. “If I recall something I read recently, the business of locks and canals is growing by leaps and bounds. There are many investors looking for new opportunities to sink funds into it, because the returns are constantly increasing.”
