“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 LORDis 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 andother 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.
