“I believe Strong will do what is right, my lord, but if you choose to wave the flag of your rank at me, then I shall summon the Marquess of Carrbridge to my cause, and then we shall see who can gainsay whom.”
For a long moment, the two men glared at each other, the earl with all the hauteur of nobility, and Michael with whathe liked to think of as steadfastness, but was probably pure obstinacy. How he hated to be denied! And yet how could he possibly do the job for which he was engaged without the support of everyone involved? If this went against him, he would be forced to withdraw from the investigation, if the earl did not throw him out on his ear first. He might even be the one to end up in gaol! Was Strong truly in the earl’s pocket? He had wagered on it not being so, but now he was driven to doubt.
Abruptly, the earl broke into laughter. “You are a very determined man, Captain Edgerton. You must have terrified the restless natives in India. Do you truly know Carrbridge?”
“I have that honour, my lord. I have been of service to him and his family on more than one occasion. I believe he would come if I asked it of him.”
“We shall not put him to the trouble. What time will be convenient for you to see Alice?”
“The lady may set her own time, today or tomorrow, so long as she comes.”
Within the hour, Lord Rennington had brought his sister, pale but composed, to the old nursery, seated her on a chair and then pulled forward a chair for himself.
“No, Charles, you may leave me,” Lady Alice said.
“I have no intention of leaving you alone with this man. He may have his interview with you, but I will not allow him to browbeat you.”
“Go. Tell Malling to wait outside for me, for such time as the captain has run out of questions.” Her well-modulated voice was low, not raised in the slightest, but he accepted his dismissal with a grunt and a curt nod.
When the door had closed behind him, Michael said, “We are quite alone, my lady. May I offer you any wine or—?”
“I want nothing. Are you going to browbeat me?”
“Only if I am obliged to, my lady.”
Not a flicker of reaction crossed her face. “Why are you questioning me again, Captain?”
“Why are you so reluctant to talk to me?” he said in mild tones. “An innocent woman would surely wish to do everything possible to help catch her husband’s killer.”
Thatbrought a reaction! Her bosom heaved as she said icily, “You are insolent, sir! How dare you accuse me!”
“I accuse no one, merely I wonder at your attitude, Lady Alice. Your husband was brutally murdered, and no one knows why. That means that the killer may strike again, and next time it might be you, or your brother, or your daughter. I very much want to prevent that. Will you not help me?”
“I know nothing that can help.”
“You cannot be sure of that, and since our last conversation, new information has come to light. Were you aware, for instance, that your husband had fathered a child on a local girl?”
There was a long silence, as the colour on her cheeks flared up and then paled again. Her breathing was rapid at first, but then she brought herself under control.
“I find that… unlikely.”
“What makes you say that?”
“My husband was faithful to me. He was a clergyman, a man of God who took the tenets of Christianity seriously. He would never commit adultery.”
“You oblige me to point out, my lady, that Mr Nicholson was not a clergyman at all. His life here was a lie. Is it not possible that there were other lies?”
“No!” she said, with some force. “The ordination… perhaps there was a misunderstanding there, for I am sure he did not mean to cause such trouble for Charles, but in every other respect, Arthur was a man of the most upright principles. He was a good man, Captain Edgerton, and did not deserve to die in such a horrible way.”
“No one deserves to die that way,” Michael said quietly. “Lady Alice, were you aware that your husband had been systematically replacing your jewellery with paste copies, and keeping the value of them himself?”
She actually laughed at that. “Paste copies? What nonsense!”
“It is not nonsense. I have had two separate jewellers, one from Helmsley and one from Pickering, examine all the jewels in your husband’s safe, and they have identified eight pieces or sets which have been replaced. I have not yet located the proceeds, however. The amounts of money raised were substantial, yet there is no money to that value deposited in the bank, nor does it remain in your husband’s room, and believe me, we have searched very thoroughly, even removing the floorboards and looking up the chimney.”
There was a long silence. Lady Alice sat, ramrod straight on her chair, her sightless eyes fixed on a point somewhere to the left of Michael’s face. Only her breathing, slightly faster than usual, betrayed her agitation.
“I always knew he was not perfect,” she said eventually, with a sigh. “He told me as much before we married — confessed all his sins, if you like. He spoke of women, a little creativity at the card table, pocketing coins left lying unattended… that sort of thing. I was not exactly perfect myself, so I understood. But when we married, he told me repeatedly that I had made him a better person, that he was a reformed character, and I believed him. Well, I would not be the first wife to be fooled by a plausible rogue, would I?”
