So, it was true.
His grandfather had loved Elspeth.
Alex did not know if he was relieved or made even angrier by the revelation.
His grandfather had been in love, and yet still destroyed the lives and marriages of his own offspring.
“Well, blow me over with a feather.Took me by surprise,” Mrs.Crabbe muttered.“A duke and a local girl?It was unheard of.”She inhaled sharply and then groaned.“But it is the same with the pair of ye, isn’t it?So maybe it was true, that I ought to have believed what I was hearing.”
“Did Ernfield say anything to the duke?”Alex asked.
She nodded.“He kept saying that it was for the best, that Elspeth must have been cursed upon accepting him because this was not the natural way of things.He said that Elspeth ought to have kept to her own kind what loved her.Then he said something odd…that she should have accepted William Hester’s suit and not dallied with the duke.”
Tulip’s eyes widened.“My uncle?Was he courting Elspeth?”
“I don’t know.I thought he was in love with yer aunt, Perty.But I would not be surprised if he held a secret affection for Elspeth.Every boy in Burnham adored her.Even that cold fish, Ernfield was in love with her at one time.Oh, he’ll deny it.But I saw the heat in his eyes whenever her name was mentioned or whenever she happened to cross his path.Elspeth was working at Thornwycke at the time, assisting Mrs.Dodge.Did ye know that?”
“No, I did not,” Alex admitted.
“She had just started, perhaps no more than a few weeks in service before she met her untimely end.”
“If she was so adored, then why ever would she jump?”Tulip asked.“And was it from the tower room?”
Mrs.Crabbe nodded.“Yes, there’s where she jumped.I never saw what the duke had done up there, but I’d heard from Mrs.Dodge that he was having it decorated beautifully as a private salon for a prospective bride.Except no one knew at the time that he intended it for Elspeth, although we ought have had a clue since Elspeth was hired to assist Mrs.Dodge for this very purpose.Elspeth was as cheerful as anything the entire time, so we just assumed it was because she enjoyed her task…or maybe had a secret beau that was putting the smile on her face…and maybe putting other things elsewhere, if ye know what I mean.”
Alex cleared his throat, for he did understand her meaning.
His grandfather was a rogue and would not have been shy about seducing Elspeth.That he intended to do right and marry her did not alter the fact that he was a rake and a libertine.“What did Ernfield and my grandfather do with her body?”
She broke down in tears again.“Ernfield told His Grace that he’d give her a proper burial and warned that His Grace should tell no one or else Elspeth would be damned for eternity.Please, please, let it rest.There are still many in Burnham who loved Elspeth and would be devastated if the truth came to light.It serves no purpose to resurrect the dead.Leave her in peace.”
Alex dismissed Mrs.Crabbe and made certain to be gentle about it because he saw that the woman was genuinely distressed.“Take a moment to pull yourself together,” he said in a soothing manner.“You’ve trained your staff well, and they can carry on without you for a little while longer.”
“Thank ye, Yer Grace.I’ll be all right in my kitchen.Cooking gives me comfort.”
He smiled kindly.“Then do as you feel best.”
Tulip turned to him the moment their cook walked out.“So, poor Elspeth killed herself.”
“No,” Alex replied with a bitter laugh and a shake of his head.“I am more convinced than ever that she was murdered.”
Tulip’s eyes widened.“Murdered?”
“Yes.And you can add this one to Ernfield, as well.”
She leaped to her feet.“Alex!Are you certain?”
He nodded.“I’ve been investigating crimes for a long time.A young lady about to become a duchess, who is given the task of decorating the very salon that will soon be hers alone, and who chirps and smiles while working, does not suddenly leap out of a tower room in despair.”
“Perhaps she was masking her unhappiness.”
He cast Tulip a dubious glance.“Yes, it is possible.But unlikely.In all the conversations we’ve had about her with others, has anyone ever suggested she was prone to swings in her temperament or her behavior?”
“No,” she admitted.
He sighed.“Elspeth was a happy girl who believed she was about to marry a duke.It is as simple as that.Ernfield, whether out of jealousy because he loved her, or sheer madness in believing she was impure or a lowly commoner not fit to be a duchess, did her in.The poor girl might not have suspected a thing.”
“Then why kill any of the dukes?It could not have been revenge becausehewas the killer, not your grandfather.”
