“What did he tell you?”
“Nothing particularly helpful…except…”
“Except what?”Tulip prodded.
“He’d served the Davenport dukes all of his life and was not going to give away their secrets.But he did warn me about others…”
“What others, Mrs.Granger?You must tell me.More important, you musttrustme.”
“Your Grace, I do trust you.Is this not odd?For I have every reason to be afraid of you.”
“Of me?Why?”
Mrs.Granger released another long breath.“Because your uncle, William Hester, was involved in Elspeth’s disappearance.Ernfield warned me to keep away from him at all costs.”
“That is ridiculous,” Tulip said with insistence, her head now in a complete and utter spin.“Did Ernfield tell you straight out that my uncle had harmed her?”
“No, but he merely alluded to…” She appeared to struggle for words.“I think William Hester…perhaps did not kill her, but might have had a hand in covering up Elspeth’s death.There might have been others involved in hiding her body.Even Mr.Carver, perhaps.Weren’t he and your uncle best friends?And now you are asking me to sit at your dinner table with these men?”
The accusation against her uncle and even Mr.Carver had caught Tulip by surprise, and it took her another moment to make sense of it.“Ernfield has to be mistaken.Trust me, Mrs.Granger.My uncle would never do this.He is a truly decent soul.”
Mrs.Granger stared at her.“Is he?Is this what he has everyone believing?And now that I have told you all of it, will my own life be forfeit?In truth, I no longer care, for I know my husband and parents will be waiting for me at heaven’s door.”
She knocked the papers off the small table where they had been spread out for Tulip’s review.As those papers floated to the floor, Mrs.Granger let out a sob and rushed out of the parlor without waiting to be dismissed.
Tulip scooped up the papers and sat in stunned silence a moment before hurrying to the study in the hope of finding Alex there.
The door was shut, but she burst in without knocking.“Alex!”
He set aside his quill pen, and almost tipped over his chair as he rose abruptly to come to her side.“What is it, Tulip?”
“Mrs.Granger claims to be in dread fear of Uncle William.My uncle.Can you believe it?This is why she refuses to join our party tonight.Ernfield told her that my uncle and possibly Mr.Carver were involved in Elspeth’s disappearance.Well, he did not come right out and accuse them of her murder, but he intimated that something terrible had happened to Elspeth and those two were involved in covering it up.”
“She told you this?”he asked, frowning.
She nodded.
“And you believed her?”
“Well, I did find it odd that Ernfield should be the one to tell her all this when he hasn’t said more than two words to us since we arrived here.But she was genuinely overset and I don’t believe she was lying to me.”
He cast her a doubting look.“Tulip, where is she now?”
“She ran off into the garden in tears.I saw her heading toward the willow tree.You know, the one I think would have been a perfect spot to place a bench.Perhaps it is time to add one there, even if the old duke did not agree.”
Alex sighed.“Tulip, what do I care about benches or that willow tree?Go on about Mrs.Granger.”
“Well, I thought I would give her some time alone to have a good cry.”
“And you don’t think her hysterics were part of an act?”He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair.“Everyone lies under questioning.Did you not think for a moment she was cleverly insinuating Ernfield into this?Do you really believe that stoic man suddenly felt compelled to reveal to her that William and Carver were to blame?Or is it more likely she made it all up?”
“But she was so convincing.Shall we go look for her?”
“I’ll go look for her in a moment.I’m glad you came to me first.”He took her hand and marched out with her, striding down the narrow hall toward the kitchen.
Tulip had to scamper twice as fast to keep up with him.“Why are we going to the kitchen when Mrs.Granger ran into the garden?”
“To stop her from getting anywhere near our food.”
