Brandon and Cody spoke at once. “I will.”
Brandon moved from the mantel and made himself comfortable on the arm of Shannon’s chair. “There is no piece of evidence that can link anyone with that nasty business unless someone witnessed the girth being cut. No one has come forward yet, and I doubt if anyone will. In addition to the three of us, all of the grooms will be suspect.”
“But why? What reason could they have for doing this?”
“Perhaps the best reason of all. Aurora treated her horse better than she treated the servants.”
“I don’t believe any of them would do this to her.”
“As it happens, neither do I. I only mention it to point out that there are many people here with a possible motive as well as access to the stable. I was there this morning before Aurora rode out.”
“So was I,” Cody added. “And Martha came out to see me about some trifle and remained talking to Henry after I left. Emily goes there often to seek out Aaron.”
Shannon leaned against Brandon and felt his fingers whisper across the tendrils of hair at her nape. “I was there last evening with Clara.”
“Can anyone besides Clara account for the time you spent there?” asked Brandon.
Shannon shook her head. “Even Clara can’t account for it. I sent her back to the house to get some dried apples for Rainbow. I spoke with Jacob for a little while, but he took one of the horses out to the paddock, and I didn’t see anyone else. I was alone until Clara returned.” Shannon’s eyes closed as soon as she felt the press of tears. “I’m frightened, Brandon. Not just for myself, but for you and Cody as well. And Aurora, too. What if someone tries to hurt her again? She may not be so fortunate the next time. It was selfish of me to think how I should protect myself. It’s my sister who requires protection.”
Cody nearly groaned aloud. It was his brother’s sharp look that told him such a reaction would not be wise. “The best thing Rory could do,” he said as politely as he was able, “is to take herself away from the folly. She is the one who was screaming a murder attempt, but everyone here knows what a fine seat she has. If the purpose was to kill her, why try it while she was riding? Isn’t it just as likely that someone was merely trying to frighten her?”
“We cannot dismiss that a fall may have killed her,” said Brandon.
“But it didn’t. Admit that I could be right, Bran.”
“I admit it. But whoever cut that strap doesn’t really understand Aurora. She’ll be more determined than ever to remain.”
Cody slumped in his chair, the wind taken from his sails. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Obviously. Shannon’s right. We have to protect Rory, and in doing so, we’ll protect ourselves.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“That she not ride alone, or leave the folly for town without an escort. It’s necessary we discover who did this to her, but I’ll turn the tables on Aurora and ride for the constable myself, talk to him before she can poison his mind with her wild suspicions.”
“Will it be enough, do you think?” asked Shannon.
“It will have to be.”
Brandon purposely soughtout Sir James Harrity to investigate Aurora’s accident. The man’s manner was impersonal, even gruff, but Brandon knew him to be meticulous and thorough. Sir James had been appointed by the Crown to represent England’s best interests in the colonies and, as such, was often at odds with the fiercely independent planters such as Brandon. Brandon’s choice of his lordship was calculated to show the official he had nothing to hide in this matter.
Sir James, a short, clever, punctilious man, whose powdered wig was often slightly askew, spent three days at the folly as Brandon’s guest. He examined the strap, agreed that it had been weakened so it would eventually snap, and began to single out those at the folly with motive and access to the stable.
The questioning was a grueling torture for Shannon as she had to answer for Aurora’s accusations. Alone with his lordship in the library, where nearly all the interviews took place, Shannon spared herself nothing in the telling and found, in the end, that Sir James’s grave eyes were more sympathetic than accusatory.
“That’s because you were so brave,” Brandon told her when she made her observation. They were walking along the riverbank, serenely aware of each other but conscious of not touching. Harrity’s departure not four hours earlier had finally given them the opportunity to be alone.
“Brave?” she questioned as the cool evening air brushed her face. “Like Martha and Emily, I was frightened near to fainting.”
“And I’m certain he sensed that also, which is why he respected your courage to tell the truth. I warned you he was a perceptive man, for all that he looks rather porcine.”
Shannon giggled, recalling Harrity’s odd nose, which put her in mind of a piglet’s snout. “He does, doesn’t he? Oh, Brandon, it feels good to laugh. There were times these past days when I thought I had lost the ability. When I saw even Cody looking all sour-faced and moody, I was certain it was so. It surprised me when he offered to escort Sir James back to Williamsburg.”
Brandon had to smile. “Annie Jones.”
“Oh.” She smiled, too, sharing the memory that Annie’s name evoked.
“Oh, indeed. As far as Sir James is concerned, I don’t think his lordship appreciated Cody’s interference in his work, and told him so. Several times, in fact.” Shannon stumbled over a loose stone and Brandon automatically reached for her and slipped his arm around her waist. When she didn’t say anything, he kept it there. “But after speaking with everyone,” he continued, part of his mind on the fragrance of Shannon’s hair, “he came to the same conclusion as my rascal brother. He doesn’t believe the cut strap was anything but an attempt to frighten Aurora. A dangerous tactic, certainly, and one which we cannot put aside, but still he doesn’t think anyone wanted her dead.”
