“We do not,” said Jane. “That is, we do not know who killed Anne, but if we knew for sure that you were not here, that would mean you were one less person to consider as the possible perpetrator.”
“Well, you can be assured I wasn’t here,” said Mr. Hardy.
“But where were you?” said Byron.
“I was away that night,” said Mr. Hardy with a shrug.
“Yes, but you see, all we have for that is your word,” said Jane. “Were you with anyone?”
“I was,” said Mr. Hardy. “Yes, I went to see a woman named Mrs. Blethens in Farnham.”
“A woman?” said Byron.
“Not like that,” said Hardy immediately, the corners of his mouth turning down.
“Well, it’s neither here nor there if it was like that,” said Byron. “All that matters, truly, is that someone can confirm you were not here.”
Mr. Hardy sighed heavily. “If you insist on knowing, I shall tell you that Mrs. Blethens is sort of a midwife, I suppose, but she provides wild carrot seeds to women who want them. And I was there to procure them for Anne. She would usually go herself, but sometimes she would ask me to do it for her, as if it were simply a normal errand, and I did as she asked.”
Jane bit down on her bottom lip. She was a bit confused. “I thought wild carrot was used if a woman was…” She lowered her voice. “Are you saying Anne was with child?”
“No,” said Mr. Hardy. “No, because of the wild carrot.”
“Right,” said Byron. “So she needed a regular supply of that, and she was always replenishing it.”
“I shan’t go telling tales on my mistress, even in her death, if that is what you are after,” said Mr. Hardy. “If she had been with child, it would have been a calamity.”
“If she would have been with child, there must have been a man responsible,” said Byron.
Mr. Hardy shook his head.
“Beaumont?” said Byron.
“Definitely not,” said Mr. Hardy, shaking his head. “No, no, she had nothing to do with him anymore. Besides, I think she came to discover that Beaumont’s interests ran to the irregular.”
“What do you mean by that?” said Jane.
“Nothing I’d elaborate on in front of you, ma’am,” said Mr. Hardy. “Unnatural sorts of interests.”
“Oh,” said Jane, eyeing Byron, who smirked.
“Is it you, then?” said Byron. “Is she ingesting wild carrot to expel your seed?”
“No,” said Mr. Hardy.
Expel seed?
Jane understood the mechanics of it well enough. She’d even gotten her hands onMemoirs of a Woman of Pleasureonce, though she hadn’t read the whole thing, finding it less exciting and more disgusting than she quite knew what to do with. But, at any rate, she might be innocent and pure, as an unmarried woman should be, but that didn’t mean she was ignorant.
She was entirely certain that wild carrot couldn’t expel any man’s seed once it was, well, planted. She wondered what it did do. How did it work?
“Is it possible,” said Byron, “that she was with child, and that she wanted a larger dose to put an end to her condition, and that this man, whoever he is, found out, was displeased, and did away with both the woman and the inconvenient child?”
“No,” said Mr. Hardy. “She was not with child.”
“You see why we need to know who it is, however,” said Byron.
“You think he’s the man who killed her.” Mr. Hardy’s voice was quiet.
