‘She’s lacking in both humour and kindness. I expected Gull to tire of her because he’s such an inclusive, warm-hearted and caring person, but he was smitten. Within weeks he’d announced their engagement.’
‘Gull told me she’d left him for another man,’ said Tabitha. She did not like to gossip about Gulliver, but she was curious as to why Lucia had unexpectedly returned.
‘Yes, he said the same to me, but it appears she’s unsure whether it was the correct decision and she wants to discuss itwith Gull, perhaps try again before she makes her final decision,’ said Edith darkly.
‘What? How awful for Gull,’ exclaimed Tabitha, then bit her lip. ‘Sorry, it’s not my place to comment.’
‘Of course it’s your place,’ said Edith. ‘You live here, too, and Gull turned to you for help when he returned. You’ve as much right as Molly and me to know the facts.’
‘How is he?’ asked Tabitha.
‘Angry and, I’m delighted to say, he hasn’t agreed to an immediate reunion,’ said Edith. ‘Usually, when Lucia is involved, Gull’s heart rules his head, but this time, he’s insisted she stay in the Widow’s suite in the west wing, while he returns from Molly’s cottage to his suite in the main house. Apparently, she was furious.’
‘Which is the Widow’s suite?’ asked Tabitha. The family often used alternate names for the rooms.
‘The Blue rooms near the old nursery and classrooms with the sparrowhawk finial,’ said Edith. ‘It’s called the Widow’s suite because of an old family scandal. In 1856, Charles Swanne’s cousin, Edmund Harrowby, was found dead in the ruins in the grounds, a silver goblet clutched in his hand. The inquest gave no cause, but local gossip suggested poison. Not long afterwards, the governess, Beatrice Green, fled in disgrace but she left behind a note for Charles, who was my four-times great-grandfather, hinting at a secret marriage between her and Edmund and a demand for money. The family erased Edmund’s emblem from the headstone and refused to pay Beatrice. Ever since, the family has called them the Widow’s suite – an ironic reminder of scandal best left buried. Interestingly, they’re the furthest from Gull’s rooms.’
Tabitha felt a small spurt of relief that Gulliver was not allowing Lucia an easy way back. She knew from her own marriage to Blake, there were often tough times to be negotiated.If Gulliver and Lucia were able to navigate this storm, then their marriage would be worth saving. As it always did when her husband’s name slipped into her mind unexpectedly, Tabitha’s heart felt an ice-cold squeeze of loss, but this time, she noticed there was anger too.
After Blake’s death, her grief counsellor had assured Tabitha that anger was a natural reaction to her circumstances, loss of trust, of faith in the natural order of things, but this was the first time she had felt it and she wondered what it meant. Was she reaching a new stage in her recovery? A place where she might at last be able to accept the events surrounding her husband’s death?
‘Would you pour me a cup of tea please, dear,’ said Edith, interrupting Tabitha’s thoughts. ‘There are more cups in the sitting room, you should have one too.’
‘Of course,’ she said and as she hurried away to fetch a cup and saucer, she remembered the strange feeling that there had been a presence, out of sight, when they had been searching for the third clue near the Widow’s suite.
‘Areyouquite well?’ asked Edith as Tabitha placed the cup beside her, clearing away the empty soup bowl and placing the scone in front of her.
‘Yes, sorry, I drifted for a moment, thinking about Blake,’ she admitted.
‘To be widowed at any age is tragic, but for one as young as you, it’s heartbreaking.’
Tears rose in Tabitha’s eyes and she blinked them away.
‘Have you been able to read any of the transcripts I printed out of Wilbur’s diary?’ she said, squeezing Edith’s hand as an apology for her abrupt change of subject.
‘Yes, my dear,’ said Edith, acknowledging the touch with a grip of her own. ‘It’s not what I expected.’
‘From the first entry, I thought the diary was going to be about the house, the farms, the collection, but it’s a confession,’ said Tabitha. ‘He had an affair with a younger woman and they had a child.’
‘It’s shocking,’ said Edith, although Tabitha thought she looked delighted rather than upset. ‘Until now, all my relatives have proved terribly dull, it’s wonderful that Grandpapa was something of a rogue. Have you discovered yet whether Helena had the child?’
‘Not yet,’ admitted Tabitha. ‘Since Lucia’s arrival, she’s spent most of her time badgering me to allow her to go through the catalogue I’ve been creating. I asked if she was searching for anything specific and she told me to mind my own business.’
‘How dare she?’ spluttered Edith. ‘She has no right to speak to you in such a manner. Before she went off on her mysterious trip a few days ago, she stomped in here and demanded I tell you to send her all the details of the collection. She said you’d refused.’
‘I did,’ said Tabitha. ‘The terms of the house insurance are very clear. Only named people are allowed access to the collection. Lucia isn’t named on the document. When she became terse, I suggested she speak to you.’
Tabitha bit her lip, resisting the desire to spill the truth to Edith about the angry confrontation between herself and Lucia. When Lucia had demanded access to Tabitha’s files, she had explained it would be impossible, but Lucia had accused her of being deliberately obstructive. It was Gulliver’s intervention that had brought Lucia’s histrionics to an end. He had also explained that Tabitha was correct and Lucia had screamed at him, accusing them of having an affair before running from the room in tears. After a hasty apology to Tabitha, Gulliver had followed his wife.
‘You shouldn’t have to deal with her,’ said Edith. She spread butter, jam and cream onto a scone and handed it to Tabitha with a linen napkin before repeating the process for herself. ‘No wonder you haven’t had a chance to transcribe any more of the diary. What about the clue you found in the Yarrell book? Could you read it to me, please?’
‘Gulliver said he was going to discuss it with you,’ said Tabitha.
‘He did, but it was the night this bug took hold, so I don’t remember much.’
Tabitha pulled her phone from her pocket and scrolled through to the picture she had taken of the next clue.
‘This is clue four,’ she said and read aloud:
