But Adelia wasnot at the lake. They trekked up and down the shore for an hour to no avail.
“What are we going to do?” Bridget rubbed her forehead. “What if she has been murdered too? Do we have a crazed killer on the loose at Villa De Lacey?”
“Let’s not panic,” Nate said. “We don’t have another body, so wecan’t declare her murdered.”
“What if the killer dumped her body in the lake instead of the fountain?” Bridget turned toward the calm waters of Lake Windermere.
“If I hadn’t witnessed what we both did this morning, I’d say you were going mad.” Nate walked to the edge of the water. “Unfortunately, it’s now looking like a plausible scenario.”
“Good Lord.” Bridget attempted to rub the exhaustion from her face.
“But we must ask ourselves, why would someone want to kill Adelia Eamont and dump her body in Lake Windermere? Surely, we have to rule out Lady Eamont now,” Nate said. “She might be a selfish and cruel mother, but would she murder her own daughter? And if not her, that brings us back to Jefferson. Although I don’t know why he’d want to murder Adelia when Lydia is the one blackmailing Dodsworth.”
“We shouldn’t dismiss Lady Eamont yet,” Bridget said, thinking back to Adelia’s comments regarding her mother. “When we were alone upstairs, Adelia said her mama would feed her and Lydia minute amounts of poison to make them sick or make them trip and fall in a way that twists an ankle by pushing them down the stairs.”
“That’s right.” Nate’s face turned white. “I recall you telling me. But it seemed so contrived that we didn’t take her seriously.”
“I know.” Bridget dropped her gaze. “She said so many outrageous and awful things that I doubted her. And now…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. If Lady Eamont had hurt Adelia, she’d be to blame.
“Don’t blame yourself. Adelia was unhinged that day,” Nate said, as if reading her thoughts. “You couldn’t be expected to believe everything she said.”
Bridget gazed out at the lake and imagined Adelia’s lifeless body under the water. She shook her head, trying to cast off the image.
“Don’t upset yourself. We don’t know what happened yet. It’s stillfeasible that all of you met with some type of accident, and Adelia is sitting under a tree somewhere.”
“You can’t possibly believe that.”
Nate sighed. “You’re right. I don’t. There’s definitely a killer amongst us, and all we can do is pray that Adelia is not the latest victim.”
*
By the timethey returned to the house, breakfast was over, and the guests had gathered in the drawing room. An agitated Aunt Marianne stopped them just as they were about to enter and address the guests.
“I do hope you found Abigail while you were out searching for that wayward Miss Adelia. She has conveniently disappeared and left Sarah and Eliza to do everything on their own. And you know Eliza does not like to interact with the guests. They upset her.” Aunt Marianne spoke in a low voice so the guests in the living room couldn’t hear.
“Abigail hasn’t disappeared, Aunt,” Bridget whispered. “She’s—”
“What are you doing, standing there and whispering to each other?” Lady Eamont shot out of her seat and strode toward the door. “Have you found my daughter? Where is she? I demand you tell me at once!”
Nate entered the drawing room and Bridget followed. Her heart hammering. She now believed that Lady Eamont was a very dangerous person.
“I’m afraid we couldn’t find her.” Nate clasped his hands together, likely to stem his nerves. “It might be time to call the magistrate.”
“So, it’s as I said!” In contrast, Lady Eamont threw up her hands. “She’s been taken! And all you’ve done is waste time. Her abductor could have taken her to Scotland by now.”
“Adelia hasn’t been abducted, Mama.” Lydia stood up and glancedat the mahogany clock above the fireplace. “But you’re correct about one thing—she is in Scotland.”
“What are you talking about?” Lady Eamont’s entire face narrowed into an expression of tight anger.
“Adelia and Mr. Jefferson have eloped,” Lydia said calmly.
“Oh, thank heavens!” Bridget exclaimed.
“Eloped?” Lady Eamont spewed the word out of her mouth as if it were poison.
“That’s correct.” Lydia smiled.
“My word,” Lady Darby said. “This is a scandal.”
