“Nathaniel’s no fool. But he is a man. Amanda would have been able to get around him.”
Laura pushed that unpalatable thought away.
“Amanda spoke of employing a nanny and a governess until the child could be sent away to school,” Cillasaid.
Just like Nathaniel had been, Laura thought with a wrench. “She may well have become more settled and content after the child was born.”
“Hmm. I doubt it. But we’ll never know.”
“Did you accept the coroner’s verdict?” Lauraasked.
“That she grew dizzy and fell?” She put down her cup. “Seems the most logical. Although when I heard about the smugglers, it occurred to me that she may have stumbled onto something she shouldn’t have seen, and they dealt with her. As they may have done with Mallory.”
Laura shivered. “Don’t they carry out their nefarious deeds at night?”
“She may have angered someone else.”
“Not many are given to acts of such violence.”
Cilla shook her head. “That’s somewhat naïve, Laura,” she said dryly. “You can’t know what people are capable of.”
Laura set down her cup. “I really came to tell you I’m leaving Wolfram after the dinner party. Nathaniel wishes me to stay with my parents until this business is dealt with.”
“It will be good for you to get away for a while.”
Laura put on her hat. “I must go. He might have need of me.”
But for a black chough calling to its mate, the russet, gold and crimson woods were hushed and still, the scent of pine drifting in the air. Leaving the park, Laura approached the abbey. Sunlight sparkled off the pointed arch windows, turning the granite walls a warm apricot. It was so very beautifulhere.
It was difficult to be sure of anything Cilla said. The artist’s mood changed with alarming speed, and her view of the world was very different than Laura’s. But she couldn’t ignore what Cilla had said about Amanda. Could there possibly be any truth in it? It robbed her of breath to think Nathaniel had been cuckolded. What did he believe deep in his heart? Whether true or not, beneath the surface of Wolfram there was an undercurrent that poisoned all that was good.
There would likely be an inquest into Mallory’s death. Laura didn’t want to leave Nathaniel to deal with it alone. But he seemed resolute, and it would not be fair of her to insist on staying when he had enough to worryhim.
She had a sudden, desperate need for her aunt’s calming presence. Right now, Dora’s common sense would be of great help, although she doubted the Tarot would provide the answers to the problems atWolfram.
Perhaps like her, Nathaniel wished to blot out the gruesome scene they’d witnessed, for she found him busy with paperwork in his study. He looked up and smiled as she entered, the ledgers open on his desk as he totaled rows of figures. He had demanding properties and investments, which despite a secretary, an estate manager and an accountant in London, his personal attention to his affairs was constantly required.
He sat back and smiled. “Was Cilla upset at the news?”
“Not really. She disliked Mallory.”
Laura struggled to understand Cilla. She’d thought she’d been a close friend of Amanda’s, but they seemed to have had a complicated friendship. Cilla had not been kind about her, but that was her acerbic, sharp-tongued nature. But at times Cilla could be very kind. Laura knew she couldn’t repeat any of this to Nathaniel. It wouldn’t solve anything and would upsethim.
On the open page, she spied the name Gateley Park, one of Nathaniel’s estates. He’d mentioned it briefly before. Compared to Wolfram he considered the house to be quite modern, as it was built in the late 18thcentury.
As she leaned against the desk, he closed the book and turned in his chair to study her. “I’m sorry you had to see that grisly sight this morning. You must have been shocked. I should have given you brandy as well as Mrs. Madge. Are you all right now?”
“Still a bit shaky.” She stroked the inlaid leather top on the mahoganydesk.
He frowned. “I’d prefer you to send Cilla a note rather than wander around the estate alone.” He took her hand. “We had words this morning. I dislike it when we do that.”
“As do I, but sometimes something good comes from it. It can clear the air.”
He kissed her fingers. “And did it? Clear the air?”
Not entirely, but she wasn’t about to start another argument, not after what they’d witnessed and what Cilla had told her. She still reeled from shock at the suggestion the baby wasn’t Nathaniel’s. It was nonsense. Cilla had a love of the dramatic; that’s what made her a good artist. “Have I been unfair?”
“A soul of patience, actually. I’ve been difficult to live with.” He pulled her down onto his lap. “My insistence on you leaving Wolfram has nothing to do with our marriage. Don’t think it’s because I don’t want you here.” He stroked her cheek. “You do know that, don’t you?”
