*
Tabitha huddled inthe corner of the coach house and pulled her overcoat around her neck a little tighter before lowering her hat. A few of the grooms mulled about and only glanced at her a few times. Thankfully, they didn’t act as if they knew Tabitha was a woman.
She prayed Lady Dashwood had ideas of where Tabitha could hide. She didn’t want to bring harm or more suspicion on Diana, but Tabitha also didn’t want to go to prison, either. Diana was correct when she said Tabitha turning herself in was not the right thing to do because the true killer was still out there and might kill again.
A servant walked into the coach house carrying trays of food. The young woman stood with the other two men as they partook of the meal. Tabitha pulled her gaze away from them as she looked out into the grand gardens of the estate. Although she had only been to a few estates in her life, one of them remained foremost in her mind. The Dowager Duchess of Kenbridge had the most beautiful flower gardens imaginable. Tabitha didn’t know the woman personally and had certainly never met her, but just that one time of seeing the gardens was enough to stay in Tabitha’s memory.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, she glanced back at Lady Dashwood’s servants, still chatting and chomping down food. In a way, Tabitha wished she could talk with them just to keep her mind occupied. It was hard to think of other things when the fate of her future hung by a thread.
It had almost been a week since she talked to Lord Hawthorne. Hurt and anger still ruled her emotions and fueled her melancholy. She’d thought he would do the right thing and convince Lord Tristan not to turn her in, yet because neither she nor Diana had heard anything, or even seen the magistrate, she still worried that at any minute Sir Felix would come to the door and arrest her.
She blamed Lord Hawthorne for her fear and sleepless nights.
Feeling restless, she strode out of the coach house and into the yard, but there was nothing there to keep her busy, either. She turned and slowly walked around the coach house, trying to waste her time. When she passed by one of the open windows and heard Lady Hollingsworth’s name, Tabitha stopped and moved closer to the window. Slowly she peeked inside. The driver, another man and the woman who’d brought the food were standing together talking.
“I feel sorry for that wee woman,” Lady Dashwood’s driver said. “The lass has lived in a home where her husband hated her and her servants loathed her as well.”
“Impossible!” the other man said. “That kind, sweet woman? It’s unbelievable the servants wud give ’er grief.”
“Aye, that is true,” the woman spoke up. “I heard that her lady’s maid had been raped by Lord Hollin’sworth because his wife cud not satisfy him.”
“Just horrid!” the driver exclaimed. “That monster should have been horsewhipped.”
“Aye,” the other man said.
“But that’s not the worst of it for Lady Hollin’sworth,” the woman continued. “The reason her servants hated their mistress was because shewud notgo to her husband’s bed. If she had given him an heir, his lordship wud not have taken the lady’s maid or the other women workin’ in the estate.”
“Was the lady’s maid Martha Whitehead?”
“Aye,” the woman answered.
“I ’ave ’eard of Martha.”
“She has a daughter who worked for the late Lord Elliot. I’ve heard that her daughter, Sally, wasn’t treated kindly by that lord, either.”
“How utterly sad.”
“Tis sad, indeed,” the woman continued. “I have heard that Martha is now a very angry and bitter woman.”
“And who would blame ’er?”
Tabitha sucked in a quick breath and moved away from the window. Good Heavens! This explained a lot. But not only did it explain the older woman’s hatred for Diana, pieces to the unknown puzzle started fitting together in Tabitha’s mind. Martha could have killed Lord Hollingsworth, and because Martha’s daughter had been abused by Lord Elliot, the mother could have killed him as well. Everything was so very clear now!
Hope budded in Tabitha’s bosom as she hurried around the coach house and to the carriage. She needed to tell Diana, and she didn’t think she could wait for her to finish with her visit first.
Tabitha prayed this was the answer to the end of their torment. She also prayed that Martha wouldn’t lie to the magistrate when he dropped by to ask her questions.
As she paced the drive, she thought for sure she’d wear out the bottom of her boots before Lady Hollingsworth came out. She was ready to scream with frustration, and if she had to hold this information inside her for much longer, she would be barging in Lady Dashwood’s house just to let them know what the servants had said.
From up the drive, another coach came her way with two riders beside it. Immediately, she recognized the emblem on the vehicle, and one of the men. What was the magistrate doing here? Her heart sunk, and fear expanded in her chest.
As the coach neared, she gradually stepped back underneath a tree and lowered her hat on her forehead so they would not be able to see her face. The footman hurried out to greet Sir Felix and they chatted for a few moments. Although she couldn’t hear what was being said, she was anxious to get away, and to find Diana and get her away from these men as well.
Just as panic consumed her, she turned and darted toward the back of the house, but because her hat was blocking her vision, she ran into a low hanging limb. The branch knocked the hat from her head, and immediately, her long hair tumbled down her back and over her shoulders.
She held in a frightened cry as she bent to retrieve the hat. But as she peeked toward the magistrate, he and the footman, along with the third man, were staring at her with wide eyes.
“That’s her!” the footman stated. “That’s Lady Diana’s maid.”
