“Have you been outside lately?” Samantha asked, attempting to force their attention elsewhere. “It’s a lovely day and I’m feeling a little restless myself. Do you have a garden I can visit?”
“Just continue through the hallway and you’ll arrive at a pair of French doors leading onto the terrace.”
“Perhaps you’d be kind enough to show me.”
“I…” Violet hesitated. She fiddled with her fingers for a brief moment but finally seemed to realize it would be rude to deny her guest’s request. So she nodded. “Of course.”
“We’d love for the two of you to join us,” Samantha told Theodora and Robert once Violet had risen.
Theodora shook her head but Robert stood and preceded them through the door, his spirits seeming to lift a little as soon as they stepped outside. Although the weather was cool, sunshine leaking between a smattering of fluffy white clouds added a cheerful brightness that was otherwise lost indoors. The young boy hopped down the steps leading onto a paving stone path, and dropped to a crouch.
“He’s probably spotted some sort of insect,” Violet said. “Beetles especially fascinate him.”
“You should take him to the Hunterian Museum,” Samantha suggested. “They’ve quite the collection.”
“I’d forgotten that. It’s been years since I was last there. Before Robert was born.” Violet took a deep breath and expelled it as though enjoying the smell offresh air. She glanced at Samantha, a thin smile adding a very slight curve to her lips. “Thank you for the reminder.”
“You’re welcome.” They fell into a companionable silence while watching Robert move about as he sought new points of interest. The subject Samantha wanted to broach was not an easy one, but eventually she dared to say, “I realize how painful this is for you, but I was wondering if you might know whether Eleanor was excited to marry Benjamin Lawrence or if she might have met someone else and perhaps changed her mind.”
A long moment passed before Violet spoke. When she finally did, it was with assertiveness. “My sister was never smitten by Mr. Lawrence, but he made Papa an excellent offer in exchange for her hand. Though he’s only Lord Avernail’s second eldest son, he’s extremely well off. Since none of us have large dowries, I think Papa was of the opinion that this was the best achievable match for my sister. Being related to a marquess through marriage would also have been a step up for the family as a whole.”
“And what would Mr. Lawrence have gained from this arrangement?” He was a marquess’s son, so if there was no impressive dowry to speak of, Samantha saw no benefit to him wedding an earl’s eldest daughter. Unless he’d fallen in love with her of course.
“I’m honestly not sure, but he seemed extremely determined in his courtship.” Pensiveness creased her brow. “Mama and Papa will probably know the answer, though it’s possible he simply viewed her as one of themost eligible women on the marriage mart. Which she was.”
“And did she ever say if her heart was engaged elsewhere?”
Violet’s expression hardened. “My sister was not the sort of woman to make a commitment to one man while pining for another. She was good and kind, selfless in every conceivable way, always putting others ahead of herself.”
“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise.”
“Didn’t you?” Violet lifted her chin, her eyes glistening in the early afternoon light. She sniffed. “When Lawrence fell from that horse and word arrived of his injuries, she went to him without hesitation. There was no questioning the pain she felt on his behalf when she returned from that visit. She recognized that while this would make her life more challenging, it didn’t compare to how hard it was for Lawrence to lose the use of his legs. And she determined to focus all her energy on making the situation more bearable for him. That is the sort of person she was, Mrs. Croft.”
Samantha said nothing further. It was clear to her that Violet had viewed her older sister as a living saint. But Eleanor must have done something to earn someone’s wrath or she wouldn’t have been so brutally murdered.
Filing away the information she’d gained from Violet, she returned indoors and went to join Adrian in the study. He had just finished questioning Lady Orendel when she entered.
“Are you certain there’s nothing else to add?” Adrian asked the countess.
“Perfectly so. I’d like to rest now.”
Adrian sighed. “Very well. Thank you for your time.”
The countess dipped her head but said nothing more as she stood. She turned toward the door and her red-rimmed eyes found Samantha.
“I’m not sure if this was already addressed, Lady Orendel,” Samantha said, “but I wonder if you’re able to tell us why Mr. Benjamin Lawrence was keen on marrying your daughter.”
Shock seized the countess’s features. “He must have known he’d be lucky to have her. Any man would have.”
“Would you go so far as to say that he loved her?”
“Yes.” The countess gave a vigorous nod. “There’s no doubt in my mind that he did.”
A different perception to Violet’s. “And did she love him?”
“Without question. Mr. Lawrence meant the world to her. She was excited to wed him. Impatient to do so. But Mr. Lawrence’s grandfather died in January, and then he himself took that terrible fall in April, so the wedding was postponed two times.”
It was hard to know where the truth lay between Violet’s statement and Lady Orendel’s. Perhaps somewhere in the middle?
