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A weight slammed down on his chest as he saw Meg pale. ‘He… Yes. He came to me as the ladies were going into the parlour. He did talk of evicting my father, but—’

‘You see?’ Isabella screamed with vicious triumph. ‘She admits it, and she had blood on her hands when she came back. Did she tell you that?’

Still restrained, she tried to lunge towards Meg again and Jacob was only just able to hold her back. ‘Did it happen while you were hitting him with a rock?’ Isabella hissed over his shoulder. ‘While you were trying to make it look like an accident to save your family’s worthless skins?’

‘Isabella, please.’ Meg took a step forward. ‘Whatever you may have heard, I didn’t harm Anthony. It was an accident.’

She turned to Jacob. Her eyes were wide and earnest, and so filled with innocence he couldn’t understand how anyone could doubt a single word.

Anthony was on his way to speak to her father when he died? And Meg just happened to be there at the same time?

It was an entirely reasonable coincidence—but why hadn’t she told him about Anthony’s threat? They had reached a stage where they could begin to be honest with each other, or so he’d thought, and to find she hadn’t confided in him came as an unpleasant blow.

I would have helped her. There was no reason for her to feel she had to deal with his threat all on her own.

They were close enough to the hall to hear when the front bell clanged loudly. A maid reluctantly appeared from the servants’ corridor, where she had no doubt been hiding from the screaming, and with a terrified peep at the three people entangled outside the drawing room she darted to open the front door.

A tall figure stepped into the house. It took a beat for Jacob to recognise his untimely guest, but then his eyebrows raised sharply. ‘Isabella? Did you send for the magistrate?’

‘Of course I did.’ His sister-in-law’s smile was more like a silent snarl. ‘Did you think I’d let that creature get away with murder?’

He heard Meg gasp. The maid was bringing his visitor closer and Isabella managed to wrench herself free of Jacob’s restraining hand.

‘Thank you for coming, Sir Edward.’ She all but ran to the man bearing down on them, turning back to point an unsteady finger directly at Meg. ‘That’s her. That’s the one who killed my husband!’

Sir Edward looked from one distraught woman to the other before offering Jacob a weary bow. ‘My lord. I apologise for calling on you at such a time. You have my most heartfelt condolences.’

‘Thank you.’ Jacob nodded back, unsure what else to say. He had known Sir Edward since he’d been a boy, the old knight having been a friend of his father’s, and he could only imagine how much the man must pity him for finding himself caught between a ranting widow and his own wife. ‘I fear your visit is unnecessary, however. My sister-in-law is mistaken. I am entirely convinced there has been no foul play.’

Sir Edward coughed uncomfortably. Isabella was staring at him, apparently trying to telegraph some message using only her eyes, and the effect was enough to unnerve even the bravest of men. ‘I’m sorry. It’s not that I suspect the Viscountess, of course, but as there’s been an accusation…’

The magistrate regarded Meg. She was white as a ghost and seemed on the brink of starting to sway, and Jacob immediately reached for her arm.

‘The accusation is false,’ he reiterated vehemently, feeling Meg sag heavily against him. ‘I would stake my entire fortune on it.’

Sir Edward sighed. He looked as though there was nowhere on earth he wanted to be less than standing in what was now Jacob’s drawing room, but the demands of his office couldn’t be denied.

‘I’m afraid there will have to be an investigation, my lord,’ he said regretfully. ‘While it’s ongoing, I must politely request that your wife doesn’t leave the Wellbourne estate.’

Chapter Ten

Staring out of her bedroom window, Meg watched an orange leaf flutter through the sky, twirling like a dancer before landing softly on top of a pile already gathered beneath the trees. The grounds were lovely in their autumnal splendour, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave the room to enjoy them, held back by more than just the threat of a chilly breeze.

Exercise might have helped to blow away some of the cobwebs caused by two days of self-imposed exile, but she didn’t feel like risking encountering Isabella. Following his sister-in-law’s allegations, Jacob had threatened to evict Isabella from Wellbourne House, his hand only stayed by Meg’s appeals for him to show clemency. It would reflect poorly on him if he was known to have thrown a grieving widow out of his home before the funeral had even taken place, she’d argued, and little Celia’s tender presence had also served to make him think twice. It wasn’t safe for such a young baby to make the long journey to Isabella’s family estate in Worcestershire when the weather had been so poor, so the dowager viscountess had been allowed to stay, although Jacob had made it very clear that any more unpleasant scenes would not be tolerated.

Jacob inheriting has answered the question of him going back to Derbyshire, too. He’ll have to stay here now, as the new Viscount Fernley—something else Isabella will no doubt decide is my fault.

Her heart felt as heavy as an anchor. At least Jacob didn’t think there was any truth to his sister-in-law’s wild claims. He’d never believed Meg could be capable of harming Anthony or anyone else, a certainty she tried to hold on to as she gazed out at the brooding sky.

A quiet tap on the door made her turn. ‘Come in.’

Disappointment rippled through her when a maid appeared rather than Jacob. ‘Yes, Clara?’

‘Beg pardon, my lady. Sir Edward asks if you would do him the honour of speaking with him in the study.’

‘Now?’

‘If it pleases you, my lady.’