by Sahara Kelly
She had no idea if or when the entire place might become a scandal. But at this moment, she refused to worry any more about it, just folding her note and dropping a tiny bead of sealing wax on it.
She had no ring, no family crest to impress into the soft red blob, so she gently pressed her thumb down, feeling the wax cool beneath the pressure.
A brief scrawl of Trick’s name on the fold and she was done.
Jane tucked it into her basket and set off during the early afternoon, promising to return to Wolfbridge if there was anything of import to be passed along.
“Otherwise, Ma’am, I’ll be going straight home. I can tell you about my visit in the morning, if that’s all right with you?”
Mindful of her earlier thoughts, Adalyn knew this would be the best way. She could not display any overt concern or reveal the true depths of her affection for Trick, even to Jane.
So she simply nodded. “It’s a good plan, Jane. Thank you.”
The afternoon stretched out in front of her after Jane had left. She spent some time curled up in one of her favourite chairs, near the window in the Rose room. But her book lay open, unread, and her eyes remained fixed on the world beyond the glass.
She could catch a glimpse of the lane leading to Wolfbridge from her present vantage point, so instead of diving back into her novel, she prayed for the sight of two black hats—Giles and Daniel returning from their visit. What news would they bring with them?
Her thoughts roamed over the current problem, examining it from as many angles as she could create. How did Sir Amery actually die?
That would be revealed at the inquest, she supposed. If it was indeed poison, would anyone be able to determine what kind? Or make any assumptions on how it might have been given to Sir Amery?
She tried to recall the evening itself, with particular attention to what he had said, and done, and above all, eaten.
But nothing new popped into her head. There was no servant lingering at his elbow after he’d been served, nor acting unusually. She had glanced at the two footmen, curious to see how they compared to her own gentlemen at Wolfbridge. There was, of course, no comparison. But would she not have noticed if one had been sweating, perhaps? Or betrayed any kind of nerves?
She’d seen nothing like that at all.
They’d had sherry from the same decanter, soup from the same tureen, and as far as she could recall, most all of the dishes had been shared amongst them.
Except for the beefsteaks. She’d not fancied them at all, even though the rich mushroom gravy had smelled divine.
She blinked at the thought. Mushrooms?
Was it possible? And if so, had Judith eaten any of them? Adalyn sighed. It might have been a mushroom, but the odds were small. This was a futile exercise.
She shifted on her chair, feeling a slight twinge in the muscles of her hips. And that brought back memories of last night. She’d been doing her best not to think about that at all, since it elicited feelings of embarrassment—and desire.
Just as she’d told herself to think of something else, the two men responsible for those feelings walked in.
“They’re back, Adalyn,” said Jeremy.
She glanced out the window and sure enough, there were the two hats she’d hoped to see.
“Oh God,” she sprang from her chair and rushed to Evan and Jeremy. “Will they come straight in?”
“They’ll probably head for the stables first.”
“Of course.” She tugged on their arms. “Let’s be there to meet them when they come in.”
Evan took one of her hands and Jeremy the other as all three walked through Wolfbridge Manor to the kitchen and the door to the stable path.
Adalyn waited patiently, refusing to let go of them, pulling them close to her and wishing nothing more than to be able to tug them around her and wrap herself in the comfort they offered.
“Easy, dear Adalyn,” said Jeremy, brushing his lips to her ear. “Patience.”
“I have none,” she answered honestly. “This is so important.”
“You’ve waited this long,” said Evan, his voice calm. “A few more minutes…that’s all…”
She turned to him as he looked at her, and her eyes fell to his lips. “Kiss me then. For luck. Fill these few minutes for me.”
Evan did, his mouth eager and demanding, his tongue inside and delving deep.
“My turn,” whispered Jeremy as she pulled back for air. He too claimed her mouth, moaning a little as their tongues clashed and duelled.
A sound outside jerked Adalyn back to the moment and she caught a breath as the door opened.
Two men stood there, and for one second her heart tumbled to her boots. No Trick. But two were better than none.
“You’re back…” She dropped the hands she held and rushed toward Giles and Daniel, allowing them both to catch her in hug, even as she looked past them in a vain attempt to see if there might be a third on the way.
“Indeed we are, and have been craving a cup of tea for the last hour or so,” said Giles with a pointed glance at Evan. “Not to mention there are papers in our bags.” He let a large leather bag drop to the floor. “If you’d take these to the Rose room for us, Jeremy, we’d be very grateful.”
“I’ll put the kettle on,” Evan nodded and vanished into the kitchen.
Daniel stretched. “I swear I’ll not be sitting on a horse again for some days.” He put both hands against his spine and leaned backward. “Or at least not for that long.”
“It is wonderful to see you back here, even if Trick isn't with you.” Adalyn choked down tears of relief. “I know it was important, but you were very much missed.”
“That is good to hear, Lady Adalyn.” Giles gave her a slight smile, his eyes roaming her face. “You are well?”
She nodded. “Jeremy and Evan have taken good care of me, but even so…we are all still quite worried.”
“We couldn’t leave any sooner,” said Daniel, coming to her side and touching her shoulder. “We had to make an appointment to see Sir Gerald. And that took some time.” He breathed out slowly. “I am coming to loathe Society gentlemen. Perhaps I can even understand the urge to poison one.”
“Daniel.” Adalyn stared at him.
“No, you misunderstand. I know Trick had nothing to do with it…I was just saying that a certain sort of aristocratically minded country gentleman can drive one to such thoughts.”
Adalyn eased. “All right. Yes. I see your point, and since I was not in the least bit impressed with Sir Amery Fairhurst when he was on his best behaviour, I can imagine what it would be like were he to be less than polite.”
“Well, enough of this,” said Giles. “I need to change and then I’d enjoy that tea. Perhaps in the Rose room, Adalyn. There we can tell you what we’ve learned about this whole damned mess…”
“Of course.” She looked at him uncertainly, not being used to the edgy tone in his voice. “Fifteen minutes?”
“That will be perfect.” He walked away, and Daniel followed with a brief nod.
“I’m glad they’re back,” said Jeremy. “But I’ll admit I’m a bit concerned about what they have to say.”
Adalyn couldn’t but agree. “Oh dear.” She watched him pick up the bags. “Perhaps we should get out the brandy…”
Chapter Eighteen
The atmosphere was thick with concern in the Rose room as the Wolfbridge residents gathered to hear what the Lord Lieutenant had to say about Trick’s arrest.
Giles and Daniel had refreshed themselves, Evan had put together a tray for anyone who might want sustenance, and Jeremy made sure that teacups were filled and distributed. The brandy lay waiting, just in case.
Adalyn waited, along with the others, trying to contain her impatience. She desired nothing more than to scream at Giles to tell them everything.
Now.
As if he read her thoughts, he put his cup aside. “Well, here it is then. First I will say that Sir Gerald isn’t a bad chap over
all.” He glanced at Daniel. “Feel free to interrupt if you need to…I may have forgotten something important.”
Daniel gave a quick shake of his head. “I doubt it, but thank you. I’ll keep it in mind. And I’ll agree with your assessment of Sir Gerald. He’s a fair man, but a bit out of his depth in a matter such as this.”
“We are, essentially, a very quiet county,” continued Giles. “This is the first unusual death he’s had to deal with and I found him a little askew when it came to the formalities. I wondered if he’d been intimidated, or thrown off his game by the whole thing.”
“Can you explain that?” asked Adalyn, frowning.
“He wasn’t sure of the procedures that he should be taking, I think. It was up to us to ask for a doctor to examine the remains of Sir Amery. We had to remind him about an inquest. It appears the remains are being kept in the Fivetrees wine cellar since nobody knows what to do with them at this point. The cellar is cold, so it is still feasible for such a post-mortem examination to take place. Until that has been concluded, Trick must remain at the Roundhouse.”
“I never thought to ask about a funeral,” muttered Jeremy. “And whether we should attend?”
“It will be at the Fairhurst seat, Jeremy,” said Daniel. “Quite some way from here. There are more than a few members of the Fairhurst lineage, all of varying importance. So the most important one gets to host weddings, christenings and funerals. I doubt whether anyone from around here will attend. He was not one for local pleasantries. It wouldn’t surprise me if we begin hearing about arrangements soon. They will not want to leave that property without supervision for very long.”
“Daniel acted as my right arm—and my left ear,” said Giles. “I asked him to note the important business, but also to talk to the servants, and elicit what information they might have about all this.”
“What a good idea,” Evan approved. “Lord knows servants hear everything.”
“Indeed,” agreed Giles. “Anyway, we eventually managed to arrange an audience with Sir Gerald. He was away from home when we arrived, but we were told he was expected within the hour. It turned out that an hour to Sir Gerald is two or three hours to everyone else. So it was quite late when we finally met him.”
“The two of you?” Adalyn inquired.
“Yes, he saw us both. And for a somewhat scatterbrained official, he had a pretty good recall of the details of our case.” Giles took a quick sip of tea. “Charges had been formally laid the day before yesterday. There has been no definitive report on the cause of Sir Amery’s death yet, but apparently there was enough uncertainty for the Right Honourable Baxter Fairhurst to arrive at Sir Gerald’s door and demand he arrest Trick immediately on suspicion of murder. I’m not sure Sir Gerald was too fond of Mr. Fairhurst, but he is a man aware of his duty.”
“Baxter Fairhurst? Who’s he?” Evan blinked.
“A cousin, we understand.” Giles met his look with one of slight distaste. “Not a man of property, but one who manages money. An investment broker of sorts, I believe.”
“That sounds a bit havey-cavey,” frowned Jeremy.
“There are reputable brokers out there, of course. I’m just not completely convinced Baxter Fairhurst is one of them.”
Adalyn sucked in a breath. “This doesn’t make any sense, Giles.”
“Give us time, my Lady. It’s…complicated.”
Daniel picked up the story. “We asked Sir Gerald about this Fairhurst, and pointed out that we’d never even heard of him, let alone met him. He said he had been told exactly that, but that Fairhurst did, apparently, know Trick.”
“What?” Jeremy sat up in his chair. “How on earth…”
Daniel held up a hand. “Not only did this man say he knew Trick, but he also said that he knew enough about him to suspect him of poisoning Sir Amery.” Daniel paused. “Apparently Trick has been accused of such a crime once before.”
The silence that followed that statement was deafening. Adalyn felt something was making her ears buzz and her skin tingle with an unpleasant prickling sensation. She blinked rapidly, afraid she might actually faint. “That’s impossible.”
Giles stood and walked to the fireplace, leaning his arm on the mantle as he stared into the flames. “This should be Trick’s story to tell,” he grumbled. “But there’s no way to conceal it now.” He turned his face to the four people watching him, and shrugged.
“A long time ago, when Trick was running a very large stable of thoroughbreds in Ireland, he was accused of poisoning a guest at the estate. This guest, a woman, alleged that Trick had made unwanted advances and when she rejected them, he slipped poison into her wine at an evening affair.”
Adalyn jumped to her feet. “Nonsense. Utter nonsense.”
“I will not believe Trick capable of such thing.” Jeremy rose as well.
“Not Trick. Not poison. That would not be his way at all.” Evan shook his head.
Daniel looked at Adalyn. “We all have secrets, Adalyn. And I do know that Trick was indeed accused. He let it slip one night when we were celebrating something or other a little too enthusiastically.”
Giles lifted an eyebrow, but let the comment pass so that Daniel could continue his story.
“What Trick told me was that this woman had taken a fancy to him. She was the kind of person one runs across now and again in Society. The type who thinks a dalliance with a servant is quite acceptable. In fact, she had already attempted to seduce the butler. As soon as she set eyes on Trick, he became her next target.”
Knowing how handsome Trick was, Adalyn could not profess surprise.
He cleared his throat. “She was, according to Trick, a woman of low tastes and no self-control. He was forced to throw her out of his quarters one night when she appeared at his doorway wearing a cloak and little else.”
“Good lord,” Adalyn’s eyes were wide. “And she has a title?”
“Definitely an aristocrat. I never learned her name.”
Adalyn couldn’t think of a thing to say in response.
“It would seem that this woman might have been a little unbalanced. I shall hope that is so, since her behaviour was appalling, according to Trick’s account.” Daniel leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. “There was an al fresco event shortly after, and guests were roaming the grounds. He heard a lot of noise, ran to find out what was happening, and the next thing he knew was that she was pointing at him from the ground and accusing him of poisoning her.”
Jeremy’s cheeks twitched as he clenched his teeth. “I can guess what happened after that.”
“We all can, lad.” Giles looked tired. “Trick was immediately arrested and given few options. It looked as if he was headed for the noose. But the woman’s family stepped in and appealed for lesser charges. Quietly, of course. He was left with two choices. Australia or the Colonies. The lady recovered, as many expected, but by then Trick had been sentenced to the Colonies. It was the best option for a chance to escape before reaching the coast, which he did.”
“And you met him at that time?” Adalyn watched Giles’s face.
“No, he vanished into Wales, and I have a feeling that he had help from a certain aristocratic family. They knew what she was capable of,” he replied. “He was there for several years, building a new life for himself. I met him at a horse fair—oh probably six or seven years ago now. I told him of Wolfbridge, and a year later he appeared. We needed a man who could handle our stables, and he’s been here ever since.”
Questions trembled on the tip of Adalyn’s tongue, but since they were not relevant to the current discussion of Trick and his situation, she kept them to herself.
“Well.” Jeremy returned to his seat. “I suppose, given that terrible history, accusing Trick is not completely unlikely. But this encourages me to ask how on earth Baxter Fairhurst knew of this incident? And what does he have to gain by pointing the finger at Trick…”
“I asked Sir Gerald the same thing,” answered Giles. “And he ha
d no way of explaining it other than wonder if Fairhurst had been a guest at the evening when all this happened. All he, Sir Gerald, could do was honour his commitment to the law. If Sir Amery was poisoned, then one should be looking for a poisoner. And it turns out there was one in the dining room at the time. Quod erat demonstrandum.”
“Thus it has been demonstrated,” translated Jeremy, his voice low.
“But…” Adalyn couldn’t get the words out fast enough. “We know he didn’t do it. I can testify to that.”
“Yes, you can,” said Daniel. “And now we’re getting to the interesting part. If I may?” He raised his eyebrows at Giles, who waved him ahead.
“We asked Sir Gerald what the next steps were, and what we should do to go about proving Trick’s innocence. He answered that of course a court appearance would be logical. At that point you, Adalyn, could testify about the evening in question and that at no time did Trick leave your presence or approach Sir Amery or his food in any way that could have allowed him to place poison there.”
“That’s correct,” she nodded. “I’d stake my life on that.”
“If we decide to take that option, it might mean as much as a year in confinement for Trick, though. The only judge in the county is seriously ill; and nobody knows if or even when he’ll recover. Thus the other courts that might have helped are already months behind with their cases.” Daniel folded his hands together tightly. “There are only four judges left to administer all the courts in three counties. The sheer numbers are appalling, Adalyn.”
“A year’s wait in a cell? For something he didn’t do and which can be proven with one short statement?”
“Yes.”
“Utter stupidity,” she mumbled.
“Well, there’s more.” Giles looked at her. “Sir Gerald suggested we might wish to speak personally to Mr. Fairhurst, in the event he could be persuaded to withdraw the charges, once he understands we can prove them false.”
