Winterset

by Candace Camp

  “How do you do, my lord?” Anna said tightly, steeling herself to conceal her reaction to him.

  “I am well, thank you. I came to see how you were faring after what happened last night.” Reed’s eyes looked on hers for a long moment, then went to the doctor. “I take it that the girl turned out to be Miss Holcomb’s maid?”

  Dr. Felton nodded. “Yes, I was just informing them. It appears that she was murdered.”

  “Do they have any idea who did it?” Reed asked as he took a seat beside Dr. Felton on the sofa.

  The doctor shrugged and glanced toward Kit and Anna. “I understand that she had been sneaking out to meet a man….”

  Anna nodded. “That is what she told Penny—the maid who shared her room.”

  “Obviously this man must be the most likely suspect,” Kit said. “A lover’s quarrel, perhaps, gone terribly wrong.”

  “But what about the marks?” Anna asked, turning toward the doctor. “They said there were claw marks. Could it not have been that she was attacked by some animal?”

  Dr. Felton frowned. “Yes, there were claw marks—” He glanced at Anna, hesitating. “This is a most gruesome subject. I hesitate to tell a lady…”

  “No. I want to know,” Anna said firmly. “I have to know what happened to her.”

  “There were claw marks in several places—her arms and chest, her face, her throat. Her throat, particularly, was torn. She died from exsanguination—a loss of blood. Most of it had soaked into the ground.”

  Anna felt a little queasy at his words, but she did not ask him to stop. She nodded. “Then it was an animal? Could she not have been going to meet her lover and been attacked by—”

  “It did not resemble anything I have seen done by an animal,” Dr. Felton said grimly. “It would have had to be a very large animal. The scratches—” He hesitated again, looking at Anna uncomfortably. “They were fairly deep and spaced rather far apart—not nearly close enough together to be a dog or even a wolf—if there still are any wolves in this area. I have not heard of any. And dogs are much more likely to bite and tear as they fight, not use their claws.”

  “What could it have been, then?” Reed asked.

  “I would have said something much larger, some sort of animal that one would find only in the London Zoological Park—a lion, say, or a bear.”

  The others simply looked at him. Finally Kit said, “It doesn’t seem very likely, does it?”

  “No. That is why I’m more inclined to think that it was murder,” Dr. Felton said. “I suspect it was the work of a man.”

  Anna paled even more and said, “With claws?” She glanced toward Kit, and he shook his head slightly. She turned back to the doctor, saying “But a man would not have—”

  “No. Not claws. I think it merely resembled that. I would be inclined to say some sort of instrument—a gardening tool, perhaps. There is one, I’m not sure what you call it as I’m not much of a hand in the garden, but it looks something like a small rake, less than a foot long, with tines that curve down.”

  “Oh, yes,” Anna said. “I know what you mean. It is a cultivator. One breaks up the earth with it before one plants. Of course. I can see how it would look that way.”

  “I cannot take credit for the idea, I’m afraid. It was my father’s,” Felton said.

  Kit and Anna looked confused for a moment, then Kit said, “Oh, from the killings before…”

  “The ones fifty years ago?” Reed asked. “I had wondered about those. Were they that similar?”

  Kit nodded toward the doctor. “You had best ask Dr. Felton. He is the expert on the Beast of Craydon Tor murders.’”

  Reed turned surprised eyes toward the doctor, who looked no more than five or ten years older than himself. “But surely you were not alive then.”

  Dr. Felton smiled. “No. My father was the physician here at that time. He was young, had only been a doctor a few years when they happened. I was born a good many years later in his life. However, he kept all his notebooks from his practice, including the ones that he made regarding the two victims in those killings. He left them to me when he died a few years ago.” He shrugged, looking faintly embarrassed. “I have always been somewhat fascinated with the Beast of Craydon Tor from the time I was a boy. Of course, back then, I believed wholeheartedly in a magical beast, part man, part animal, doomed to live that way eternally by a vengeful witch. Of course, those murders were part of that lore. I collected what writings I could find on the Beast, and several years ago, one of my older patients gave me a box of clippings she had collected on the subject—newspaper articles and such about the murders.”

  “I see. So you have the definitive library on the subject?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Reed looked at him speculatively. “I must say, I would be rather interested in looking at some of those articles.”

  Felton looked surprised, but said politely, “You are welcome to come look at them if you wish.”

  “Thank you. I will take you up on that offer. My sister and brother-in-law and I were speculating on the murders last night after everyone left.”

  “Yes, I imagine it caused quite a stir at the party,” Felton commented.

  “Oh, yes, no one talked of anything else after you left,” Anna told him. “The party ended soon after, needless to say.”

  “What happened in the original murders, if you don’t mind my asking?” Reed asked the doctor. “Everything everyone said last night was rather, um, speculative.”

  “You mean, there was a lot of wild talk about the Beast,” Anna said tartly. “People are willfully superstitious.”

  “I was rather surprised to find that the vicar’s wife believed in the legend so enthusiastically,” Kit commented.

  “I find it not that unusual for someone who has faith in God to also have faith in a good number of other things,” Reed said dryly. “And,” he added, “in all fairness, even I have to admit that I have seen some events that have shaken my disbelief in things magical or legendary.”

  “Well, there was nothing magical or legendary about the murders forty-eight years ago,” Martin Felton put in. “When one reads the articles and books and such, they are written in a lurid way that sounds as if they were eerie and otherworldly, but once you have seen the drawings of the bodies in my father’s notebooks and read his notes, it is hard to view them as anything other than cold-blooded murders.”

  “Who was killed that time?”

  “The first was a servant girl, and the other was an old man, a farmer. Both had similar disfiguring marks upon them, as if a giant cat had scratched them. But the man actually died from a deep puncture wound in his back, and amid the cuts on the girl’s throat, there was the distinct slice of a knife.” Felton glanced over at Anna. “I am sorry, Miss Holcomb, I forget myself. This is not fit conversation in front of a lady.”

  “No, please, Dr. Felton, go on. I am fine,” Anna assured him. “I am made of sterner stuff than that, I think. I, too, would like to learn what happened. I have heard about the murders since I was a child, of course, but no one ever really explained them properly.”

  “The culprit was never found, was he?” Kit asked.

  “No. When the servant girl was killed, it was assumed that her fiancé had probably done it. He was arrested, but he was a tapster in the tavern, and there were a good number of witnesses who had seen him there, at least until closing. Then the second person was killed in the same way while the fiancé was still in jail, so they released him. No one could ever find any connection between the two victims, and there were no witnesses, no proof of anything. They never found who did it, and there were no more murders…at least, until now.”

  “But it could not possibly be the same person,” Kit said.

  “No, I wouldn’t think so. I mean, the murderer could still be alive, if he was fairly young at the time, but he would be quite old—at least in his seventies, I would think. It seems unlikely that he would have the strength to subdue a heal
thy young woman,” Felton responded.

  “It would seem to me that whoever did it must be imitating the original murders,” Reed said. “Wouldn’t you think? That it is someone trying to make everyone believe that this Beast is the culprit.”

  “That would seem reasonable,” the doctor agreed.

  “But it tells us nothing useful about the killer,” Kit pointed out. “I mean, all we know is that he had heard about the original killings, which could be almost anyone in the area.”

  “It would seem most likely that the killer was the man she was sneaking out to see,” Anna said. “Kit was saying so earlier.”

  “It makes sense,” Reed agreed. “They quarrel about something. He kills her, then tries to cover it up by making the claw marks.”

  “Yet it seems unlikely that he would have been carrying a gardening tool or whatever he used to make the marks when he was going to a rendezvous,” Anna pointed out.

  “True,” Reed agreed. “That would make it seem premeditated.”

  “It would not be the first time someone chose murder to get rid of a lover whom they no longer wanted,” Dr. Felton mused.

  For a moment they were all silent, considering the doctor’s words. Then Dr. Felton said, “I should go back to the village. I have stayed too long, I fear. There will doubtless be patients waiting for me at the surgery.”

  He rose, and the others stood up with him. Anna thanked him again for bringing them the news about Estelle, and Kit offered to walk the doctor out. Reed and Anna were left alone in the drawing room, and they looked at each other awkwardly.

  “I am glad to see that you are all right,” Reed said at last.

  “It was something of a shock,” Anna admitted. “Still, it was not a complete surprise, I suppose, since Estelle has been missing for several days. I had hoped that everyone was right in saying that she had simply run away, but…”

  “But you thought it was something more. Why?”

  Anna looked at him. “I—I’m not sure.” She had told no one about what had happened to her in the woods. She certainly was not about to admit her odd feeling to Reed. She cast about in her mind for another explanation for her uneasiness. “Perhaps it was because we found that dog in the woods the same day.”

  Reed’s eyebrows lifted. “You think they are connected?”

  “No. Well, I don’t know. I did not really connect the two things. It is just that the way the dog was so badly wounded made me feel a little uneasy. And then, when I came home, I learned that Estelle was missing. I didn’t really think at the time that they had anything in common, but I think that the feeling of uneasiness carried over when I heard about Estelle.”

  “At the time?” he repeated. “Do you mean that now you think that they do have something in common?”

  “I’m not sure. It was just that when the doctor described the marks on—on Estelle’s body, it occurred to me that the wounds on the dog’s side looked something like that. I assumed he had gotten into a fight with a larger dog, but the marks were rather far apart to be a dog’s claws. I didn’t really think about it then, but when Dr. Felton was talking about how they were wide-spaced, I realized that what he said could apply to the twins’ dog, as well.” She shook her head deprecatingly. “It’s probably nothing.”

  “But it could be that whoever killed your maid might have injured the dog, as well.” Reed studied her for a moment, then said, “I noticed that when the doctor was talking about the claw marks, you exchanged a look with your brother.”

  Anna glanced at him, startled. Her heart began to beat a little faster in her chest. “I don’t know what you mean. I—I don’t remember looking at Kit particularly.”

  “You did. I wondered if the claw marks meant something to you.”

  Anna stiffened, her expression turning chilly. “Just what are you saying? That I know something about the murders?”

  “No, of course not,” Reed said quickly. “Damn my tongue. I always seem to say the wrong thing to you. All I meant was that you seemed to pay particular attention to that detail. As if something about it was familiar or—”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Anna snapped. “I looked at Kit, I suppose, because he hates those tales of the Beast. He thinks them ignorant and foolish, and he dislikes the fact that people continue to repeat the legend. This will only further confirm people’s belief in it.”

  “I see.” Reed looked at her for a moment. Her gaze was direct and challenging. After a moment, he glanced away. “Anna, I hope you will take care where you go, what you do. I know you have always loved to tramp about, but…well, that doesn’t seem very safe at the moment. I hope you will take someone with you when you go out.”

  Anna gaped at him. “But this has nothing to do with me. No doubt it was the man Estelle had been meeting, as everyone says. There isn’t some wild animal roaming the countryside looking for victims. And even if there were, it did not happen in the woods or anywhere around our house. They found her clear over at Hutchins’ farm.”

  “I know. But there is no reason to take any chances. The consequences are too horrendous. It is little enough trouble to take a groom with you when you ride or your maid when you walk—”

  “That is easy enough to say when you are not the one who has someone following your every step,” Anna retorted. “The whole point of my long walks is to be alone, to—to think and look at the world around me.”

  Anna did not know if it was because her mother had died and she had taken over the reins of the household at an early age or merely because her father was a most understanding man, but she had, since she was an adolescent, been allowed to go around the countryside on her own. She cherished that freedom—valuing it even more so when she had seen her friends like Miranda had been plagued with the propriety of never venturing out without a companion. The idea that anyone would try to take away that freedom was enough to arouse her anger; the fact that it was Reed seemed to make it even worse.

  “I cannot believe that you, after all the things you told me about your mother and how you were raised, would be advocating—”

  “Blast it, this isn’t about propriety!” Reed retorted, stung by her words. “It is about your safety.”

  “But that’s absurd. There is no reason why I am not safe,” Anna said flatly. “Do you plan to go about armed, or take a servant with you?”

  “No, of course not. But I am able to take care of myself.”

  “Against a man with a gun?” Anna asked, looking at him coolly. “I don’t think the fact that you are a man or even your size would help you there.”

  “I’m not likely to meet up with a man with a gun.”

  “I am not likely to meet up with a murderer, either,” Anna shot back.

  “I just want you to be safe!” His voice rose in anger.

  “It is no concern of yours!” Anna cried. “There is nothing between us!”

  His chin came up a little, as if she had hit him, and there was a flash of hurt in his eyes before they turned blank and cold. “You do not need to remind me that I have no connection to you,” he told her, his words clipped. “No right to protect you. You have made that amply clear. I can only wonder at my own stupidity that I even care about your safety.”

  Anna had seen the wounded look that had touched his eyes, quickly repressed, and regret pierced her. “Reed…” She took a step toward him, instinctively reached toward him. “I am sorry.”

  He stepped back, out of her reach. “No. Do not apologize. No doubt I overreached myself.”

  “I never wanted to hurt you,” Anna continued in a low voice.

  “Fortunately, I no longer love you, so you cannot hurt me,” Reed told her, and the lack of emotion in his face confirmed his words. “I did not ask you to be careful because I was trying to assume some right over you. I was concerned, as I would be concerned about any young woman who might come into a killer’s path. I apologize if my concern offended you.”

  “No, Reed, it—” Anna stopped. She looked down at h
er hands. It was ridiculous, she told herself, to feel so rebuffed. After all, there was nothing between them. She had just told him so a moment before. It was foolish of her to feel hurt by his abrupt words. Of course he did not love her. It had been three years. She did not want him to love her still. It was best to just leave the matter alone.

  “I will take my leave now,” Reed went on. “Kindly give my regards to your brother.”

  “Of course.”

  Anna stood, watching him walk across the room, her heart heavy within her chest.

  At the door, he stopped and turned and delivered his parting blow, “It did not seem that you believed there was ‘nothing between us’ last night when you were in my arms.”

  He turned and walked out the door. Anna sank down into her chair, her legs suddenly trembling too much to hold her up. She clasped her hands together in her lap and stared down at them. It shamed her to think how readily she had given in to passion last night. Reed could certainly be forgiven for thinking that she was a woman of easy virtue—to claim that she did not care for him, yet to practically swoon at his kisses.

  She was still sitting in the same position a few moments later when Kit came strolling back into the room. “I saw Lord Moreland on his way out,” he said cheerfully, his voice dying as he took in Anna’s posture. “Oh, Anna…”

  He strode across the room and squatted down beside her chair. “Don’t worry. I know what you were thinking when Felton said that about the claws, but I am sure that you are wrong.”

  “Am I?” Anna looked at her brother. She glanced out the window of the drawing room toward the massive upthrust of Craydon Tor. “He could not have done such a thing. Surely not.”

  “Of course not.”

  “But if anyone knew…”

  “No one does. No one will.” He slipped his hand around hers and squeezed it reassuringly.

  “No doubt you are right,” she said.