Page 47 of Death at Fournier Downs
The duke nodded. “I will speak to Gendron, my stablemaster.”
Accepting that, Wilkes continued. “Miss Smith departed the house after luncheon, though whether it was due to the message she received, they could not say. However, something Mrs. Landry, the cook at Haverfield, noted was of particular interest. She said Miss Smith mentioned seeing an unfamiliar man walking swiftly in one of the lower fields, between the woodland and a row of sheds on the property used for farming tools, on the afternoon of Lady Bainbury’s death. At the time, Miss Smith wondered if he was simply a local farmer, but after hearing of the countess’s odd death, she told Mrs. Landry. The cook was unable to discover who the man might have been, and in fact, none of the servants I spoke with made mention of a local farmer visiting Haverfield that day.”
When Wilkes had explained all this to Hugh the evening before over their pints of ale and a thick venison stew, the first thing he thought of was the man Audrey had seen in her visions. Wilkes had, being a thorough investigator, visited the shed in question and found a balled-up sack coat and worn hat, stuffed into a large flowerpot.
“Was the coat missing a button?” Hugh had asked.
The coroner had set down his pint. “Indeed, it was. How did you know?”
“The duchess found one at the bottom of the quarry, where the countess came to rest.” Hugh had kept the button in his pocket since Audrey gave it to him, and when he presented it to Wilkes, the coroner had nodded, confirming it was a match.
Ida Smith had seen the same man from Audrey’s vision, and Hugh was nearly certain she had been killed for it. Had she discovered his identity?
After Wilkes explained to the jury the connections between the button and the coat discovered in the shed, as well as a shovel, its blade sporting a streak of blood, Lord Edgerton thundered, “Are you implying that a killer is amongmystaff?”
“Not necessarily, my lord. The man whom Miss Smith saw might have been trespassing and only using the shed.”
“It looks as though the shovel might have been the weapon used against Miss Smith,” Hugh added, gesturing toward the tool. It had been lain out on a table, along with Miss Smith’s personal effects, including the basket and some bundles of herbs. Also on display were the coat, hat, and loosed button.
“Mrs. Landry’s and Miss Smith’s inquiries into the mysterious man might have alerted him that he’d been seen,” Fournier said.
“If he heard it from others at Haverfield, that means he must be on the staff,” Lord Renfry put in, side-eyeing the baron.
“Miss Smith was known to help some of the women in the county,” Dr. Ryder said, speaking for the first time. “It is possible she related her concern about the mysterious man to someone outside the baron’s staff.”
“How did she help women?” Hugh asked.
“She was a midwife, of course,” Dr. Ryder replied, sounding as if Hugh should have already known as much. The doctor wore yet another tall cravat, covering his birthmark.
Unable to dismiss from his mind the disjointed memories of a doctor bearing such a mark, and some attached scandal, Hugh had sent off a note to Thornton via messenger the afternoon of his visit to Dr. Ryder. He anticipated a reply soon and hoped to put the niggling thoughts to rest.
A few of the farmers nodded in reply to what the doctor said, and one claimed she’d helped to deliver all three of his wife’s children.
Hugh and Wilkes exchanged a quick look. A midwife and a pregnant countess. However, Ida Smith had gone to the cottage a few daysafterCharlotte’s death. Summoned there by messenger. Lured there, perhaps, by the mysterious man who realized he’d been seen.
“Thank you, doctor,” Wilkes said, and when no one had more to say on the matters discussed, he moved that the jury present a verdict for cause of death. It was by no surprise deemed homicide. Taking advantage of the gathered jury, Wilkes then asked if they were ready to agree on a verdict of homicide for Lady Bainbury as well. They were.
“Two homicides within one week,” Wilkes mused as the jury dispersed.
“And you have questioned all the staff at Haverfield?” Fournier asked, having remained in the icehouse.
“I have. I do not think the man is on staff. Otherwise, why stash the coat and hat in the shed? Why not bring his things to his own room?”
Hugh agreed. “There are several paths that lead into that section of the forest. The citrine quarry had a main road for laborers from town. Whoever it is could be familiar with the routes.”
Butwhowas the looming question.
“Renfry has been at the manor over the summer but has only just arrived again,” he continued. “He has motive, albeit weak. I don’t think he would be fool enough to hire someone to do in his stepmother while he was away fetching his bride.”
“And if he chose to, his method would have surely been something quiet and easy, like poison,” Wilkes agreed.
The duke widened his eyes, as if appalled by their theories. The door to the icehouse’s third room opened, and Audrey swept inside. The abruptness of her step, the bright gleam of her stare as it met Hugh’s, and the parting of her lips as if she could not wait to speak, alerted him that she had discovered something. That he knew her mannerisms well enough to interpret this filled him with concern. And yet, it also gave him a hint of delight.
“Audrey, what are you doing in here? Where is Cassie?” the duke asked as Wilkes bowed his head in deference.
Fournier’s exasperation was more indulgent than it was irate, and Audrey ignored it.
“She is inside, deliriously bored,” she replied. “I, however, have just spoken with Charlotte’s maid. I know where she was going the day she died, and why.”
