Page 46 of A Sense of Injustice
Romulus, who had been dozing, suddenly sat up, ears pricked, and set up a volley of barks, his hackles raised.
‘What is it boy?’ Flora asked, placing a restraining hand on his collar.
The ladies shared a worried look when they heard hooves approaching.
‘It’s a public path,’ Flora said, anxiety in her tone, ‘but it doesn’t lead anywhere. Romulus is a good judge of character and clearly doesn’t like the person who is approaching.’
They both stood and moved towards their horses. Flora let Romulus go. He continued to growl as the approaching horse neared their position. Before they could mount, the person invading their peace drew rein and Louise froze when a familiar voice addressed her by name.
She turned slowly, against her will, and looked up into Darius Cleethorp’s smiling face.
Chapter Eleven
‘Some news of Brigstock,’ Paul said, entering Luke’s library.
Luke put his pen aside and leaned back in his chair. ‘That was quick work.’
‘I aim to please.’
Luke abandoned his desk and the two men took chairs in their customary place beside the fire.
‘Where’s Rom?’ Paul asked.
‘Flora’s riding out with Louise Pearson this afternoon. She offered to break the news to her about Mrs Brigstock’s relationship to Exton. I sent Romulus along with them for protection.’
Paul nodded his approval. ‘Just as well. There is no end of talk about Brigstock amongst the servants at the estate he leased, and in the village too. As predicted, the taproom in the local tavern also proved to be a goldmine of information.’
Luke leaned forward. ‘I’m all ears.’
‘Seems Mrs Brigstock was universally disliked in the village. She left owing the local seamstress a great deal of money and treated all the local tradespeople like dirt.’ Luke screwed up his features, his opinion of the woman vindicated. He disliked leaping to conclusions based on nothing more that hearsay as a general rule, but on this occasion it seemed his instincts hadn’t let him down. Failing to settle debts with locals struggling to make a living was reprehensible. ‘Brigstock, however, they had more time for. The chap I sent over there fell into conversation with one of the footmen from the house Brigstock rented. All the servants there seemed to think he regretted falling for a pretty face that concealed a calculating and grasping character.’
‘It’s as we supposed then, but I was hoping for something more specific to use against Cleethorp.’
‘And you shall have it. One of the keepers sauntered in and joined the discussion in the taproom. It cost you a fair few tankards of ale to loosen their tongues.’
Luke chuckled. ‘I don’t doubt it.’
‘Money well spent, since once they started talking there was no stopping them. Brigstock was an accomplished horseman by all accounts, but also a creature of habit. He went out every afternoon at the same time, and took the same route. One of the other keepers was out and about when Brigstock fell. Seems he always jumped the same hedge astride a lively stallion. On the day of the supposed accident, just before his horse took off, someone fired a shot nearby. The creature spooked and bolted. Brigstock was unseated, landed heavily and didn’t get up again.’
‘It was deliberate?’
Paul shrugged. ‘It appears that way, but there is of course no proof.’
‘And the keeper who heard the shot never said anything?’
‘He didn’t actually see anyone, and there could have been a dozen legitimate reasons for the shot having been fired. But the keeper doesn’t actually believe that. Seems it’s been playing on his conscience and he was relieved to tell what he knew to an interested party. I’m told everyone in the taproom had already heard the rumour and wanted to know what could be done about it.’
‘Very little, sadly, without a definitive sighting of the man who fired that shot.’
Paul gave a grim nod. ‘Our man asked if anyone had been staying with the Brigstocks at the time of the accident. It seemed there was not, but a man answering Cleethorp’s description had put up at the tavern.’ Paul paused. ‘And he and Mrs Brigstock were seen together on several occasions.’
Luke pursed his lips as he digested what he’d just learned. ‘We’re on the right track, but we need proof. Go back to that tavern yourself, Paul. Talk to the landlord. Ask him if he remembers anything specific about the man who stayed there at the time of Brigstock’s accident. Find out what name he gave and if he had a legitimate reason for being in the area.’
‘I doubt whether he would have used his own name.’
‘I agree with you, but I’d like to know who he pretended to be. It might help us, even if I’m not sure how.’
‘Right.’ Paul leaned back and arched his lower back. ‘I’ll take myself over there tomorrow.’
