Page 82 of Lies in Little Sutherland
Perhaps even by listening to the very same conversation.The Marsdens had been there at Beckwith Place that weekend, and Crispin had been with me, so there was no telling where Laetitia had been.She might well have been outside the door to the study with her ears peeled.
“That’s a bit disingenuous of you, Darling,” Crispin commented.“It’s not as if you are above dropping at eaves yourself.”
No, I wasn’t.“Nor are you.”
He smirked.“We’re both as bad as the other, then.But that doesn’t mean that Laetitia is in the habit of pressing her dainty ears to keyholes.”
I sniffed.“I’m afraid I hadn’t noticed her ears.Although I don’t suppose they’ll remain dainty for long, considering the weight of the diamonds you gave her.”
“Dear me,” Crispin said, “is that jealousy I hear, Darling?”
“You wish.Not only would I not have the Sutherland diamonds as a gift, I’m sure she’ll end up with holes the size of grapes in her earlobes.Overly ostentatious, heavy things, they are.”
“Be that as it may,” Christopher said, “other than Crispin himself, she has the most to lose if word gets out that he’s not the heir to the Sutherland title.How are her skills behind the wheel, Crispin?Could she have made it to the Cotswolds and back while we were sleeping, if she made certain to dope you to make sure you wouldn’t go looking for her?”
“I wouldn’t go looking for her anyway.I’m not going to misbehave in my ancestral home with her brother next door and Philippa across the hall.”
He flicked a glance at me, and seemed to realize what he’d said, because he flushed.“How long of a drive did you say that it is?”
Christopher told him how long it had taken Francis to motor from Sutherland Hall to Upper Slaughter the next day, and Crispin nodded.“Anyone could make that drive overnight.And any of the motorcars in the garage—or at least the Phantom or the H6, or the Marsdens’ Daimler—could have made the trip easily.”
“She said you were called into the study by your father, St George, after the interlude in the maze this morning.Is that correct?”
He nodded.“The interlude, as you call it, was a cigarette.The weather wasn’t conducive for necking in the outdoors.But yes, Father had some paperwork for me to look over regarding the situation.”
“Which situation?”
“The engagement,” Crispin said.“The marriage.The dowry.”He flapped a hand.
“Your bride-to-be wasn’t invited to look at it?”
“That would defeat the purpose,” Crispin said.“No, she pushed off, and so did Father after handing me the stack and telling me to go through it.”
“And how long would you say you were in the study?Long enough for your fiancée to make it to the village, kill Doctor Meadows, and come back?”
“It’s not a far distance,” Crispin said.“I wouldn’t be surprised.”
There was a moment of silence.“Do you believe she might have done?”I asked.
He looked at me for a moment.“It seems that someone did do, doesn’t it?And there are only so many of us who have motive.Or opportunity.”
“It wasn’t us,” I said, with a glance at Christopher.“Not that Christopher wouldn’t kill for you, and not that I wouldn’t help him get rid of the body if he did kill someone?—”
They exchanged a glance and smirked.
“But we wouldn’t kill someone over this.”Preserving Crispin’s place in the succession wasn’t important enough to me to kill someone over, especially if the news getting out would get Laetitia off his back.
“I was stuck in the study with the paperwork,” he said.“Not that I can prove that.”
“I’m sure Uncle Harold would swear that he left you there with a task and a stack of paper,” Christopher told him, “if it came to that.”
Crispin nodded.“No doubt.We should have a talk, Kit.Long overdue though it is.”
Christopher agreed.“Will you excuse us, Pippa?”
“Of course.”I pushed to my feet.“I’ll go get ready for supper.I’ll see you both downstairs later.”
They both nodded.Neither made a move to get up.I walked to the door and let myself out.
