Page 64 of Murder at Hambledon Hall
Pritchard being moved on from his former church for loving a man was just as strong a motive as him being moved on because he stole from the parish, perhaps even stronger given the salacious nature of it. If Shepherd found out about the vicar’s proclivities, Pritchard might do anything to stop him telling anyone.
The theory didn’t quite fit, however. The new vicar at St. Michael’s hadn’t remembered Esmond Shepherd asking about the reverend a mere ten days earlier, yet he’d become extremely angry when we did. It was the sort of anger that would remain with him well beyond a week or two. I was now even more inclined to believe that Shepherd hadn’t gone there to ask after Pritchard.
What had the new vicar said? He received numerous requests to look through parish records. Could Shepherd have gone to St. Michael’s with the intention of finding out something from the church’s registers?
Lady Kershaw cleared her throat to get my attention. “May I ask what our vicar has to do with the poacher?”
“Possibly nothing, but his lie made him look suspicious.”
“Please don’t drive our reverend out, Miss Fox,” she said grimly. “I know it seems…unnatural to some, but his particular kind of love makes him very devout. It drives him to go above and beyond for the sake of his soul, you see.”
“I see,” I said, hardly listening as I considered what else I needed from Lady Kershaw. “Speaking of scandal and subterfuge, I’ve been made aware of Esmond Shepherd’s…wandering eye, as someone put it. There are numerous rumors that he seduced the young maids at Hambledon.”
“Rumors are not fact. If you have any questions about Mr. Shepherd’s employment, you must speak to my husband. The gamekeeper reports directly to him.”
Speaking to her husband was an impossibility while Lord Kershaw avoided me. Even if he hadn’t run off at the lift, I doubted he would have told me why he never dismissed Esmond Shepherd, and why his father and grandfather before him didn’t either. If Susannah Shepherd’s parentage was the reason, then the secret would most likely be taken to his grave. Unless someone else knew.
Therewassomething I could put to bed here and now, however. Something that would tell me once and for all whether Lord Kershaw was the third man whom Mr. Crippen had overheard arguing in the woods before Shepherd’s death, the one with the cultured accent.
“Let’s not discuss the unfortunate incident anymore,” I declared. “Let’s enjoy our tea.”
Lady Kershaw visibly relaxed as she picked up her teacup again.
I pointed my teacup at her wedding ring, a wide band of platinum set with a diamond surrounded by intricate filigree. “I wanted to tell you how much I admire your taste in jewelry. The ruby necklace you wore last night to dinner is a particular favorite of mine.”
Lady Kershaw’s entire face lifted. This was a topic she liked. “It’s a favorite of mine, too. Would you like to see it?”
“Yes, please.”
She disappeared into the adjoining bedroom and returned moments later with the necklace. A fat ruby pendant dangled from the center, with four smaller rubies on each side. Between the rubies were small diamonds, sparkling in the room’s electric lighting.
“I didn’t get around to putting it back in the hotel safe,” she said, handing it to me.
I made a great show of admiring it by holding it closer to the lamp. I wasn’t a gem expert, but it looked real to me. I checked the back, having learned that was how a fake piece could be spotted. Jewelers creating fakes often didn’t bother to replicate the parts that wouldn’t be seen while worn. There was a jeweler’s mark on the clasp of the ruby necklace, and the clasp itself wasn’t a modern design.
“Where did you have it made?” I asked.
“I didn’t. That belonged to the past three Kershaw countesses. It’s quite old. These are the matching earrings.”
I admired the earrings and checked them over, too, but I was already sure the set was original. They hadn’t been sold off and replaced with cheaper fakes to make it appear as though the family were financially well off. That confirmed my earlier thought that Lord Kershaw was still as wealthy as everyone presumed. It was very unlikely he was the third thief in Shepherd and Faine’s operation, selling off silverware and other items from his own house while also claiming the insurance money.
I’d already discounted the butler, the vicar, and now Lord Kershaw. That left just one man who fit the description Crippen gave, and who had access to the house and its contents and was also a suspect in the murder.
Mr. Browning.
I had even more reason to speak to his wife now.
Chapter14
Harmony heard that my family’s dinner plans were scuttled. At a loose end herself, she decided to join me for a light meal in my suite. I ordered via the speaking tube and our food arrived shortly afterward, accompanied by a strawberry tartlet.
“They only sent up one,” I said. “I didn’t order it, but I would have thought whoever assembled our tray would realize I was dining with a second person based on the other dishes and provide two.”
Harmony plucked the tart out of my hand. “That’s for me.”
“How do you know? It’s my room.”
“Victor brings me leftover strawberry tarts because he knows they’re my favorite. He must have guessed I was here.” Smiling to herself, she set it aside for later.
