Page 66 of One Wicked Secret
With an uneasy frown, Mrs Melville gestured to the hall. “There’s a small parlour. We can talk there.” She addressed the young woman standing gawping. “Watch the broth while I’m gone, Anna.”
The parlour was modestly furnished, its worn but clean chairs arranged near the hearth. Heavy curtains swamped the small window, muffling the sound of hawkers outside.
Mrs Melville invited them to sit before perching nervously on her own chair. “I think I know what this is about, sir.”
“You do?” He prayed she knew nothing about Carver being murdered in his bed or buried in the woods.
“I saw the men myself, sir, drinking the master’s brandy and playing billiards in the games room.” She glanced at her work-worn hands resting in her lap. “I know you said we shouldn’t visit the house unless instructed, but I heard tales of trespassers and wanted to check for myself.”
“Can you describe these men?”
The housekeeper described the two scoundrels Rothley had thrown out on their ear. “They didn’t see me, sir, but I heard them joking about being paid to get drunk.”
“Do you know who’s paying them?” Elsa asked.
Mrs Melville looked confused. “Why, your brother, ma’am. He made the arrangements before leaving for the Continent.”
Elsa jerked as though pricked by one of Anna’s lost pins. “You’re certain Magnus hired them?”
“I saw him hand them a heavy coin purse and a key to the kitchen door. He told them to keep out intruders, but not to breathe a word of it to anyone.”
So, the tale of the land agent hiring them at The Speckled Hen was a lie. That’s why the innkeeper had no recollection of the mysterious gent.
Daniel inwardly cursed. “But I hired a man to patrol the property.”
“Mr Tanner. Yes, I know, sir. The vicar said he was a runner at Bow Street years ago. I believe the men came to an agreement and took turns spending the night at Edenberry.”
No wonder Tanner never mentioned the cosy arrangement. He was being paid to do half a job.
“Did it not strike you as odd that my brother hired men toguard Edenberry when there were already twenty staff living on the premises?” Elsa said.
A flush rose to Mrs Melville’s cheeks. “It’s not my place to question the master’s decisions, ma’am.”
Elsa held the housekeeper’s gaze. “But you do know why Magnus hired the men and sent the staff home.”
“I know he was afraid, ma’am.”
“Afraid of what?” Elsa said, feigning ignorance.
Mrs Melville pursed her trembling lips.
Elsa shot Daniel a questioning glance. The housekeeper had explained how the thugs came by the keys, but it was clear she was still holding something back.
Time was of the essence. Two men were dead. Elsa was only alive by God’s good grace.
The thought struck like a blade to the heart.
Their lascivious act in the garden last night proved promising for the future. The sacrifices he’d already made gave him hope they both cared enough to survive the lies and deceit.
Yet a strange foreboding settled over him, as if unseen hands were tugging at the seams of his life, eager to destroy his future.
“We need answers, and we need them now,” he said, his voice low and urgent. Neither of them was safe until they’d found Carver’s killer.
Elsa’s curt nod said she understood.
She came straight to the point. “Someone tried to kill me, Mrs Melville. I have no idea why, but I suspect it relates to my father’s bad investments.”
The housekeeper paled.
