“Emma, what is it you wish to askme?”
“I’d like you to take a close look at the stitching.”
With a slight frown, Mrs. Weston held up the handkerchief to the light that was streaming through the casement windows. She studied the fabric for a long moment, and then a sharp breath hissed out from between her teeth.
Emma sighed. “You recognize the stitching.”
“Of course. No one else in Highbury has such a delicate hand. Much better than mine, which is why I asked her to teach you and Isabella when you were girls.”
Emma had been trying to convince herself that her anxieties were unfounded, but Mrs. Weston’s answer put all doubts to rest.
“That’s why I didn’t wish to tell George until I was sure of it. But what it suggests defies belief. How is it possible to conclude that she could . . .”
The thought was both horrifying and ridiculous.
Mrs. Weston grasped her hand. “It doesn’t mean that she had anything to do with the murder. It more likely means she was in the church shortly after the murder and was also the person hiding in the vestry.”
“But why would she hide if she had nothing to do with it?”
“You know how easily flustered Miss Bates is. You truly cannot think her capable of murder.”
“I fear Dr. Hughes and Constable Sharpe might not see it that way, given the evidence you hold in your other hand.”
“No person of sense could believe her capable of killing anyone, much less Mrs. Elton.”
From her experience, Emma was not entirely sure that Dr. Hughes was a sensible man. As for Constable Sharpe, it remained to be seen.
“True, but she hid in the vestry. That certainly seems suspicious by its nature.”
“She was obviously very frightened.”
“But she must have heard and recognized our voices. Why not then come out? Besides, how did she get blood on her handkerchief?”
Mrs. Weston looked puzzled. “You seem to be trying to convince yourself that Miss Bates is indeed responsible for Mrs. Elton’s death.”
“No, I’m trying to do the opposite—by making sense of her odd behavior. You didn’t see her yesterday, when she visited Hartfield. She was so greatly upset that I almost called Mr. Perry.”
“For all her excellent qualities, Miss Bates does not possess robust strength of temperament. And recall how Harriet first reacted. Is it so hard to believe that poor Miss Bates would wish for nothing more than to flee? That in a moment of panic, her desire to escape overrode her good sense?”
Since that had been Emma’s initial reaction, she could not entirely disagree. “Still, feeling that impulse and acting upon it are two different things.”
“I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. But I do think it best if you let Mr. Knightley handle these matters. He will know exactly how to deal with Dr. HughesandMiss Bates. He has such a gentle way with her.”
“Yes, but—”
At that moment, Anna awoke with a wail. Mrs. Weston rose and went to her daughter, leaving Emma to her thoughts.
And what she thought was that she needed to talk to Miss Bates before George did. Her husband would always be a paragon of kindness to the poor woman, but he was also the local magistrate. That would put him into something of a bind, caught between his legal duties and his affections for an old friend.
No, Miss Bates needed to be prepared for what was to come. If there was a reasonable explanation for her presence in the church and the bloodstained handkerchief, Emma would be more likely to draw it out of her than any man, even one as kind as George.
She only prayed therewasa reasonable explanation, because any other alternative was too disturbing to contemplate.
CHAPTER5
After bidding farewell to the kitchen boy at the gates of Hartfield, Emma continued into Highbury for the unwelcome task of confronting Miss Bates.
Mrs. Cole, one of Hartfield’s neighbors, stood on the opposite side of the street, conversing with the baker’s wife—likely gossiping about Mrs. Elton. Highbury’s shock at her death was mixed with wild speculation.
