“It was.” Finch’s usual cheerfulness faded. “I was the one who found her.”
Sebastian kept his expression neutral, though his heart began racing. “How awful for you.”
“Lord Wentworth had sent me to fetch a book from his study. The ball had just ended, all the guests had left or were leaving, and we were cleaning up.” Finch stared into his ale. “There she was, lying on the floor. Blood everywhere.”
“The poor woman,” Prudence murmured. “She was so kind to all of us. Such a devoted mother to Lady Rose.”
“Did they catch who did it?” Sebastian asked.
“They arrested Lord Ashford within days,” Finch said. “Found the murder weapon buried in his garden.”
“But none of us believed it was him,” Prudence added, then glanced around nervously. “We probably shouldn’t speak of such things.”
“Why not?” Sebastian kept his voice casual.
Mary finally spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper. “Because there are those who don’t like questions being asked.”
The way she said it sent a chill through Sebastian. He noticed how her hands trembled slightly as she reached for her cider.
“Lord Ashford seemed like a good man from what I’ve heard in the village,” Sebastian said carefully.
“He was,” Finch said firmly. “Everyone who knew him said so. That’s why it never made sense. No one had an unkind thing to say about him, and he had no business dealings with Lord Wentworth. No motive.”
“And we all saw how Lord Wentworth treated his wife,” Prudence said.
Mary shook her head. “Prudence, no. We shouldn’t talk about this. It’s not our place.”
“It was impossible not to see the way he was with Lady Wentworth,” Finch said.
“What do you mean?” Sebastian’s chest tightened. He gripped his tankard to steady his hand.
“He was ghastly to her,” Mary said woodenly. “Lizzie had to patch her sometimes.”
“He hurt her?” Sebastian felt sick, even though he wasn’t surprised.
“Broken arm one time,” Finch said. “Isn’t that right?”
“Yes. And then there’s the smuggling,” Prudence whispered. “French brandy mostly. All illegal. That’s how he made his fortune back.”
Back?
“So we figured it was one of the lord’s enemies that did it,” Finch said. “As revenge. Or something like that.”
“Was this Lord Ashford involved in the smuggling?” It hurt Sebastian to say his father’s name in this context, but he had to pretend he didn’t know anything about the Ashford family.
“Not Lord Ashford,” Prudence said. “In fact, Hargrave told us thatLord Wentworth and Lord Ashford were old rivals. They hated each other, from what we heard.”
“Aye, Lord Wentworth was keen to make sure we all knew about that story,” Finch said. “He told the constable and anyone else who would listen—after Lady Wentworth’s death.”
“We mustn’t speak about this,” Mary blurted out.
All three of them turned toward her.
“Why?” Prudence asked softly.
“Do you know something you haven’t told us?” Finch asked Mary.
Mary spoke so softly that Sebastian found himself leaning closer. “I didn’t hear anything. Other than they were arguing about Lord Wentworth’s business.”
