Mrs. Moyle let out a sigh and sank onto a stool next to the worktable.
“Gracious, child. There are a hundred questions I might ask, but to answer yours, yes, thereareold stories. And I believe they did grow out of averyold belief that a wolf lived on the estate. But that’s all they are—stories. At least, that’s my view of it.”
“I guess it’s no wonder people are gossiping, what with the constable saying it was a dog that killed Mr. Roscoe. I asked Mr. Hilliard about wolves, but he said there aren’t any in England.”
“I would imagine he’s right about that. I’ve never known anyone to have seen one, aside from the one on the sign at the tavern—which mayhave taken its name from the stories. If a real creaturedidinspire that tale, it has long since gone to its rest. But to me it sounds like the kind of story the lord of a manor might circulate to frighten off poachers.”
It did indeed, maybe one of Mr. Tregarrick’s ancestors. And mightn’t the wolf in his cup have simply been a warning about the talk in the village? I thought about the weathered wooden sign hanging above the tavern door—a wolf’s head painted against a background of heather. I had never connected it with the wolf Da had spoken of.
“Soyoudon’t think there’s anything to this idea that Harker Tregarrick somehow had to do with his solicitor’s death?”
Something glimmered in my employer’s eyes. “‘Harker,’ is it? First time I’ve heard his Christian name.”
“That’s how he introduced himself to Jack,” I said, needlessly smoothing the front of my apron.
“Well, what I think is that people are frightened because of the death, and probably shut inside too much now that the weather’s changing, and it gives them something to talk about. It doesn’t help matters that the constable and his men couldn’t find the animal responsible.”
I looked at her. “Jack’s got the idea that Mr. Tregarrick moved the body, and that’s why there was no blood where I found it.”
Her brow knit as she went to the stove and moved the steaming kettle from the fire. “I can’t see any sense in that. Why would he kill his own solicitor? And how could he make it look like an animal attack well enough to convince both the surgeon and the coroner?”
“It really only makes sense if he’s some kind of monster,” I said faintly.
“I daresay you’ve exchanged more words with the man than anyone in the village. Is that whatyouthink?”
I hesitated, unsure how much to tell her. But Mrs. Moyle was my friend as well as my employer. Who else could I talk to, now that Jack and I no longer saw eye to eye?
“I was alone with him,” I confessed. “For quite a while. He could have killedmeif he wanted to. Instead he carried me to Roche Rock andgave me medicine for tending my wound. The man isafraidof blood. I saw it with my own eyes.”
I could see that I’d finally managed to surprise her with these details, yet all she said was, “Well, there it is, then.” She raised a finger. “But youtake care, Mina. I’m not worried about wolves or monsters, but there may still be some diseased creature lurking about. And just as worrisome is people in the village getting too worked up about all this. You don’t want to get caught in the middle of it.”
I nodded. “I’ll be careful, Mrs. Moyle.”
She turned and started toward the front room. “We’ll talk more about all this after closing.”
We didn’t get the chance, though. Business wasn’t exactly brisk that morning, yet still I only made it until the noon hour before I had to sit down in the kitchen and rest.
“Drink a cup of tea, and then I want you to go on home,” said Mrs. Moyle, smoothing her hair so she could take my place in the front room. “And I want you to stay home tomorrow, too. You need to rest and make peace with your brother.”
“But how will you manage, ma’am?” I protested.
“The same way I managed before you came to work for me—poorly. But you’re not of much use to me right now, anyway.”
My employer said this with kindness, yet it was just the bit of honesty I needed to convince me. She came to the door as I was going and touched a hand to my back. “I must say I envy you your youthful adventures, and I expect details about Roche Rock when you come back.”
I smiled, though I knew her tone would have been very different had I told her the whole story of how I’d been injured.
“And try not to worry yourself over the events of the last few days,” she continued. “These dark clouds will pass over, you’ll see. Even the trouble between you and Jack.”
How I hoped she was right.
Once on the road, with the fresh air cool against my skin, I began to feel better. At the gap in the hedge, I paused, thinking I might glimpseMr. Tregarrick and speak a word of warning to him about what Jack had told me.I owe him that much.But I saw no more sign of him than I ever did on these walks.
“Mr. Tregarrick?” I called, in case he might be on the grounds within hearing.
No answer.
The estate was clear of fog today, and I knew now that it would only take a few minutes to walk to the chapel from here. But the path edged the woods, and if ever there was a place for a creature to hide ...
