Mrs. Roberts had been widowed for 18 months, having been the longstanding wife of the local doctor. They had no children.
The housekeeper, Mrs. Jenkin, age 55, pulled her mistress from the water and then ran to get help. As she passed by the doors to the dining room, she made a second gruesome discovery. One of Mrs. Roberts’ suitors, Mr. Elliot Greg, age 52, was slumped in a chair at the table, and was also expired.
The magistrate was called in and made a thorough report on what he observed upon entering the scenes of both deaths, which was as follows:
The first scene was the garden: thirty feet wide and forty feet deep, it was filled with a variety of flowering plants, including the foxglove clutched in Mrs. Roberts’ hand, amaryllis, lilies, monkshood, dog roses, sweet peas and delphiniums. A path led from the kitchens to the fountain, and then made a circle round the fountain. Smaller offshoots of graveled walkways led to all four corners of the garden. The entirety of the garden was surrounded by a five-foot stone wall. Behind the wall was forested land with no neighbors in view.
The second scene was the dining room: of usual size for a well-laid out cottage with a table to accommodate eight persons. There were two place settings on the table, as well as a platter with a small roasted beef gone cold, salt, pepper, a small dish of horseradish, a wilted salad, and a cheese board. The plate in front of Mr. Greg was half-eaten roasted beef, horseradish, a buttered roll, and a thick slice of cheddar cheese. The other plate situated at the head of the table was clean and unsullied.
On the day of the gruesome discoveries, the magistrate could get little from the hysterical housekeeper. All she was able to communicate was that her mistress had sent her to the butcher. The butcher frequented by the household confirmed that fact and though he had not been in attendance when the housekeeper came and went, his assistant remembered taking her custom.
In the ensuing days, the housekeeper was able to provide a few more salient facts, including that Mrs. Roberts had two suitors. One was Mr. Elliot Greg found dead in the house, the other was Mr. Jonathan Lamprey, age 51.
The deceased Mr. Greg had been suitor the longest and had been calling on Mrs. Roberts for above six months. He was an accountant from town and himself a widower of two years.
Mr. Lamprey was new to the area, having just purchased a dairy farm three miles out of town. He had never been married and had been courting Mrs. Roberts for approximately two months.
Both gentlemen saw the other as competition and their relations were exceedingly strained. They had, just weeks before, come to blows in the middle of the street.
The housekeeper felt that Mr. Lamprey was the superior of the two men and had a few discussions urging her mistress to see it. If Mrs. Roberts were to marry Mr. Lamprey, they might all move into his comfortable farmhouse, while Mr. Greg only rented a house and would surely wish to move into Mrs. Roberts’ current abode. This, the housekeeper thought, would only lead to an inevitable disaster with a certain gentleman named Mr. Clyde.
One of the townspeople, Mr. Clyde, age 32, had been harassing Mrs. Roberts to sell up for years. He had the idea that he could add to her house and turn it into an inn for travelers, as it was ideally situated nearby the turnpike road.
The housekeeper was certain Mr. Clyde would never give up the idea and it would eventually lead to bloodshed between Mr. Greg and Mr. Clyde, were Mr. Greg to take over the house.
The housekeeper has since moved out of the town and went to her sister in Lambeth. She gave the magistrate her forwarding address and has been reliable in answering any questions he might have through written correspondence.
The house was sold, along with one cameo brooch and a set of silverware, those things being the items of value discovered by an inventory. The proceeds from the house and belongings are currently being held in trust by the magistrate as Mrs. Roberts did not have children and more distant relatives have not yet been located. There was no will found.
The cause of death was initially suspected as a death by misadventure, it being concluded that Mrs. Roberts slipped, hit her head and then, in an unconscious state, slipped into the fountain and drowned before she could regain her senses. It was supposed that Mr. Greg, being of typical age for such, died of a heart attack as he waited for Mrs. Roberts to return from the garden.
Upon further examining the facts herein, the magistrate entered his verdict as murder. Who killed Mrs. Roberts and Mr. Greg? Why and how was it done? Was it Mr. Lamprey, the other suitor? Or perhaps it was Mr. Clyde, so that he might get hold of the property before there was a husband installed in it? Or perhaps it was the housekeeper, in a fit of rage over some household matter? Or perhaps it was a stranger not yet identified that the clues must point to?
Mr. Vance had slowly laid down the paper. “What kind of neighborhood is this?” he asked.
Lord Lymington, who had been hunched over his own copy muttered, “It does not say—nearby York perhaps?”
Isabel had failed to ask Lady Ryland if these murders presented by Lord Ryland were actually true. She certainly hoped not.
“It seems like it must be the other suitor, Mr. Lamprey, who killed Mr. Greg,” Isabel said. “Though why would he kill Mrs. Roberts too?”
Mr. Vance traced his finger along the paper. “If Mr. Greg did not in fact have a heart attack, what killed him? Indigestion from the roast beef?”
“It must have been poison,” Mrs. Thompson said. “One could cover up any sort of taste with horseradish.”
“Clever!” Lord Lymington said.
“I do not understand this at all,” Isabel said. “It would seem that if there is only one murderer, they would have two different motives for two different people. For example, Mr. Lamprey may have wished to kill Mr. Greg, but not Mrs. Roberts.”
“Mr. Clyde, the one who wanted the property to turn it into an inn,” Mr. Vance said, “he might have wished both of them dead.”
“Perhaps,” Isabel said. “But only if they were married, which they were not. Mr. Greg had no claim on the house that Mr. Clyde so eagerly wished to purchase. As well, the methods do not make sense. How would Mr. Clyde gain admittance to the garden? Did he climb over the wall? And even if he managed that, how does he convince Mr. Greg to consume poison?”
“How does he manage to cook a roast beef to serve the man?” Mr. Vance said.
“I wouldn’t know where to start with a roasted beef,” Lord Lymington said. “I am not even certain how to get to my own kitchens. Things just arrive.”
“Wait a moment,” Isabel said. “The housekeeper was sent to the butcher.Why, if there was already a cooked roast beef?”
