Page 62 of The Rum and The Fox

Chapter 27

To pluck a crow with someone - to settle a dispute / reprove someone

- The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, by Francis Grose

Keziah felt her heart leap to her throat as Mr Formby’s gaze settled on her and stayed there.

“I d-didn’t do it,” she stammered, clutching at her sodden skirts and beginning to shiver all at once. She turned to Ash, hoping he could see that she was telling the truth, knowing that he’d believed she’d done it, too. Would he regret marrying her so hastily if he realised there had been no need, though the fact she was innocent might not keep her from the gallows after all. Ash clutched at her hand, though, such love in his eyes that she wondered how she could ever have doubted it. He was loyal and steadfast.

He would never leave her, never betray her, never hurt her.

After years of living under her father’s tyrannical rule, that seemed something of a miracle.

“Would you like to tell me what happened, then, your grace?” Mr Formby said, and she was relieved to note the compassion in his voice. Perhaps, if she told him everything, he would believe her? So she nodded.

“I am an excellent shot, Mr Formby, it’s true. My father taught me, just as I told you, and that night, I left the house, with a loaded pistol, fully intending to kill Martin Snyder.”

She felt Ash’s hand tighten on hers and her throat grew thick. “I couldn’t let him hurt you,” she said, turning to her husband and feeling an ache in her chest at the idea she might yet be taken away and never see him again. “Not after everything you’d done for me.” Keziah took a breath and steadied herself before carrying on. “I had already sent Martin a note. I told him that I would pay the bribe he demanded and that he must meet me if he wished to get hold of it. But in truth, I intended to shoot him. Before I could go to the meeting, though, my maid, Molly Sweet, came to find me,” she said, gesturing to the girl who was sitting shivering by the fire. “She didn’t know about my plans, though, inspector. Molly is innocent in all of this. So she did not know how ill-timed it was when she brought me a message from Frankie here.”

Frankie swallowed audibly and backed up, shuffling himself behind Keziah’s chair.

“There, now, Frankie, it’s alright,” she soothed him. “The inspector has already promised that you’ll go free so long as you tell the truth.” She turned back to Mr Formby, giving him a fierce look that dared him to prove her a liar. Formby sighed, but nodded his agreement.

“Well, then,” she carried on, giving Frankie a reassuring pat on the arm. “Frankie here knew the kind of men my father and Martin were and decided to give Mr Snyder a taste of his own medicine. In short, inspector, he tried to blackmail him. He said that he would tell you that he’d seen Martin murder my father. Seeing as you now know the man was already on the run for murder, I imagine this was a very real threat to him despite the fact he hadn’t done it. But Frankie was far out of his depth, and when they met, Martin tried to silence him for good. Poor Frankie got away by the skin of his teeth and ran to me for shelter, as I’d once been kind to him. I took him to hide in the abbey, where he remained until lunchtime. I had not the leisure to explain to my maid before that moment, what with your unfortunate visit,” she said with an anxious smile at the inspector, hoping perhaps he had a sense of humour. “At that point, I sent Molly to find him and to secured him a room in a lodging house where he could hide until we decided what best be done.”

Keziah paused, wondering if Mr Formby believed a word of what she was saying. His face was inscrutable and she simply couldn’t tell, but there was no backing out now, so she ploughed on, bolstered by the firm grip of her husband’s hand on hers.

“In short, inspector, after calming Frankie down, deciding what must be done, and taking him to the Abbey to ensure he was safe, I was late for my meeting with Martin. I ran as fast as I could and stupidly tripped over my skirts, and I dropped the pistol and very nearly broke my idiotic neck. I-I think perhaps that is when your witness saw me,” she said, faltering a little as she knew how damning it must look. “Anyway.” She cleared her throat, willing her voice to remain firm though she felt the forceful desire to bury her face in Ash’s shoulder and weep. “I carried on as fast as I could and I got to the position I’d chosen. I was so relieved when I found Martin still waiting for me,” she said, feeling her heart race as she lived the moment again and remembered how her blood had seemed to burst through her veins as she prepared to commit murder. “I had raised the pistol to take my shot when … I heard a shot that wasn’t mine, and Martin fell. I froze for a moment, wondering what was happening, but everything was still. I waited until I was sure there was no one around, and then I crept forward. I could see his body on the floor and no one appeared to be about, so … I ran closer to … to check.”

Keziah swallowed, remembering how she’d almost slid in the blood and gore that had spattered the street behind the body. “He was dead. Shot in the head,” she said, forcing down the roil of nausea as she remembered her skirts trailing in his blood. “I-I don’t remember much else, only that … that I ran home.”

The room fell silent and Keziah looked over at Mr Formby to discover him watching her, his face intent.

“I didn’t kill him, inspector,” she repeated, her grip on Ash’s hand so tight she must surely be hurting him, but she could not let go. “I had every intention of killing him, it’s true, and I would have done it, but I didn’t, I swear it.”

Mr Formby glowered at her and sat back in his chair, looking less than pleased. “Aye, reckon I believe you, too, your grace.”

“Well, you need not look so disappointed, sir,” Ash said, his voice taut and angry.

Formby snorted and shook his head. “Oh, I ain’t disappointed that it weren’t Lady Ashwicke,” he said, giving them both a rueful smile. “Truly, I’m relieved. After life with Lord Todd, well … reckon you could do with a bit of peace, eh?”

Keziah let out a breath that turned to a sob as the relief hit her all at once. They were free … truly free! It was … a wonderful feeling.

Miraculous.

“Hey, now,” Ash said, putting his arm around her and allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. “It’s all alright now, no need to turn into a watering pot.”

“N-no, I know,” she said, sobbing harder. “And I’m going to ruin your poor coat, weeping all over it.”

“Damn the coat, and the cravat, if it comes to that,” Ash said, his voice soft as he smiled at her, though she thought she could see sadness in his eyes and wondered at it. Did he regret their marriage now, after all? Now that she was in no danger of being convicted, had he finally realised his mistake? She was from a scandalous family, had not a farthing to her name but the staggering debts of her father’s, which Ash would now have to bear. Misery wrapped around her heart at the idea that he wished he hadn’t been so dreadfully hasty. But he loved her, she reminded herself, he did. She repeated the words to herself, praying that they still held true as he turned back to the inspector.

“You have no one else in your sights for these crimes, then, inspector?” Ash asked as Keziah tried hard to pull herself together.

Formby pursed his lips, leaning on his desk and looking down at it with a frown.

“I’ve felt, from the start, that there is someone on the outside, manipulating events, someone who gives the order, but never gets their hands dirty, but …” He sighed and shook his head, sitting back and looking like he might tear out what little remained of his hair in frustration. “Damned if I know,” he exclaimed, looking less than pleased. “And I just wish I did. Whoever it is, they’re crafty, powerful, too, I’d say, and I reckon I’ll never get a conviction, though in all honesty, with the likes of Lord Todd and Martin Snyder gone from the world, I doubt I’m as sorry as I ought to be.”

“You have no suspicions, then?” Ash pressed, his eyebrows raised a little.