Page 35 of The Case of the Curate

Chadbon sighed. “Young Carver, the squire’s son, and his soon-to-be father-in-law, Gibb of Tetley Hall. They have set a date for the wedding and wanted to be sure Marjorie and I would be free to attend before they settled everything. I assured them we would be and made my excuses, since we were expecting guests.”

This is better! Young Carver the squire’s son was, according to Rupert, the father of Dinah’s child, and Gibb the father of his intended. Both had a motive to be rid of the complication that was Dinah.

Suddenly breathless, Kate asked, “Did you leave them in here after you excused yourself?”

“No, I was civil enough to see them to the front door.”

Still, one of them could already have picked up and hidden the dagger about their person. Not easy considering the length of its blade, but possible. This was very useful.

But she had more to ask. “Mrs. Thornfield mentioned there have been several vagrants in the area recently.”

“It tends to be the same all over. Many of them are old soldiers returned from the war. It is one of the things our bill will address.”

“Of course, but perhaps you are aware of one in particular who hangs around the inn?”

“Why no, but I’ll have Remington look into it. If that is all, Lady Ambrose…?” Lord Chadbon edged back toward his desk.

“Just one more thing,” Kate said hastily. “What was your impression of Dinah?”

He blinked. “She was a maid.”

“An exceptionally pretty one. Did this ever cause…difficulties amongst your household or guests? A temptation, perhaps? Was she disruptive? Pert? A good worker, an asset to your staff?”

“I really have no idea,” he replied stiffly. “My wife handles household matters, as you might expect. Where there is any need for more than the supervision of Kemp or Mrs. Thornfield.”

“Of course,” Kate said smoothly. “I’ll speak to them. Thank you.”

Chadbon gave a thin smile. “You needn’t be quite so…assiduous, you know. The arrest has gone quietly and smoothly, Remington is perfectly satisfied, and the whole matter will soon be forgotten.”

“I doubt it,” Kate said. “I don’t believe the curate did it. And the truth has a way of turning up whether it is convenient or not. I would protect Your Lordship from that.”

It was an excellent line to exit with, but even as she departed, she could almost hear Rupert laughing at her smooth, political answer, which was itself only vaguely truthful. In fact, her priority was protecting her old friend and getting justice for the girl who seemed to have no one else to speak for her. It made her feel slightly guilty as she opened the front door and extracted an umbrella from the stand there, because she realized she would expose the truth even if meant sacrificing the returning soldiers bill, Gilbert’s position, and Chadbon’s patronage.

Oh well, there will be other ways to support the soldiers. Gilbert is stuck with me. And Chadbon is not the only powerful man in Parliament.

The rain battered rather than pattered on her umbrella as she ran around to the stables. The weather had certainly worsened during their return last night, and it didn’t seem to have let up since. The ground was awash in mud and puddles.

Jack Irwin, the Chadbons’ head coachman, was standing under the wooden overhang of the carriage house with a couple of other vising coachmen, all in serious conversation and gazing apprehensively at the filthy sky. The Ambrose coachman, who had been informed yesterday of Kate’s longer stay at the court, was not present, and the others melted away as she approached.

“A good day not to be traveling, my lady,” Jack greeted her.

“That’s what I thought.”

“River’s burst its banks below Chadleigh. I wouldn’t advise anyone to try and get through today.”

“That bad?” Kate responded, trying not to look too hopeful. Perhaps this would give her the time she needed.

“Going to get worse, too,” Jack opined.

“Oh dear,” Kate said, and abruptly changed the subject. “I understand Mr. Grande spoke to you recently about Dinah.”

The coachman’s face reddened, but he didn’t drop his gaze. “With respect, my lady, that’s not your concern.”

“Actually, it is, since I have been asked to make it so by your master and mistress.” Surreptitiously, she crossed her fingers, since this was something of a stretch of the truth. “Were you happy with the arrangement Mr. Grande suggested to you?”

“Happy enough,” Jack said with a hint of aggression.

“Happy enough to agree?”