Page 87 of A Scandal at Stonecliffe

“Are you going back to the real Malcolm again?”

“No, no. But what if...I just can’t get away from the idea that someone else was involved besides Tolliver, someone who knew Malcolm better.”

Nathan nodded. “It makes sense, though I’m not sure how we’ll find out who that person is. You think that it was this other man who killed Tolliver? Or hired Shoemaker and Hill to kill him?”

“Yes. Not asking for ransom wasn’t the only peculiarity. Shoemaker and Hill attacking us the first time doesn’t fit either, really.”

“I thought we decided it was because they were trying to discourage us from finding out the truth.”

“But that makes little sense. It happened shortly after you asked for my help, when Tolliver first talked to us. We’d barely begun to look into anything. There’s no reason he’d want to keep us from investigating the marriage records—they supported Tolliver’s claim. He had no idea we would go to Scotland.”

“But it’s too coincidental for the same two men to kidnap Douglas and also attack us for some other person like Arden or Stanhope.” Nathan frowned. “Though I still don’t see why they would have been asking us where something was unless it was Arden and the brooch.”

“Exactly. It doesn’t fit.” Verity paused, trying to express the theory that had begun forming in her brain. “Maybe Hill didn’t ask about ‘them,’ maybe he said ‘him.’ What if Will Tolliver was the thing they were trying to find?”

“Very well, I’ll give you that. It’s easy enough to confuse ’em and ’im. And I suppose there was some reason to think we might know where Tolliver was. I had been in contact with him. He had come to your house. But why would his own henchmen not know where the man was?”

“What if they weren’t his henchmen?”

Nathan looked at her for a long moment. “So your thought is that this other fellow, the Scotsman that knows the Douglases’ secret, hired all three of the men. Or he—Mr. Unknown—and Tolliver were in partnership. And Mr. Unknown sent those two to find Tolliver. But why would he have been looking for Tolliver? Why wouldn’t he have known where the man was?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t fully thought this out. Perhaps they argued about something or Tolliver cheated him some way. But we know Will left the inn where he was staying. Maybe he didn’t tell our mystery man where he was going.”

“Tolliver could have had second thoughts, I suppose,” Nathan mused. “Decided whatever he was getting paid wasn’t worth the risk of committing fraud. Or he realized the scheme wasn’t going to work. He certainly hadn’t convinced us. But would this man kill Tolliver just because he did a bad job? Because he fled?”

“That seems unlikely. But he might kill him because Tolliver could identify him. If this mystery man is someone the Douglases knew, he would be afraid of that.”

“Yes...”

“But you aren’t convinced,” Verity said.

“Are you?” Nathan asked.

“Not really. There doesn’t seem to be an important enough motive to warrant the whole subterfuge.”

“Yes, why would someone—” Nathan stopped abruptly, and stood for a moment, staring blankly into space.

“What?” Verity asked, excitement beginning to stir in her. “Nathan, what are you thinking?”

“What if...what if we have been looking at this thing the entirely wrong way? What if we turn it upside down?”

“I don’t understand. What other way is there?”

“Maybe the scheme was never really to prove Malcolm was my father’s heir. Maybe it was to reveal that he was illegitimate.”

“Who would want to do that? Oh!” Her face cleared. “It’s the other inheritance someone wants—the Douglas inheritance that the real Malcolm will get when his father, or, rather, grandfather dies.”

“Yes.” Nathan’s eyes lit with enthusiasm as he followed the idea out. “You found out that an illegitimate son couldn’t inherit the family estate, and I suspect the Douglases’ estate is worth much more than my manor.”

“So when the scandal breaks, that land would go to the person who would be the rightful heir. Which is...” Verity looked at Nathan, her eyes widening.

“John’s brother,” he said grimly.

“Uncle Robert,” Verity said softly.

“It would have to be. There weren’t any sons from their marriage, just Margaret. And it wouldn’t pass through her even if Malcolm weren’t illegitimate. Malcolm told us it was a very small family. I recall Robert is his only uncle.”

“Robert would inherit, and he wouldn’t appear to have had anything to do with taking it away from his nephew. He wouldn’t look like the villain. His family wouldn’t hate him for it.”