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Hugo took the opportunity now to close the shutters a little, and lit one of the candles.
The soft glow was more than enough for them to be able to see properly, and helped to speed up the search of the papers.
“This helpful?” Charlie drawled quietly, and slid an accounting ledger onto the desk in front of Hugo. Beside it was a small leather bound book which contained a series of figures.
“Payments,” Hugo sighed as he studied the contents. He threw Charlie a relieved look. “It looks like it details all of the payments Snetterton has made to Meldrew.”
“Out of church funds, do you think?”
“I think they are almost certainly out of church funds, don’t you?” Hugo whispered.
He took a few moments to study each book closely before he gathered them into a neat pile, and added several pieces of parchment he had found in the drawers. He selected three more books out of the drawer. The writing in them was different, but one appeared to be a diary of some sort that had been hidden away at the back of the drawer.
Hopefully it would be Arthur’s, and would provide them with details about what had gone on in the days leading to his death.
“Let’s go,” Hugo said as he gathered the books and papers.
The house was still and silent and, although there were no tell-tale snores from Snetterton yet, it was well over an hour since the man had retired for the night. Satisfied that they had done everything they could for now, both men silently let themselves out.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The following morning, Hetty rolled over in bed and contemplated recent events. While it
was nice to be able to lie somewhere soft and not worry about being crept up on, the events of the last few days weighed heavily on her mind and left her unable to settle.
Last night had been restless to say the least. Dawn had started to break out on the horizon before she had finally found sleep, but there had still been no sign of Charlie.
As a result of her worry, she was now groggy, tired and miserable.
Hetty threw the covers back, and hurried to the window. There was no sign of their horses outside.
Were they alright? Had Meldrew got them? Where were they?
Her stomach was in knots by the time she hurried downstairs. The sound of voices in the study drew her toward the door, but indecision made her hesitate.
Before she could decide what to do, a husky voice rumbled in her ear.
“Good morning.”
She spun around with a squeak, and almost slumped with relief to find Charlie beside her.
“Morning,” she replied.
Before she could say anything else, he captured her lips in a very thorough kiss that left her struggling to gather any will to be angry with him for worrying her so much.
“I take it that you didn’t sleep either?” he murmured gently. He knew from the slightly grumpy look on her face, and the darker circles beneath her eyes that she hadn’t.
“What happened last night?” she demanded with a frown. “Did everyone get back safely? Did you get any information? What took you so long?”
Charlie grinned at her. “Of course we got the information we need,” he chided. “We always do.” He squinted at the wall beside her. “Everyone got back safely, of course. We took as long as we need to take in order to make sure that everyone was safe.”
The temptation to kiss her again was strong. He coughed and considered at the study door for a moment. Before he could take advantage of their brief moment of privacy though, Marcus stomped past them with a scowl on his face.
“News,” he snapped as he stalked straight into the study. “Morning Hetty,” he called.
Charlie looked at Hetty. “Come on, let’s go and see what’s gone wrong now.”
They arrived in time to see Marcus slap a broadsheet onto the desk in front of Hugo, who was busy poring through the papers and books they had found in the verger’s house.
