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“According to MacTavish, such was not the case. Hugo cleared tenants, but seemed to do so in a very selective manner.”
Ainsley snapped her fingers. “Maybe some of the crofters were bribing him.”
“Possibly,” Graeme said. “While MacTavish was forthcoming about his dislike for Hugo, he was vague on details regarding the man’s sudden departure from Lord Musgrave’s employ.”
He fell silent, frowning thoughtfully into his teacup.
“He’s not the only one who’s rather vague,” Sabrina prompted.
“Let’s just say he hinted at illegal operations on the estate,” Graeme said. “Ones that Hugo was involved in.”
“What sort of illegal operations?”
“Brewing whisky.”
Ainsley rested her chin in her palm. “Oh, like you and Grant once did?”
Graeme rolled his eyes. “That was just a hobby. This is something else entirely.”
“Something that possibly involved smuggling,” Royal added. “But MacTavish wouldn’t go any further than that.”
Sabrina let out a sigh. “Oh, splendid. Is this still going on, do you think?”
Graeme shook his head. “We’ve been all over the estate, and I’ve seen no evidence of it. Stills are difficult to hide.”
“Agreed,” said Royal. “So, your father’s now-retired business manager finally gave Hugo the boot. The new estate steward began to more vigorously enforce evictions, which presumably included the smugglers.”
“Which would make them quite angry,” Sabrina said.
Ainsley cocked an eyebrow. “Angry enough to exact vengeance on Musgrave?”
“It’s all speculation at this point,” Graeme said.
“Do we even know the names of the people involved in this activity?” Sabrina asked.
“MacTavish claimed some confusion on that point,” Graeme dryly replied.
Sabrina tapped her fingers on her teacup. “We have no proof at all of smuggling, then.”
“I’m positive there was an illegal operation and that Hugo was involved,” Graeme said. “The problem is that locals are more likely than not to protect smugglers, since they hate the taxes on the legal brews and anything that smacks ofSassenachlaw. It makes it difficult to investigate.”
“Although MacTavish suggested both Hugo and the mysterious smugglers were not popular with the locals,” Royal added. “That’s fairly unusual.”
“Still,” Sabrina said, “that sounds mostly like hearsay, and certainly no proof of a plot to kill me.”
“Sabrina,” Graeme said. “You must—”
She held up a hand. “I’m truly not trying to be difficult. But Lochnagar needs us, Graeme. I cannot pull up stakes and abandon these poor people without solid evidence that I’m in danger.”
“It’s to your credit that you want to help, but your father—”
“My father is the cause of this state of affairs. That being the case, I mean to stay here and set Lochnagar back on a path of good management.”
“I can possibly shed some light,” Ainsley said. “Patty was quite gabby this morning about nefarious activities at Lochnagar.”
Graeme sighed. “And when did you plan on sharing this?”
“When you stopped talking. Which took quite a long time, as usual.”
