English Trifle (33 page)

“Seems like an important item to just come up missing.”

“I guess so,” Violet said. “But then Hattie had had that big Book of Heraldry put together, so the information was still on record even without the Bible. I don’t think anything was lost with the Bible—other than the sentimental value.”

Sadie paused and moved the phone to her other ear. “I wonder if Lady Hane would have used the family Bible to get the information for the genealogist who put the compiled book together.”

“Maybe,” Violet said. “She had the book done before William and I were married—she said that was why I wasn’t in it. I know William had talked to her about the Bible and she didn’t have any idea where it was—said she hadn’t seen it for ages, or something like that.”

And yet Hattie’s daughters were listed in the book of remembrance with their husbands and children—even Austin had been there. Austin was younger than Liam, which meant that additions had been made to the book after Violet married William. Sadie wondered if Lady Hane oversaw that as well and had left Violet and Liam out of the book on purpose.

“I don’t think what William had discovered before he had his stroke had anything to do with finding the family Bible again—I think he’d have told me that,” Violet said, taking the subject back to the present. “But whatever it was ‘explained a lot’—that’s how he said it.”

“A lot about what?” Sadie asked, wishing she had her notebook so she could be writing all this down.

“It had something to do with Hattie insisting William apprentice Austin in the managing of his properties, and why she seemed to be questioning William’s decisions more and more. I told him it was her way of saying that William wasn’t doing a good enough job, that ever since her husband died she had less people to put down.”

“Was he planning to confront her with whatever it was he’d discovered?” Sadie asked, wanting to be sure she got ample clarification. “Would he have told her about you and whatever it was he had found out?”

“I don’t know,” Violet said and Sadie could hear her frustration. “She was coming down for Guy Fawkes Day—I know that much—and he wasn’t looking forward to the visit. Whether that was because he just wasn’t in the mood for company or because he planned to talk to her about something important, I really don’t know. His title and family were a sore spot for both of us, and something we avoided discussing if we could.”

“But you and Liam were coming out for Christmas. Would William have told Lady Hane about that early on, so she could get used to the idea?” She paused before continuing, aware that she was treading on fragile emotions and yet recognizing that if she wanted to uncover the truth, she had no choice but to continue. “And what if he had? What if he’d told her about the two of you? How would Lady Hane have reacted?” To herself she asked another question: How far would Lady Hane go to prevent it?

“How would Hattie react?” Violet repeated, seeming to pick up on the thoughts going through Sadie’s mind. “You’re American, so perhaps it’s hard for you to understand how seriously some of the British view the Peerage. But for Hattie, I have no doubt that there are few things that would be more devastating than the fact that me—Violet Sorenson—was going to become the Countess of Garnett once again.”

Sadie let that roll over her and mingle with the other things she was putting together—Lady Hane overseeing the Book of Heraldry that, without the family Bible, stood as the official documentation of the family line; Austin being in the book, but not Liam; and the fact that Violet was once again going to have an English title—something Lady Hane would be very much against.

“I have one more question,” Sadie said. “Did William ever mention having a floor safe put into the library?” She held her breath, hoping and praying that unlike all the things William didn’t tell Violet, that he’d have told her about this.

“Oh, yes,” Violet said easily. “He said he wanted a place all his own that no one knew about but us. I think he stored our letters and things in there. I thought it was very sweet and romantic. Why, is it important?”

~ ~ ~

Liam,” Sadie said when she entered the library a minute later. There were so many thoughts exploding in her brain that she worried she wouldn’t be able to focus on a single one of them. Breanna and Liam were looking through papers spread out on the desk. Sadie held out the phone toward Liam, knowing that before she moved forward, Liam needed to hear what she had just learned about his parents and that he should hear it from Violet. “Your mother wants to talk to you.” She forced herself to accept the time-out for just a few minutes—despite her fingers itching to get her hands on the safe.

“Mom?” he asked, looking at Breanna briefly as he came around the desk, his eyes on the phone in Sadie’s outstretched hand. “She called?”

“Sort of,” Sadie said, giving him a soft smile. He reached out and took the phone. She let her hand rest on his arm, and smiled at a confused Breanna as Liam lifted the phone to his ear. Sadie wished she could whip up a batch of her Butterfinger cookies—Breanna said Liam loved anything peanut butter and no matter what nutritionists might say, sometimes food was the perfect company for emotional overload, as Sadie knew from experience.

“Hey, Mom,” he said into the phone as he walked toward the far end of the library. His words were soon too far away to be heard, but Sadie watched him sympathetically.

“What’s going on?” Breanna asked, causing Sadie to look away from Liam and meet her daughter’s eyes. For a moment she considered waiting and letting Liam tell her—but that moment passed. If she’d ever held more incredible information than this, she certainly couldn’t remember it. By the time she finished telling her story—well, William and Violet’s story—Breanna’s expression was one of pure surprise.

“Do you think that’s why this happened?” she asked. “Would Austin and Lady Hane have gone to these lengths to keep William and Violet apart?”

“It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?” Sadie continued. “But after hearing Violet’s side of things, it doesn’t seem that far-fetched.” She headed for the bookshelf where Liam had put the Book of Heraldry last night and pulled the long rectangular book off the shelf, opening it to the pedigree section and looking at the information with a bit more detail. Not sure what exactly she was looking for, she used her finger to trace the line of earls back from William to the very first one—Percible Edward Martin. There had to be a connection between this pedigree and the conspiracy against the earl.

She tapped her foot with anticipation and looked over to where Liam was sitting, taking his time while Sadie and Breanna waited for him.

“She didn’t know the combination, did she?” Breanna said, sounding disappointed.

“Oh, she knew it,” Sadie nodded. Saying it out loud made her even more eager.

“What?” Breanna replied, her eyebrows shooting up. “Then let’s open it.”

“Don’t you think we should wait for Liam?” A final holdout for doing the right thing and making sure Liam was a part of it.

Breanna lifted one eyebrow. “Um, no,” she said bluntly.

It was all Sadie needed to hear. “Oh, thank goodness!” she said with relief, then turned and fairly ran for the safe. “Violet thinks it’s the date they were going to get remarried—February first of next year. It was their thirtieth wedding anniversary.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Breanna said as she caught up to Sadie and knelt next to the hole in the floor.

Sadie waved off the sentiment as she too lowered herself to the ground—it hurt. Between falling out of the vegetable cooler and all these blasted stairs, her joints were screaming at her every time she did much more than stand up straight. She grabbed the dial, spun it a few times to make sure it was cleared, and then carefully turned it to the number two.

By the time she got to the final number her heart was beating in her stomach and it seemed she couldn’t move her hands fast enough. She paused, took a breath, and pulled on the handle. Having fully prepared herself for the safe to remain locked as it had in all their other attempts, Sadie forgot to breathe as the door swung open. Both of them were frozen for a moment as they realized it had worked. They were in!

They both leaned forward to get a better look into the twelve-inch by twelve-inch hole, banging their heads together in the process. Sadie grunted and raised a hand to her forehead, but Breanna continued as if nothing had happened. Sadie didn’t call her daughter hardheaded for nothing.

Breanna reached into the safe and pulled out a book—a big, thick, old, leather-bound book. Beneath it was a bundle of envelopes in every shade of purple imaginable—Violet’s correspondence?

“The family Bible?”

They both looked up to see Liam standing above them, putting his phone back in his pocket. He too came down to his knees, but he reached into the safe and removed the stack of envelopes, turning them in his hands. They were held together with a rubber band. Sadie imagined Violet had a similar stack, though hers was likely tied together with a ribbon. After looking at the letters that would likely verify Violet’s story, Liam shifted his gaze to the book in Breanna’s hands.

The family Bible was incredibly well-maintained for being almost two hundred years old but it would never be mistaken as new by any stretch of the imagination. Breanna carefully pulled back the front cover, revealing a single piece of paper placed between the cover and the first pages that were covered in flourished, albeit, faded, handwritten names. The paper set inside the cover was bright white—made even brighter by the contrasting pages of the rest of the book. Liam put the letters aside and picked up the paper. He unfolded it carefully, while Sadie and Breanna moved their heads in so they could read it with him.

Dear Lord Martin,

Per your request I had a thorough search done of the libraries at both the main house and the Dowager cottage. As you know, though the cottage remains for her use, your sister has not stayed here for some time as she prefers the life in London and the accommodations so graciously supplied by yourself. Though I expected no success in the search, as you can see I did in fact find the Martin family Bible in Dowager Lady Hane’s personal library at the cottage. I’m horrified to think it has been here at all, and did not make mention to your sister about its discovery. I trust it is in the same condition you remember it to be. Please let me know if I can be of any other service.

Sincerely,

Anthony Lee Brinton, Sixth Baron Hane

“Your Aunt Hattie had it all this time,” Sadie said when Liam finished reading the letter. “And William figured it out.”

Liam refolded the paper, then turned it over. One word was handwritten on the paper: Robert?

“What does that mean?” Breanna asked, pointing at the name. “Who’s Robert?”

Liam lifted his shoulders. “I don’t know.” He put the paper aside and took the book from Breanna. “Why would Aunt Hattie keep the Bible?” he asked, carefully turning the pages, looking for whatever it was that was so important to be worthy of the deceit. “And what does it have to do with sedating my father?”

Sadie didn’t have an answer for those questions—at least not yet—but her eyes were drawn to the open pedigree book she’d left on the desk. “Your father thought it was important enough to hide it where no one could find it,” she said. “There has to be something here worth all that effort.”

She pulled herself to her feet and headed toward the desk, hoping she wouldn’t ever have to sit on the floor again. “The family Bible is the traditional record of your family line,” Sadie said, indicating for Breanna and Liam to follow her. “But sometime before your parents returned to England, Lady Hane had this Book of Heraldry put together, and around that same time the family Bible disappeared. Your father found it at the house Lady Hane was left when her husband died.”

“Okay,” Liam said with an accepting nod. “I get that my father thought it was important—but why?”

“Think about it,” Sadie said. “The family Bible is an heirloom, it’s an important asset of the earldom. Lady Hane hid it, but was fine having this other book available. Doesn’t that tell us that there must be something in the family Bible that she didn’t want anyone else to know? Your father was getting his affairs in order because he was about to become a married man again. He’d told your mother that he couldn’t understand why Lady Hane was insisting Austin be so involved in his affairs. I think he started looking for answers to that question, knowing that bringing your mother back to England could open a potential hornet’s nest of bad blood between his sister and himself. It looks like his concerns led him to make a full-out search for the family Bible.”

“And he found it,” Breanna added, looking from the book open on the desk to the Bible still in Liam’s hands.

Liam didn’t respond right away, but he put the family Bible on the desk above the Book of Heraldry. “Well, then, let’s find out what he may very well have given his life for.” He opened the front cover of the Bible again, then scowled, straightened and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone which was vibrating in his hand. He looked at the screen, then at Breanna.

“It’s Austin,” he said. “He wants to talk to me.” He quickly typed in a message and then turned toward the door, bending down to pick up the stack of envelopes he’d left on the floor.

“Wait a minute,” Breanna said, taking a few steps toward him in order to grab his arm. “You’re going?”

“Yes,” Liam said with a determined nod as emphasis for his equally determined tone. “You guys finish with this, I’ll go talk to Austin.”

“Alone?” Breanna asked incredulously.

One side of Liam’s mouth pulled into a smile, and he casually reached up and tucked Breanna’s hair behind her ear. “He can’t hurt me,” Liam said with so much confidence that Sadie almost believed him.

“He killed John Henry,” Sadie reminded him.

Liam considered that for a moment. “Call Kent and tell him that Austin’s here and he’s ready to talk—that might diffuse some of his anger that I didn’t call him until now. I’ll have about fifteen minutes to get what I can out of Austin before the police arrive.”