Harriett (28 page)

Her gaze
locked firmly on the dark shadow of Beatrice’s front door and she
tried desperately to quell the thoughts that tumbled through her.
If anyone was still in Beatrice’s sitting room, she had to try to
appear calm and in controlled, not flustered and shaken. She had
known Beatrice for several years now and knew her friend would very
easily pick up on Harriett’s distress.

“
Are you sure you are alright?” Mark whispered as he encased
Harriett’s cold fingers in his large warm palm. He gave them a
gentle squeeze of reassurance and issued Beatrice his most winning
smile when she opened the door. He grinned cheekily when she looked
slightly taken back at his forthrightness but she stood back to let
them in anyway.

Harriett
didn’t have time to say anything before she was dragged into
Harriett’s hallway. “I think I may have left my gloves here.
Harriett’s fingers are cold and, well, I just thought that seeing
as we are out and about, we could pop back to see if they were
here. I can’t remember leaving the house with them this evening, to
be honest with you.”

Mark
glanced curiously around the front parlour as they entered and
nodded to Mr Bentwhistle, Miss Haversham, Tuppence, Constance and
Eloisa.

That rules them out then,
Mark
sighed, pleased for Harriett that none of her friends appeared to
be involved. He glanced down at Harriett, and was aware that
several of those present had noticed the fact that he was still
held Harriett’s hand.

“
I haven’t seen them, Mark,” Beatrice replied with a frown.
“What do they look like?”

“
Oh, it doesn’t matter. I can’t remember leaving the house
with them. They are a buff pair of leather gloves; nothing special.
If you do find them, please give them to Harriett if you would and
I will pick them up from her sometime.”

“
Would you care for a drink with us?” Tuppence offered as she
held her sherry glass aloft. From the rosy look of her cheeks, she
had imbibed more than her fair share of the dark liquid. Mark
instinctively took a breath to refuse but then glanced at Harriett
doubtfully. She looked as pale as a sheet but shook her head
nevertheless.

“
Sorry for interrupting, Beatrice.”

“
It’s no bother. I will come and see you at work tomorrow,
Harriett. We have a lot to talk about,” Constance mused wryly and
gave her friend a look that warned her she would not be deterred by
Harriett’s reticence to tell her everything. Harriett almost
groaned aloud and had to struggle not to squirm uncomfortably. She
knew that Constance never let up on anything. She pried and poked,
prodded and cajoled until she got what she wanted. It wasn’t that
she was a gossip. Harriett knew that she could tell her friend
anything and it would remain confidential. No, it was just that
Constance was curious; about everything and anything, all of the
time and didn’t mind asking questions until she knew everything she
deemed important.

“
See you tomorrow,” Harriett mumbled and practically flew out
of the house. By the time Mark closed the front door, Harriett had
already reached the front gate and stood next to the low hedge to
wait for him.

“
Are you alright?”

“
I just don’t know what I am going to tell them about your
unexpected announcement this evening,” Harriett gushed. She closed
her mouth with a snap and felt a surge of embarrassment sweep
through her at the uncouth way in which she had just blurted
everything out.

“
Tell them that we are engaged. As far as anyone is aware,
that is the truth,” Mark replied reasonably. He blatantly ignored
the mild panic in her eyes. When she didn’t immediately move to
follow him, he paused and waited. “We have to protect you,
especially after what happened this evening with the carriage.” He
nodded to the silent, empty road behind her and watched as she
glanced furtively over her shoulder and scurried to his side. He
hated to see her so scared; especially from doing something so
inane was walking down the street.

“
But what about when this is over? What do we tell
people?”

Mark
smiled down at her mysteriously. “Don’t worry; I am sure it will
all work out.”

For you, maybe.
The words hovered on
her lips but she remained quiet and thoughtful as they walked down
the street for the second time that evening.

Mark
sighed at her slightly worried frown and knew that if she was
anything like his mother, she would fret and worry herself until
matters were resolved. He just didn’t want Harriett to worry about
his intentions, or their future.

“
I wanted to go back to Beatrice’s house because we know that
Babette, my mother, and the others in Beatrice’s house couldn’t
have been driving that carriage.”

“
That leaves Miss Smethwick, Miss Hepplethwaite, Madame
Humphries and Mrs Dalrymple,” Harriett gasped. “I cannot see Mrs
Dalrymple driving a carriage. She is a little unsteady on her legs
as it is. There is no conceivable way I could see her being strong
enough, let alone secretive enough, to drive a carriage and horse
like that.”

“
Do they not own a carriage and horse?”

Harriet
snorted inelegantly and shook her head. “Not many people in this
village can afford luxuries like that. You have seen Constance’s
house, what do you think?”

“
I think that they are barely managing to scrape a living. A
carriage like that, although old, is fairly expensive.”

“
It would cost the earth around here to purchase much less
maintain. That leaves the clairvoyant and her assistant and Miss
Smethwick.”

“
Miss Smethwick has been in this village for a long time,”
Mark sighed. If he was honest, he didn’t like the woman, but tried
not to allow his personal feelings to interfere with his
professionalism, however there was something decidedly odd about
the ageing spinster.

There
was something in the way that she looked at you with those piercing
black eyes of hers that made you feel as though she was almost
looking through you; or looking for your deepest darkest secrets so
she could pour scorn on them.

“
I know. She is an inveterate gossip and very religious. I
cannot conceive that she would do such a thing. Besides, I don’t
think that she has the money to own a horse, let alone a carriage
like that to go with it.” Harriett shook her head and searched the
shadows around them as they slowly meandered their way down the
street toward home. She was still shaken and was eminently grateful
that Mark was there. Heaven only knew what state she would be in if
she had been alone. She would almost undoubtedly be dead by now, or
scared out of her mind.

“
Will Babette and Charles stay at the pub for much
longer?”

“
I don’t know. Charles usually leaves the pub at chucking out
time. Why, are you thinking about having to go and rescue your
mother?”

Mark
smiled and shook his head. “No, I want to talk to you about what is
going to happen over the next few days. Do you think they would
mind if I came and had a chat about it without them being
there?”

“
Seeing as you are the detective in a murder investigation and
I found one of the bodies, I think that nobody could raise issue
with you being in my house, least of all Uncle Charles and Aunt
Babette. However, once the news of our fictitious engagement is
out, we are going to have to be a bit more careful.”

“
The gossips are going to have a field day, aren’t they?” If
he was honest, he didn’t want to say goodbye to her. He wanted to
stop and talk to her some more and was pleased that Babette, and
his mother, had decided to give the happy couple some time to
themselves.

“
I am afraid so. Unfortunately, while it has given me short
term protection, it has caused more long term problems than I think
either of us are prepared for,” Harriett replied with a wry twist
of her mouth.

“
How so?”

“
Well, I am forever going to be known as the jilted bride of
the Detective Inspector from Great Tipton now, aren’t
I?”

“
But at least you will be alive to talk about it,” Mark
reminded her. “Let’s not forget that this is a murderer we are
talking about. It isn’t a spiteful gossip or a mugger, but somebody
who is taking other people’s lives.”

Once
inside, Mark took a seat in the parlour. While he waited for
Harriett to return to him, he studied the room and found his eyes
drawn to the spot where Minerva had died. His thoughts were
interrupted by the arrival of Harriett, who appeared in the doorway
with a tray of tea things. He rose and put the tray on the table,
and was pleased when she chose to sit on the settee with him rather
than in one of the chairs before the fireplace.

As soon
as tea had been poured, Mark resumed their conversation. He wasn’t
prepared to let the matter drop until everything was out in the
open. It wasn’t lost on him that he had yet to explain to her about
Alice. Unfortunately though, he didn’t know where to
start.

She took
a breath and, although she had doubts, plunged in feet first
anyway. She was driven by curiosity and the desperate need to know
where she stood, preferably before her heart got broken. “I was in
a rush at the time but, on the day I found Hugo, I could have sworn
I saw you in the tea shop in Great Tipton. I was in a hurry and
didn’t get the chance to take a closer look.” Harriett tried to
keep her face politely impassive as she studied her tea cup far too
intently. “What is the tea shop like?”

“
Are you checking out the competition?”

Harriett’s brows rose. She wasn’t sure how to take that
question. Did he mean the competition as in the mystery blonde
woman, or competition as in the tea shop?

“
I haven’t been to that particular shop, you understand,” she
replied carefully.

He was
more than a little relieved that she had broached the subject. “I
honestly couldn’t tell you,” Mark sighed. “I had a cup of tea.
There was nothing outstanding about it. The service was alright. It
was a nice, albeit quiet tea shop. It was a little difficult, to be
honest with you,” he sidled a glance at her and caught her
searching look. He knew then that she was curious about Alice, and
wasted no time in taking the opportunity to correct any
misinterpretation she may have of what she had seen. “I was
breaking up with my then girlfriend. I have been courting Alice,
for a couple of months but it wasn’t working out. She was a little
upset.”

Harriett
nearly slumped with relief and was disconcerted by how much her
hand trembled when she took a sip of her tea. She valiantly tried
to ignore the rattle of the cup as it settled back into the saucer.
“I am sorry to hear that.”

“
I am relieved it is all over to be honest with you. She was a
nice lady, if a little manipulative.”

She
nodded but didn’t pry. The last thing she wanted him to do was
regale her with the unfortunate Alice’s shortcomings. “I wasn’t
prying, I just wanted to apologise for not acknowledging you. I
wanted to get home.” She frowned. She couldn’t say that hurt had
driven her home because that would mean she admitted that she was
deeply upset at the sight of him with someone else, which was
ridiculous given the short space of time she had known
him.

“
Have you remembered anything else about that
afternoon?”

“
Nothing, I am afraid. I cannot remember seeing anyone or
anything untoward and I have thought about it over and over again.”
She glanced at him. “I know I shouldn’t ask, but what have you
uncovered about Minerva Bobbington?”

“
Just that she died of choking from the small square of muslin
cloth that was lodged in her throat. She almost certainly drank it
with the sherry she imbibed after the séance, but we don’t know how
it got into her glass because there was no trace of muslin in any
of the glasses or decanters. It looks like someone put the muslin
in her drink on purpose and it killed her.”

“
Do you think they were trying to frighten her?” Harriett
wondered just what anyone would have to do to deserve to be
tormented in such a way. She shied away from the thought that
anyone at that meeting could be so ruthless, so cold-hearted, as to
put a piece of cloth in a drink in the knowledge that it could
actually kill someone.

“
I think that if they were hoping to scare her, their plan
went horribly wrong. Unfortunately, because of Mr Montague’s death,
it looks as though Minerva Bobbington’s demise was not accidental.”
He ignored the fact that they were alone and of relatively short
acquaintance, and picked her hand up in his. “I know what you are
going to ask next. Do you think it was intended for me? In all
honesty, I really have no idea. I think that we have to take the
threat made to you tonight very seriously, especially given the
incident with the carriage earlier. Unfortunately, it is evident
that the threat is still very real and your association with me is
not likely to keep you from being the murderer’s next target if
they are determined enough.” He cursed his choice of words when she
gasped and looked at him with wide, horrified eyes. His voice
dropped to a husky whisper. “I promise you that I will do
everything in my power to keep you safe. From this point onward I
am going to escort you when you go out and about on your business.
I am going to be the one who brings you home in the darkness. I am
going to be the one who is visibly with you so everyone knows that
you are mine.”