Murder at Locke Abbey (13 page)

“Can I take a few with me?” she asked.

“Take as many as you need, I shan’t have any children in need of a slate for a few years, at least, and I highly doubt my father will be having any more.”

Thea took half of the stack, five in all, and a piece of white chalk.

“Let me carry those,” he offered. “The stairs are narrow and dark, so I would rather you carried the oil lamp since I know this place like the back of my hand.”

“Thank you.” She handed them to him and her fingers brushed his. That same tension formed immediately between them and their gazes sought each other and remained locked.

Suddenly, Thea stretched up and kissed him, a quick peck but a playful one. If he wasn’t holding a stack of heavy slates, he would surely have pulled her into his arms and demanded more.

“What was that for?”

“Your fee, for carrying my belongings for me. I believe a small tip is customary.”

“I do hope that you don’t tip
everyone
in such a fashion.”

“Oh no, onl
y the devilishly handsome ones.”

“A compliment? I’m honoured.”

“Keep your hat on, Mr Cole,” she said with a smile. “I complemented your looks, I did not accept your hand in marriage.”

“Yes, but I’m a hopeless optimist.”

She laughed quietly and they began the walk back to their rooms.

***

Cole piled the slates onto the coffee table and Thea suggested a night cap before they attempted sleep once more. Cole poured two healthy measures from the brandy decanter in the corner, then sat beside her on the sofa, holding her hand as they chatted.

“So, tell me about some of the other cases you have solved?” Cole asked, eager to know more about her.

“I haven’t solved any alone. Usually my parents work as a team and I accompany them, so I cannot claim credit for any of our successes.”

“Perhaps not all of the credit, but I’m sure some of it is owed to you. I merely wish to know more about you and thought this was something you might enjoy discussing.”

“I wouldn’t want to bore you.”

“I’m sure, but I wouldn’t have asked if I felt it would be tedious.”

“Well, we did help find a murderer once. He had poisoned his wife with arsenic but tests for the poison at that time were inefficient, and a false positive reading for the presence of the chemical was sometimes recorded. After a court case where the murderer was declared not guilty, Mr Marsh decided a better test was needed and worked for many years to invent one. We were brought in to proceedings by a deceased’s children, to prove that their father killed their mother. We established that he had purchased arsenic for a rat problem at his foundry, but the rats did not diminish in significant numbers, therefore it was likely that he didn’t give them arsenic but a placebo, while he gave his wife the arsenic. That was all circumstantial however, and we had no proof.

“So you used this Marsh
’s test?”

“We did. Since it was M
other and I who did the testing, the authorities weren’t convinced by our findings and asked for their own expert to evaluate the evidence. They did not perform the Marsh test or at least, hadn’t gotten around to having the remains tested for the presence of arsenic.”

Thea shivered.

“Are you cold?” Cole asked.

“Only a little,” she assured him.

Cole angled himself towards her on the sofa and opened his arms. “Let me warm you while we talk.”

She hesitated only briefly as she considered his offer, then she moved to lean against him, sliding an arm behind him and resting her head on his chest. In one hand he held his drink while the other arm held her against him and stroked her back.

“Where was I?”

“The second investigation not looking for poison.”

“Are you sure you would like to hear more? It must be quite dull.”

“Murder can and should never be dull.”

“I suppose. Anyway, our results were obviously enough to frighten the gentleman involved, and he hanged himself before he could be charged with murder. We were vindicated in time, when James Marsh himself came and repeated our test but obviously, it was too late for justice to be served by then.”

He asked a few questions and she answered, but her speech began to slow with lethargy.

“Tell me about you,” she asked once her tale was finished.

“I think perhaps we should retire to bed,” he suggested, even
although he would have liked nothing more than to stay here with her.

She shifted her position so that she was facing him, her back to the room, and looked up at him.

“I don’t want to go back to bed yet.”

Something in her expression suggested that this was more than just wanting to stay with him.

“Why not?”

She bowed her head, as if ashamed.

“Thea?”

“The house makes settling noises,” she admitted in a small voice. “Lying there alone, I… they frightened me. I will go back to bed but not yet, I want to wait until I’m certain I will sleep.”

When she was allowing him to see her vulnerability, how could he deny her?

“Very well,” he smiled and kissed her forehead softly. “How should we pass the time then?”

“Tell me one of your stories.”

“I don’t have any, certainly none as interesting as yours.”

“You’re interesting to me,” she argued. “Tell me something about you that I don’t know.”

“
Well… When I was six, I nearly drowned. My sisters and I had slipped away from the nanny and governesses, and we attempted to use a small fallen tree to build a bridge over a stream that runs through the property. We stripped the branches and I was volunteered to walk through the stream with one end, to place it on the opposite bank. I was only six though, the trunk was heavy and the stream full, and I lost my footing.”

Thea tried to settle against him but couldn’t get comfortable so as he spoke, Cole lifted her onto his lap, then she could rest her torso against him and her head on his shoulder.

“The water carried me for the best part of a mile,” he continued. “My sisters ran along the bank, trying to reach me, holding sticks and branches out for me to grab onto. I did eventually grab hold of one but with the power of the water, only succeeded in pulling Kaitlin in as well. Her skirt got snagged on bushes beside the stream, which saved her from being pulled along with me. As I was nearing the larger tributary, my oldest sister, Eloise, jumped in and grabbed me. She managed to direct us to the side of the stream, and we were snagged on another small tree. We almost uprooted it but our sisters managed to grab a hold of our arms and pulled us to safety. It wasn’t funny but the relief made me laugh so hard, my sides began to ache.

“
Once home, we were obviously in a lot of trouble, father threatened to have us all whipped until we told who had been behind this prank. I knew no one would talk, my sisters were a tight knit team, and I saw no reason for everyone to be punished and since, although it was Eloise’s idea, she had rescued me. I told him that I had run away and the girls had gone after me, then saved me when I fell into the stream. That was the day that I went from the annoying younger brother, to a confidant and friend. ”

“That’s sweet,” she said, her voice swollen with sleep.
“But I’m sorry you were hurt.”

“Mother saved me from punishment. She argued that I was just a child and had been punished enough with my near drowning.”
He smiled at the memory. “There was no stopping us after that, midnight kitchen raids, target practice with Father’s duelling pistols, we were quite an incontrollable rabble.”

A few minutes more and her even breathing said that she was sound asleep. He kissed her forehead again and closed his own eyes.

He knew that he should be worried about them being discovered, about her reputation being harmed, her father’s anger, his father’s anger and probably many things he hadn’t considered.

It was late however, and he felt as cont
ent as he could ever remember.

For many years now, Nathaniel Copley had worried about his oldest daughter finding love and happiness. He had watched as suitors lined up, thanks to her family name and wealth. Most were soon seen off, frightened off by her intelligence, and unwillingness to flatter an ego where it was not deserved.

Two had a little more about them and sought his permission to begin courting her. He felt that neither boy was man enough for his daughter but he sought Thea’s opinion, and she had been smitten with each. He took no pleasure in being proved right. In fact, Thea’s resignation to spinsterhood broke his heart, and he was unusually tempted to commit acts of violence against the gentlemen. He didn’t, of course, but the temptation had never been so great.

William Cole had been the first man to show any interest in Thea that Nathaniel thought might be worthy of her. For a
start, he was a man in both age and temperament, while the others lacked some maturity.

It also soon became clear that he respected Thea, not in the way most men were taught to, as if
women were delicate flowers in need of coddling and protection, no, he respected her as a person, an equal, and he did not resent it when she shined.

Cole’s confidence was based on his own skills and abilities. He did not need to raise himself above others to feel good
about himself or worse still, to belittle others in order to feel superior.

Thea’
s abilities astounded him, they would be astounding in anyone, man or woman, but Cole did not resent them and much like Nathaniel and his own wife, he revelled in them, eager to see more. He would encourage Thea to develop her talents and improve them, not require her to hide them away in order to fit some imagined societal norm.

There were some occasions when Nathaniel had doubted his choice in Damaris, for she was every bit as exceptional as their daughter and at times, that led to conflict, between themselves and with others. Those times we
re few and far between however, and she had brought him far more happiness than heartache.

As he looked at his friends and acquaintances, Nathaniel couldn’t help but notice that the happiest gentlemen were those who viewed their wives as partners, rather than possessions.

William Cole was one such man; raised by a strong mother and surrounded by sisters, he did not look down on women and girls, nor did he seek to use them for his own pleasure.

It was that last fact that prevent
ed Copley from overreacting as he entered the sitting room that morning. Had he found Thea cradled in any other man’s arms and worse still, in her night clothes… well, he would have made quite a scene.

However uncharitable his initial judgments might have been, he paused to examine the scene before waking them. They were in their night clothes and robes but no clothing appeared to have been loosened.
Thea’s hair was plaited for the night and not unduly mussed. Plus, they were both in the living room, where anyone could come upon them and had they engaged in nefarious activities, they would surely have sought privacy.

Now that he had calmed down from his initial burst of indignation, he actually thought that they looked rather sweet.

He approached and gently shook Cole’s shoulder. The other man roused quickly, but it took him a moment to realise the position they had been discovered in.

To spare his daughter’s blushes, Copley uttered a low, “Hush!” before
Cole could flinch. “Do not wake her until I have gone,” he instructed.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Cole
hurriedly whispered. “We were both having trouble sleeping and I noticed light from under this door. We retrieved some slates from the old school room, then Thea confessed that the séance had spooked her somewhat, and that was the reason for her trouble sleeping. I meant to move her to her bed once she was sound asleep but I must have dozed off myself.”

He had hoped as much. “Just be glad that I am an early riser. My valet will be here shortly though, so I suggest you wake her as soon as I have left.”

Cole eagerly nodded his agreement and Nathaniel turned to leave, then something occurred to him.

“I take it you now believe Thea’s regard for you?”

Cole smiled. “We declared ourselves last evening, tentatively at least.” He turned his head to the side to gaze at Thea’s sleeping face. “I don’t know if she is ready to admit the same but after last night, I now feel quite confident in declaring my love for your daughter.”

“Good man.”
Nathaniel returned to his bedroom and once his back was turned, allowed himself to smile.

Since his wife wasn’t here to keep him company and make life interesting, h
e had thought that this investigation was simply to be endured. It wasn’t that he found Thea dull or boring but the truth was, he didn’t enjoy being separated from Damaris for too long.

He had not expected to find Thea a husband, especially one who seemed such a good match, so that alone was reason enough to enjoy this
trip.

The mysteries were yet another reason to enjoy
it, rarely did they encounter such an impossible problem. The mystic also added a layer of interest; he had been to magic shows and visited skilled illusionists with his wife to learn some of their tricks, but Madam Davina was not admitting to performing tricks, she was passing her deceptions off as supernatural.

He had sent and received a letter
from his wife by messenger every day, and being confined to the house was doing little for her mental state, but she was putting the time to good use and catching up on her reading. Until now he had confined his correspondence to the details of the case and refrained from mentioning the budding attraction between Thea and Mr Cole; there was no sense in raising his wife’s hopes for a suitable match. Now however, he would take great pleasure in telling her this latest development.

***

“Thea? Darling? It’s time to wake up,” Cole gently shook her.

She issued a small groan as she roused, then she burrowed her head deeper into his shoulder. “Just a few more minutes, Evans...” her words trailed off.

He almost let her sleep but the longer they stayed here, the worse the risk of being discovered.

The devil inside him decided that if he had to awaken her he might as well enjoy it, and he began pr
essing gentle kisses to her forehead. It appeared to interest her and as she raised her head, his kissed trailed down her temple, over her cheek and onto her lips. Her eyes were still closed but the breathy sigh she uttered told him that she was awake.

“We have to… m
ove,” he told her between kisses. “Someone… will… discover us… soon.”

A moment later, her eyes shot open and she reared away, her eyes darting to the windows and seeing the sunlight beyond.

“Oh!” She scrambled from his lap. “What time is it?”

“I’m
not sure but if you return to your bed now, we might not be discovered.” He didn’t mention her father happening upon them, since Copley clearly wanted to spare his daughter’s blushes.

“I have to go!”

She ran into her bedroom and as Cole got up to leave, she suddenly reappeared. She ran up to him and kissed him on the lips, with little finesse and much haste. “Thank you.” And she ran off once more and then, to his delight, reappeared once more, with another hurried kiss.

“I’ll see you at breakfast,” she told him, darting away once more.

Cole stared after her in a stupor for a moment, wondering at the whirlwind that was Thea Copley. It was an apt description of her, for she had certainly blown into his life, turning it upside down in the process.

Reluctantly he left as well, opening the door
to the hallway a crack to check that no one was around to see him. The pug was his only witness however, and Ann would keep his secret.

She darted into the room before he could stop her, so it seemed that he was not the only one enamoured by Thea’s charms.

He
rushed across the hall and into his room, before any reliable witnesses could see him.

***

Thea was feeling quite giddy with pleasure as Evans styled her hair for her. Ann was sitting on her lap, enjoying being petted and if she had to keep still, stroking the dog was an enjoyable way to spend her time.

The lady’s maid asked what had made her so happy but she would not tell
. She couldn’t, until she understood it herself.

It was an unusual combination of
emotions that she felt, anticipation, hope and deep affection, as well as horrible nerves and decidedly impure (for an unmarried lady) thoughts and sensations.

She could recognise now that her previous courtships had not been love. Well, not romantic love. She wasn’t certain that what she felt with Cole was love, she had little comparison for how she felt but although it felt vastly different, the depth of her feelings were on
a par with how much she cared for her parents and siblings, which was an awful lot. Thea would rather face any danger herself, take any pain upon herself, than see those she loved hurt, and she thought that she could very soon feel the same way about Cole.

She dressed in her riding habit again, both because they needed to visit the village at some point and talk to various people, but also because it was her preferred
style of dress. The voluminous skirt, coupled with a distinct lack of petticoats and a looser corset, gave her a freedom of movement that most modern dresses did not. She opted for a russet shade today, since it would hide the dog hairs better than most colours.

When she was ready, she made her way into the sitting room and picked up the slate tablets
that they had retrieved from the school room, setting them on the coffee table. Ann jumped up on the sofa as soon as Thea sat down.

She was examining them, copying the mystic’s actions last night, when her father came in.

“Good morning, Papa,” she smiled.

“You seem very bright
today.” He observed.

“I am. I believe I have already solved two of the mystic’s tricks.”

“So soon? I’m impressed.” He came and sat on the opposite sofa. “I take it the slate writing still eludes you?” he asked, watching her put the slates together, then turn them over.

“Actually, I believe this might be the easiest of all to perform, but harder to arrange. I may need to
see if someone in the village can cut some pieces of slate for me.”

“I believe that slate is relatively easy to cut, I’m sure one of the groundskeepers will have the necessary tools.”

“That would save time,” she agreed. “I don’t suppose Cole will mind if I ruin a couple of tiles. Even if he does, I can just replace them.”

“So, are you going to keep me in the dark?” he asked.

“I can explain the disappearing coin, that was relatively easy to work out, but it requires a lot of practice to perfect. I did manage it a few times last night but I would rather practice it a bit more before showing anyone.”

It seemed to her that people were always waiting for her to make a mistake
or find any excuse to undermine or laugh at her and as such, she had developed something of a phobia of being unprepared.

She was fairly confident about her knowledge, because she seemed unable to forget most things but when she had to demonstrate anything, she practiced as often as she could and would outright refuse if she felt unready.

“The ring of hands is also slightly tricky to explain,” she said. “I would prefer to do a demonstration to prove how that works, since I am sure people might doubt me otherwise. Perhaps we might darken a room after breakfast and with a few volunteers, I can show you how it works.”

“Then I shall leave you alone to practice,” he said, getting to his feet. “I need to
write to your mother, then I must speak with the butler; I want to talk to all the household staff alone for a few minutes, and I’m sure he will be much more amenable if I give him some notice. Shall I see you at breakfast?”

“I’ll be there,” she assured him.

Her riding habit had only very slightly flared forearms, which would make aiming a little trickier. With practice, she was sure she could manage it. She had an hour and a half before breakfast was served, which should allow for two thirty minute practice sessions with the coin and time in between for her to request the assistance of a groundskeeper in cutting the slate.

It had always been her experience that when learning something new, short bursts of practice followed by a break, allowed her to become proficient far sooner than one longer practice o
r study session did. Taking a rest from the activity seemed to allow the knowledge or skill to be learned with far more efficiency.

Sh
e pushed all thoughts from her mind for the time being, and focused only on hitting the coin into the sleeve of her jacket.

***

Knowing that he wouldn’t be seeing Thea until breakfast, Cole had taken his time getting ready this morning. He wasn’t normally given to paying undue attention to his appearance but today, he wanted to look his best. He took a bath, took care in shaving, and spent longer than usual discussing his wardrobe with his valet. Truth be told, they didn’t often discuss what he wore at all, Cole was usually happy to wear whatever was laid out for him.