A Dangerous Past
Page 14
Ishbel had not considered this but it was just as possible that a woman had hired someone to kill Morag and to threaten she and Ewan. “Is that how you feel?” she asked curiously.
“Yes, it is,” Harriette said, pulling her needle in and out of the piece of cloth in a steady rhythm. “I like to run my household efficiently and for dinner parties or other events I hold here to be perfect. I long ago gave up any expectation that you or Albion would notice anything I achieve here, so I do it for my own sake.”
Lord Huntly seldom seemed to raise his head from a book or newspaper while he was in the house and Ishbel knew herself to be equally oblivious to the efforts Harriette made. “I am sorry.”
“For what? You have your interests and I have mine. I have no complaints – on the contrary, I enjoy my life. I shudder to think what state your home will be kept in when you are married, though.”
The comment reminded Ishbel of her current personal problems. “I have tried repeatedly to win Lady Picton’s approval and I fear I am simply not someone she can ever approve of for her brother. If Ewan marries me, it could cost him his relationships with his sister and her family.”
Harriette paused in her work. “If?” she said sharply.
“I wonder if it would be better for him were I to end the engagement,” Ishbel said, hating to even think of such a thing but knowing how difficult it was for Ewan to be at odds with the sister he loved. He should not be forced to choose between them, facing the fear of losing not just his sister, but also his nieces and nephew from his life. “There has not yet been a formal announcement, so no one would be blamed or thought less...”
“... You fool!” Harriette snapped, throwing her embroidery down on the coffee table beside her. “Did you not learn your lesson the last time you took it upon yourself to decide what was best for Mr MacPherson? Did he appreciate you ending your association with him a few months ago? No, of course he did not. Would you want him making a similar decision that affected you without giving you any choice over it?” Without pause, she answered her own question. “No, you would not.”
Her cousin was right. She would have been furious if Ewan had treated her the way she had treated him and he had been so hurt the last time she had sent him away. It would be unforgiveable for her to take another choice out of his hands.
Harriette continued, “Mr MacPherson is no more stupid than the average man, so he is perfectly capable of deciding whether or not he wishes to wed you. Does he?”
Ishbel found herself smiling. “He does.”
“Then leave it at that.” Harriette took up her embroidery again.
After a time Ishbel suggested, “Perhaps Ewan will be happy to continue running his own household after we are married?”
Harriette rolled her eyes. “It would not even surprise me.”
Chapter Forty-Three
“THE QUESTION is, why were we attacked?” Ewan said as they sat on chairs in the garden of Ishbel’s house. “What information did we get too close to?”
The bruise on his cheek was no longer swollen but had turned a disturbing purple and yellow colour that looked painful. It made Ishbel feel oddly protective of him, which she knew must be an unfeminine reaction, but she did not care. When they were married she would be able to comfort him when he was hurt or ill – the shocking idea of embracing him and running her fingers through his dark hair brought warmth to her cheeks. She concentrated on his question.
“It must have been our enquiries into Morag’s criminal activities that made someone worried of discovery,” she said, looking out over the garden which now had several clumps of spring flowers blooming.
“I am not so sure,” he said and she turned to him. “We had not asked about Morag selling on stolen items for some weeks and we had only just found out minutes before the attack that she might have been involved in the actual robberies.”
“Harriette knows of a couple of families that had their houses robbed in the last few months. If someone had something personal stolen and was so angry that he or she hired someone to kill Morag, that person could also have hired criminals to watch and threaten us.”
“That makes sense,” Ewan said, “but I am concerned about the timing. You will recall the Jed found out that someone wanted us threatened on the day of the attack. We had asked nothing about robberies for weeks, so what could we have done that would make someone suddenly so afraid that they would hire people to harm us?”
“I see what you mean.” She leaned her elbow on the arm of the chair and rested her chin on her hand. “We must have said or done something recently that made the murderer think we were close to finding them and if it was not the robberies...” She thought about the path their enquiries had taken. “... I can only think that it was our questions about Morag’s father, but that makes no sense.”
“Unless he is not dead. Perhaps he changed his name.”
“Or Mrs Duncan put a false name on the Birth Certificate,” Ishbel said. “I suppose if he were respectably married and Morag found him... No, it still seems impossible to me that he would have killed her.”
“What if he had married for money and feared his wife’s family would stop supporting him if his connection to Morag were discovered?”
“That is possible.” Ishbel felt as if there was still a gap in their knowledge, something important that they did not know. “We wanted to protect Mrs Duncan from her husband finding out about her past, but she is the only one who can tell us who this man is.”
Ewan stood up. “Then we must ask her.”
Chapter Forty-Four
FIONA ARRIVED at his home, having escaped their parents’ watchful eyes, while McDonald was already there, which neither party seemed happy about. Chiverton had noticed that something was amiss between them at the picnic, although neither had mentioned it, and he determined to get one or the other of them alone at some point today and learn what had happened. They were usually friends. Or they used to be. Actually, now he considered it, Fiona had not seemed in good humour towards McDonald for some time.
Alex winked at him and engaged Fiona in a conversation about the theatre, leaving Chiverton and McDonald free to continue their interrupted talk.
“I am sure Miss Campbell and MacPherson would be glad of any engagement gift,” he said, wondering what he had missed, “although they would probably most appreciate it if you could tell them the identity of Robert McLennan.”
“Who?”
“The father of the dead woman. MacPherson was telling me about their progress into the murder at the picnic.”
“Why do you all pander to this morbid interest in dead people?” McDonald threw Fiona a dark look, which she did not seem to notice. “The sooner this enquiry is over, the better it will be for everyone.”
“With the exception of Morag Duncan,” Chiverton could not resist saying.
“Who?”
“The dead woman.”
McDonald made a sour face.
“Miss Chiverton, is something wrong?” That was Alex’s voice and, hearing the words, Chiverton looked round.
Fiona was standing unmoving, with her eyes fixed on the window, a hand over her mouth. He walked over to her, McDonald at his heels.
“Fiona, what is it?” Chiverton asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. When she did not respond in any way he grew worried. “Fiona?”
“Miss Chiverton,” McDonald said in the loud, slow way one might speak to a dense child, “what is wrong?”
This seemed to break through whatever had been controlling her thoughts and she looked round at them, wide-eyed. “I must go and find Miss Campbell without delay.”
“Why?” Chiverton asked, confused.
“I believe I have worked out who committed the murder.”
Chapter Forty-Five
“HOW COULD you possibly know about that?” Mrs Duncan turned so pale that Ewan feared she might faint when she realised that they knew she had not been married to Morag’s father. “I am so ashamed.”
Mrs Duncan lifted her gaze from her clasped hands, her eyes fearful at first but the expression fading when it become clear neither of them were looking at her with condemnation. “No, Robert could never injure Morag, let alone kill her. It’s unthinkable.”
“Robert McLennan was his real name?” Ewan asked. “Does he go by an alias now?”
“No. Not in the way you think. I want you to understand about him and me. He was a fun, handsome lad and when he began courting me I believed we would marry or I wouldn’t have got as close to him as I did. But he was ambitious and I got impatient because he was studying all the time. We began to argue and we parted ways before I discovered I was going to have Morag. I thought of marrying – I know he would have done it – but I was certain by then that we’d make each other unhappy. I couldn’t have been the wife he needed and he wouldna have suited me. I had some money saved from working while I lived with my parents for many years, so I moved to a new part of the city where no one knew me and made up the tale of having a husband who died. A year later I met Mr Duncan.”
“So McLennan never knew about his daughter?” Ishbel asked.
“Not for a long time. I... I saw him later and told him the truth because I needed him to help us, which he did.”
“This was just before Morag’s death?” Ewan guessed.
“No, it was years ago. He was still a good man and wanted to give me money to make our lives easier, but of course I couldna take it or Mr Duncan would learn the truth.”
Ewan assumed that Mrs Duncan was either trying to fool herself or them, that the attempt to pay her had been a bribe to ensure the man never again had to see the woman he had left and the child he had never known. “But Morag did find out about her father before she died?”
“I’m not sure.” Mrs Duncan looked sightlessly at the fire. “She would never leave the subject alone. Every few months she would ask me to tell her about her father and did he have any family she could meet and did he have a grave she could visit. So many questions and she just wouldna give up. So I told her that I hadna been married... The look she gave me, a mixture of disgust and horror; I’ll never forget it. She left after that and she was dead a few days later.”
“You told her the name of her father?” Ewan asked again.
“No. I didna say anything about that. It’s possible she could have worked out who he is but you couldna be more wrong if you think he would kill her. He’s a decent man.”
“Who is he, Mrs Duncan?” Ishbel said.
“I canna say. I can see that you dinna believe me about him and it would be too cruel for you to accuse him of such a thing. No.” She shook her head. “That’s the one thing I won’t tell you.”
She remained adamant on this issue, despite their entreaties, for some reason feeling she owed some loyalty to this man. At last they were forced to give up and they left her, so close to knowing all, but with the last crucial piece of knowledge missing.
Chapter Forty-Six
“A FEW people have called on you in your absence, Miss, including Lady Picton,” the butler said as he took Ewan and Ishbel’s outdoor clothing from them, “and Her Ladyship is entertaining them in the drawing room.”
Ishbel shot Ewan an appalled look, which he returned and they hastened to the room. Ishbel took a deep breath before opening the door and she and Ewan found themselves looking upon not just Harriette and Lady Picton, but also Miss Chiverton, Mr Chiverton and Mr McDonald.
Lady Picton got to her feet but, before Ishbel could beg her not to leave, certain Harriette must have offended her, Ewan’s sister said, “I appear to have called at an inopportune moment but might I speak to you for a few minutes alone, Miss Campbell?” She smiled at both Ishbel and Ewan as she spoke, which reassured Ishbel that unaccountably all was well.
“Yes, of course.”
Leaving Ewan with the rest of the guests, whose combined presence here she could not fathom, Ishbel led Lady Picton into the dining room. They took seats at right angles to each other at the dining table.
“May I send for refreshments for you?” Ishbel asked.
“I have already enjoyed two cups of chocolate,” Lady Picton said, with an amused smile.
“I am so sorry I was not here when you arrived.”
“It is not important.” Lady Picton cleared her throat. “I was rude to you at the picnic.”
“I did not know why you were angry.”
“Ewan did not tell you about my misconception?”
“No.”
“Oh, dear.” Lady Picton put a hand to her cheek and then lowered it again. “I saw you walking alone with Mr Chiverton, speaking in an intimate manner, and I thought...” She broke off, but Ishbel could see quite clearly what she had imagined and could not help but smile. “... Yes, I can see that you are entirely aware of why Mr Chiverton would never behave romantically towards you.”
Ishbel said, “Mr Chiverton is a good man and a friend to both Ewan and myself.”
“I must confess that I am astonished that either of you would wish to continue your acquaintanceship with him after you discovered the truth, but that is your decision.”
“I was surprised – even rather shocked – when Ewan told me the truth about Mr Chiverton’s nature. It is unusual but I have come to feel that his search for happiness is no stranger than my own. He and I are both, in different ways, misfits who can never be entirely ourselves in high society.”
“But what he does is immoral,” Lady Picton said, brow furrowed.
“He wants to be loved. Would it be better for him to pretend an affection he could never feel for a woman and convince her falsely to marry him?”
“No,” Lady Picton said. “Perhaps not.”
“Mr Chiverton has been extremely kind to me and has always taken Ewan’s side, even when he was not easy about the criminal enquiries.”
“You have given me something to consider, but that is not the subject I came here to speak about. I was wrong when I judged you to be an unsuitable lady for Ewan. I may never understand the interest in crime the two of you have, but my brother loves you and I have come to respect your intelligence and the kindness you show to people around you.”
“Then we have your blessing to be married?” Ishbel asked hopefully.
“You do.”
This unexpected change of attitude made Ishbel’s emotions swell and, to her embarrassment, she felt tears running down her cheeks. “Excuse me.” She wiped them away but they kept flowing. “I am so glad...”
Lady Picton leaned over to put an arm round her shoulders and they exchanged a brief hug. “We are family now. Everything will be well.”
And Ishbel finally believed it.
Chapter Forty-Seven
EWAN WAS eager to share Miss Chiverton’s deductions with Ishbel, but he paused at the sight of her walking into the room with Matilda at her side, both of them smiling.
He walked over to them and Matilda said, “You must tell me as soon as the two of you set a date for the wedding. My whole family will look forward to attending.”
Ewan was not sure how she intended to win over her husband but he was overwhelmed with pleasure at her words. After their last conversation he had hoped she would want to resolve matters with Ishbel. He took his sister’s hand and smiled at both women, who looked equally happy now that their differences were finally settled and they could start to become friends.
“Have you told Miss Campbell who the murderer is?” Miss Chiverton asked excitedly, approaching the three of them.
“You know who he is?” Ishbel exclaimed, looking at Miss Chiverton.
Ewan thought ruefully that it would have been pleasant to have a moment alone with Ishbel to set a date for their wedding, but apparently that would have to wait. He turned to
his sister. “You will not wish to hear about this.”
“In fact, I am a little curious,” Matilda confessed.
“I heard the name Robert mentioned at the ball,” Miss Chiverton was saying to Ishbel, “and as soon as Eddie said that Morag’s father was called Robert McLennan, I knew it was he, because of the association between them.”
“I do not follow,” Chiverton said as he and McDonald joined their circle by the drawing room door.
“Nor do I,” Ishbel agreed. “Who is the man?”
“Ishbel,” Lady Huntly interrupted, “at least allow your guests to be seated. You are responsible for their comfort now.” Her tone implied that she had done more than enough entertaining of people she barely knew in Ishbel’s absence.
“Yes, of course,” she said. “Thank you.”
Lady Huntly left them to continue their discussion without her and Ishbel encouraged the preoccupied group to sit down. Ewan caught Matilda’s bemused expression as she joined them.
“It is Lord Tain,” Miss Chiverton said.
“Of course! That makes sense of everything.” Ishbel looked towards Ewan, more quickly understanding the situation than he had. “He became a Lord through his legal work, so his name changed. No one would think of him as Robert McLennan anymore.”
He added, “Mrs Duncan said Morag’s father had helped them and she must have been talking about the theft when Morag was twelve.” This had to be explained to the rest of the group, who listened with varying expressions and levels of interest, Miss Chiverton the most curious to understand everything and McDonald, the least.
“Mrs Duncan must have told Lord Tain he was Morag’s father to encourage him to assist her,” Ishbel said, eyes bright, “which he did when he ensured she would not be punished for the theft.”
“He must have thought the situation could remain private at the time, with Mrs Duncan so keen to keep the truth from her husband, but Morag realised years later that he was her father and went to see him at the law courts,” he said.