Death in Highbury by Riana Everly

Author:Riana Everly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Austenesque, Austen-inspired, Emma Woodhouse, Mary Bennet, Alexander Lyons
Publisher: Bay Crest Press
Published: 2021-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

THEY RODE BACK TO HIGHBURY with little conversation. In light of their failure to discover anything about the plight of Ralph Hesselgrave, both men were sombre and the scenery, which earlier had been such a source of joy for Alexander, had lost some of its beauty. Even the treats which the man had stowed in the saddle bags had taken on an onerous aspect, now having become necessary burdens rather than the spontaneous and unexpected gifts they had been upon their purchase.

They descended the high hills and took the road leading to Highbury as the sun was nearing the horizon. It was still clear daylight, and would be for a while yet, but the long shadows to their sides reminded them that evening was fast approaching. It would be another night with no news of Hesselgrave, another night of being no further ahead in the investigation, and another night of no advancement in Alexander’s own case concerning the races themselves.

Exactly what Knightley’s sentiments were, he could only guess, but Alexander felt a deep sense of discontent.

As the sun began to bob and dip behind some of the tallest trees, the men approached the first houses of the village, and soon were on the main street nearing the Crown.

“What’s this?” Knightley’s call of concern brought Alexander from his dark musings. A small crowd had gathered in the street just past the inn, near the lane that marked the corner by the tea shop. Everybody was facing inward on some event, and the sound of loud weeping was heard over the accumulated noise of the gathering.

“That’s Cox’s house! Dear Lord, I hope he is not involved in this whole affair.” Knightley pressed his horse forward, then brought it to a halt near the crowd and swung down from his saddle. Alexander followed, but held back a little way, not wishing to intrude on what might be somebody else’s tragedy. He watched Knightley walk forward, his shoulders straight and his gait stiff, and the crowd parted for him as the Red Sea before Moses’ outstretched arms.

He stood for a moment and spoke to some people, and then his shoulders eased. Alexander released a breath. Whatever dire event had occurred, it was no disaster, and he now began his own cautious approach, wishing to be of use but still very aware that he was an outsider in the community and that not all would welcome his presence.

The crying, he could now determine, was that of a young woman or a girl, and as he neared the scene, he could see a girl of about fourteen or fifteen sitting on the ground, cradling the head of a dog in her lap. The dog was not moving, and Alexander realised there had, indeed, been yet another death in Highbury.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.