Murder Comes to Call by Jessica Ellicott

Author:Jessica Ellicott [Ellicott, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2020-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Edwina slipped out into the sunshine before Mr. Johnson had a chance to enter the stable. She thanked him for his list of horse boarders once more.

“One of them has just arrived. I didn’t expect to see Miss Billington today,” Mr. Johnson said.

“I shall be glad to speak with her. Miss Helliwell and I stopped in at Groveton Hall this morning to pay a condolence call, but Miss Billington was not at home when we were there. This would give me the opportunity to pay my respects, however informally,” Edwina said.

She left Mr. Johnson to trundle a barrow into the stable and made her way around the side of the building to the large paddock holding the horses. A young woman and a small boy stood with their backs to Edwina. The boy was leaning into the paddock over one of the lower railings, a clump of wildflowers clutched in his hand. He was trying to coax one of the horses to come and inspect them. Edwina imagined he wished to pat the horse and was using the vegetation as an enticement.

Edwina had seen Monica Billington in the village on many occasions. She was a pretty young woman with honey-colored hair and a quick smile. Her reputation was that of a forthright young woman who sometimes put up the backs of more traditionally minded elders. Edwina remembered a particularly memorable incident in Prudence Rathbone’s shop. Monica had expressed support for women entering the professions.

Whilst Prudence Rathbone was a businesswoman herself, she had not seemed to share Monica’s sentiment that women should be permitted to follow whichever career might interest them. Prudence had looked quite shocked at Monica’s suggestion that women ought to be allowed into the combat branches of the military. Edwina had found the suggestion rather startling but had not felt, as Prudence had seemed to, that it revealed a moral failing in the younger woman.

The small boy with her, Timothy Faraday, was less well known to Edwina. He was blond like his mother, with fair skin and legs still chubby enough to make her think of babyhood. He certainly looked too young to have lost his father, but the same could be said for so many other children across the kingdom. As she approached the pair, one of the horses started to head in her direction, and this caused the young people’s attention to turn around.

“Good afternoon,” Edwina said. “What a fine day to be out in the countryside.”

“Anything would be better than being stuck inside the house right about now,” Monica said. She lowered her voice and took a step away from her younger brother. “My stepmother asked me to take Timothy out for the afternoon. He has been particularly affected by what has happened.”

“Please allow me to offer my condolences, my dear,” Edwina said. “I’m sure Mr. Faraday’s death has been very shocking for you all.”

“It was rather. Gordon was the sort of man one simply expected to go on troubling those around him forever,” Monica said.

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