Murder in the Evening by Blythe Baker

Author:Blythe Baker [Baker, Blythe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-01-20T22:00:00+00:00

9

In the morning, I dressed and went downstairs only to find one extra setting at the table.

My parents were not in the dining room yet, and I did not hear voices indicating we had guests, so the extra plate was a mystery. Until a large figure appeared in the doorway.

“Eating without me?” my sister Catherine asked, laying her hands on her heavily pregnant stomach.

I ran around the table and threw my arms around her. “I wouldn’t dream of it. When did you get here?”

She patted my shoulder and then pushed me away. “Late last night, though before you got home. I heard you come in, but I was already in bed with no intention of getting out again. Father said you stepped out with a man?”

“It was more of a business arrangement,” I said.

Catherine raised a curious brow, but our parents came downstairs just then, and we all got too busy filling our plates and talking to discuss my possible romantic life.

After breakfast, Catherine wanted to go for a walk. Her doctor had informed her that it was good for the baby for her to get a daily dose of fresh air and stay active. So, I held her hand down the stairs and then took a turn around the back garden with her.

“Edward’s birthday was last week,” she said suddenly when we were far enough away from the house that no one—not even the cook working near the window in the kitchen—would be able to overhear.

“I know.” I sighed. “It was a dark day around here. Mama didn’t leave the house all day.”

“She hasn’t left the house in weeks.” Catherine looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “Everyone doesn’t need to be so gentle with me. I’m expecting a child, not ill. I can handle the truth.”

“It isn’t that,” I said. “I hardly want to admit the truth to myself.”

“Well, Charles thinks that way. When I told him I wanted to come to London for a visit, he nearly cancelled all of his appointments at work and followed me. He is convinced I’ll forget how to walk and fall into traffic, I believe.”

I laughed. “He cares about you. It is nice.”

Catherine rolled her eyes. “For who?”

After their wedding, Catherine and Charles had moved to New York to be near his work, but within a couple of years, they came back to our side of the ocean and settled in Yorkshire. It meant visits from Catherine were much more frequent, though I still didn’t get to spend as much time with her as I would like.

“I tried to talk to Mama about what happened when you went to Scotland,” Catherine said, directing the conversation back to more serious topics. “She sent me a letter after you both returned home and assured me everything was fine, but I could tell it wasn’t. And then I arrived last night to do my best to help and she told me about Violet Colburn.”

“Oh, of course,” I said, turning towards her, hand over my heart.

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.