The Sea Witch (Tipperary Carriage Company Mystery Book 6) by J A Whiting & Nell McCarthy

Author:J A Whiting & Nell McCarthy [Whiting, J A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J A Whiting Books and Whitemark Publishing
Published: 2021-03-08T16:00:00+00:00

12

They rode along in silence as Copper pulled the white Landau through the busy show grounds, with Mae guiding the horse around the spectators and occasionally nodding or waving to the people walking past. Then she glanced over at Ross, glad he was beside her on the driver's box.

"Okay," she said, "before you have to go and drive Star, let me think. Who is it who would really like to see Cecile out of the way? Henry? It might seem like it, but he's not her husband. He's her brother-in-law."

"That's right," said Ross, with a brief nod. "If he wanted to pursue Alicia, he could easily do that. Unless she's married herself, there's nothing to stop that."

"I don't think she is. I remember her saying something earlier about being single too long. Besides—"

Mae paused. "Maybe it's just because I'm a woman, too, but I could swear that there's some kind of rivalry going on between Cecile and Alicia for Henry."

Ross's eyes flicked to her for a second. "No accounting for taste, I guess."

"Well, that's for sure. But it's a rivalry in the sense that Alicia is the one making a play for Henry, while Cecile doesn't seem to see him as anything but a brother. The sparks that flew were between him and Alicia, not him and Cecile.”

Ross got about as close as he ever got to smiling. "I've learned never to discount feminine intuition. But if Cecile doesn't want to marry Henry, then what does she need him for?"

"Another good question. He seems to do a lot to help her run the farm, and he does seem devoted to her most of the time. Maybe Cecile isn't in love with him, but doesn't want to ruin the useful arrangement she's got with him, either. That would change if Henry married someone else."

"So if Alicia is the one who wants old Henry, maybe she sees Cecile as being in the way. How far would she be willing to go to get rid of a rival?"

Mae sighed deeply. "I don't know. Somehow Alicia would have had to lure her into that stall with the horse. But she's just as afraid of Witchy as Cecile is."

"I saw that, too."

"All I can think of is that maybe Alicia somehow talked Cecile into trying to make friends with Witchy as a favor to Henry. He's been pushing her to do exactly that. And if she managed to get Cecile into the stall, Alicia could have closed her in there with the horse… and left the door partly open afterwards."

"It would have had to be early or late. Otherwise, one of us would have seen them."

"Yes, late, most likely. If that's what happened, then Cecile probably would have been too scared to yell and upset the horse even more. And if she'd banged on the walls, anyone who did hear it would think it was just that crazy mare kicking again."

They were almost back to the pick-up point and Mae could see that a long line of passengers had already formed for the two carriages.

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