Parting the Veil by Kennedy Paulette

Author:Kennedy, Paulette
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2021-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

Eliza reclined like a torpid odalisque on the veranda of Sherbourne House as Lydia rifled through the ghostly messages she had copied down the night before. It was the kind of warm autumn day in which the cloudless sky arched overhead, blue as a robin’s egg. The yellow leaves of the ancient oak towering over the terrace were already beginning to fall, rattling across the stonework at their feet.

“What do you make of it?” Eliza asked, yawning. She sat up from the chaise to reclaim her tea. She hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep.

“I’ve heard of spirit dictation, but I’ve never attempted it. Many people think it’s only a parlor trick.” Lydia held up a sheet of paper. Eliza’s handwriting looped across it: I was murdered. “Your key was clever. How did you come up with the idea all on your own?”

Eliza raised her eyebrows. “Really? I’m quite smart about such things. How else do you think Jacob and I communicated so long without Maman ever knowing?”

“I can tell you’re very proud of yourself.” Lydia smirked. “Who murdered this woman?”

“She didn’t tell me. I believe the answers might be in the south wing of the house. Ada was locked within that wing for years before the fire. Una mentioned secrets, too. Malcolm won’t allow me back there, but the workers will be starting on repairs soon, so it will have to be opened while they’re in and out. I plan on sneaking through and exploring.”

“Do you think someone killed Ada, and this is her ghost?”

Eliza narrowed her eyes. “I know who you mean by someone. I’m still not sure what Malcolm’s motive would have been, at any rate. In all our conversations, he seems to hold his mother in the highest regard. Perhaps she ran off with a lover. This ghost could be one of the other Ladies Havenwood. Many of them had tragic lives. Although, if I can find out for certain what happened to Ada, it would go a long way toward proving Malcolm’s innocence.”

“Sarah told me he and his brother were twins.”

“Yes. What are you implying?”

“If birth order was in question, and he was hungry enough for the title, he’d have reason to eliminate their mother. She was likely the only witness to their birth besides the doctor . . .”

“I see what you are saying, and I’ve thought of that as well. But Gabriel died before Ada disappeared, eliminating the need to prove primogeniture. It’s true that Malcolm and Gabriel weren’t always civil. Malcolm has been honest about that. But you and I can be a bit contentious at times, as well.” Eliza took a sip of her tea. “There’s always a bit of hair-pulling between siblings.”

Lydia shook her head. “There has to be something more with his mother. Women of her station rarely abandon their households. Did she have any enemies, do you think?”

“She had an ongoing rivalry with the housekeeper at the time—Mrs. Galbraith. They hated one another. Ada and her lady’s maid were convinced Galbraith and old Havenwood were lovers.

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