The Black Cat Murders: A Cotswolds Country House Murder by Karen Baugh Menuhin

Author:Karen Baugh Menuhin [Menuhin, Karen Baugh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781096199687
Amazon: 1096199688
Publisher: Independently published
Published: 2019-04-28T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Early light saw me on the front doorstep, Purdey under one arm, dog under the other. Hiram arrived as the sun rose over the green-hilled horizon in front of the house. He was wearing a blue outfit such as his father had worn, with a white shirt and black cord for a necktie. Once accustomed to it, I thought it had style of sorts and was probably a great deal more comfortable than the stiff tweed he’d sported the other evening. Our habitual green and browns reflected the colours of the countryside around us; I imagine his blue and white suited the open skies of Texas. Perhaps he was homesick and wearing a reminder of his native land.

‘Greetings,’ I said.

‘Howdy,’ he replied.

Formalities complete we ambled off in the direction of the old woodshed and the pigeons I’d spotted in the vicinity.

‘How was the Gilbert and Sullivan performance last evening?’ I asked in a friendly manner.

‘I never seen anything like it,’ he replied in his slow drawl. ‘Got more life ’n that opera Ma’s so keen on, but my preference is for a hoe-down.’ He took a pot shot at a pigeon and brought it down, then another and reloaded his Holland & Holland to bring down two more. He was an expert shot – a great deal better than I.

I fired off a couple of blasts and landed one. Fogg refused to even look at the dead birds, so we gathered them up and put them in our game bags. There were plenty more pigeon near the hay meadows and we strolled up there.

‘I understand Ruth is related to Lady Florence,’ I tossed in as an opener.

‘She sure is,’ Hiram confirmed.

‘You were visiting Braeburn Castle? Home of Ruth’s family, the Braeburn clan?’ I persevered as we cleared the brow of the hill.

‘Met my fiancée there. She’s a great gal is Caroline. Great gal.’ He lifted his barrel and fired a couple more shots, bringing down two fat wood pigeon. I emptied a barrel which merely succeeded in scattering the rest of the flock.

‘Indeed, yes, she is. Known her since we were knee-high,’ I said.

‘She told me you don’t hold no hard feelings about our being wed,’ he said.

‘None at all.’ I stopped to face him. ‘Hiram, much as I admire Caroline, we are friends and only friends. Believe me, I wish you both the greatest joy.’

‘Why, thank you kindly.’ He took my hand and crushed it enthusiastically. ‘She was fretting over telling you, and I think her pappy had it in his mind that you were the man for her.’

I extracted my hand and shook some feeling back into it. ‘Maybe at one time,’ I said. ‘But I happen to know that he’s delighted with Caroline’s decision.’

‘Lennox,’ he said. ‘Would you do me the honour of being my best man? I know Caroline would like that.’

That caught me unawares. I stammered, ‘Well, erm, yes, yes, of course. I mean – yes, delighted. Honoured, actually.’

‘You know this is just a small wedding,’ Hiram explained.

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