What Tangled Webs: A Spinsters' Sewing Circle Regency Cozy Mystery (Spinsters' Sewing Circle Regency Cozy Mysteries Book 4) by Emily Clare

Author:Emily Clare [Clare, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Emerald Ink Enterprises
Published: 2023-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

16

Justina relaxed into the warm, humid embrace of Ashton Manor’s jungle. Ordinarily, she found Caroline’s heated conservatory a little stifling, but the day had been bitterly cold, and she welcomed this reminder of summer. Canaries chattered in the far corners of the conservatory, and lush green scents perfumed the thick air.

“The answer seems perfectly obvious to me,” Isabella said, smearing a piece of bread with thick strawberry preserves. “It has to be Jim Duffee. Nearly everybody thinks it was him.”

“Or at least thinks him capable,” Lydia said. “He does sound a beast of a man.”

“He is very solemn,” Katherine said. As usually happened, the entire group fell silent to listen, for it was otherwise too easy to miss Katherine’s quiet words under the noise of one’s own breathing. Justina bit her tongue to avoid chiding Kitty to speak up. Such needling rarely did either of them any good.

“Of course, you have met him,” Lydia said in a gentle and cajoling tone, rather as if she was trying to encourage a nervous cat to approach. “What is your impression of him?”

Katherine hesitated, her gaze cast down at the table and the delicate luncheon spread across it. She opened her mouth, then paused. Across the table, Diana gave her an encouraging smile. Quietly, Katherine blurted, “I do not know him enough to say.”

“I found him in an altercation with Mr. Marino a few days past,” Justina offered. “Although that tells us little, for Mr. Marino is not somebody I feel compelled to view with respect.”

“Eliza is a little frightened of him,” Katherine said. “However, I do not get the sense that Miss Turner fears him at all. I would think that she, out of everybody, would have the best sense of his character.”

Justina’s thoughts flashed back to Mr. Jackson’s odd comment, that perhaps Mr. Duffee did the killing and Miss Turner did the arranging. It felt possible, certainly, but she still had to contort her imagination in order to picture it.

“What does Captain Shrewsbury think?” Caroline asked.

All eyes turned to Justina, and she felt herself redden. Why must they look at her like that, as if she had something to hide? Lydia’s gaze felt particularly keen. Had she realized how involved her brother had become in the affairs over at the Rose Inn?

“You would have to ask him,” Justina said. “He certainly has not shared his opinions with me.”

That was not entirely true. After their meeting with Mr. Jackson yesterday, Captain Shrewsbury had been explicit in stating his distaste for the gentleman’s manners. He had, however, ultimately said little about what he thought about of the murder and its possible originator—only that he felt they had more digging ahead of them and could not form any conclusions yet.

“I ought to have invited him to luncheon,” Caroline said.

Isabella smirked. “A gentleman at luncheon! How absurd that would be.”

“Freddie would not hesitate to accept,” Lydia said with a chuckle. “He is not given to the sin of pride, but he does have a touch of weakness when it comes to the gluttony.

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