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‘Oh, that is a nuisance,’ Betty said as she looked at the milk jug she had taken from the cold pantry the following morning. ‘The milk has curdled and I was going to make a rice pudding for Ted’s supper.’
‘May I go to the farm for you?’ Eliza asked. ‘I can be there and back in an hour; there will still be plenty of time for you to make that pudding.’
‘What a thoughtful girl you are,’ Betty said approvingly. ‘If you would not mind, it would be a big help to me.’
‘It is no trouble at all,’ Eliza said, taking sixpence from the shelf and the big jug from the pantry.
She set out for the farm, which was just across the fields from her friend’s cottage. Somewhere above her head a lark was singing and the grass in the wild meadow was almost waist high. She was singing to herself, enjoying the warmth of the sun when she suddenly saw the man walking towards her through the long grass. Her heart caught a beat as he smiled and came up to her.
‘Good morning, Miss Bancroft. You seem happy this morning?’
‘It is such a lovely day,’ she replied. She could not help remarking how blue his eyes were, thinking them a match for the cloudless sky. His smile brought an answering one from her. ‘How do you go on at your uncle’s? Do you mean to stay long?’
‘Only a few days, unfortunately,’ Daniel Seaton replied and then frowned. ‘I think my uncle mends, but he is not as well as I should like.’
‘I am sorry to hear that, sir.’
Eliza found that he was walking beside her, clearly intending to accompany her to the farm.
‘He took my cousin’s death hard,’ he continued. ‘However, he is better than he was the last time I was down.’
‘Did you come at Christmas? I know the earl felt unable to host his usual celebrations.’
‘Yes, I was down at Christmas, but I have not seen him since. I have been in London and at my estate…’ His eyes darkened, making Eliza think he dwelled on something that pained him.
They had reached the farm gate. He opened it for her and stood back. She felt that he had withdrawn into himself.
‘I shall leave you here, Miss Bancroft. I have an errand to run…’
‘Goodbye, sir. I hope your uncle will soon be well again.’ Eliza watched him walk away, feeling puzzled. For a few moments he had seemed as if he meant to flirt with her, but then something had changed him. It was just as well, for she found him far too attractive.
***
Daniel was thoughtful as he left the young woman. He had just come from visiting the home of Jed Bailey. Unfortunately, the groom had disappeared two days previously. His mother said he had been restless and she thought he had taken it into his head to visit his cousin in Bristol.
‘There’s been something on his mind for weeks, sir,’ Mrs Bailey said. ‘I asked him what had upset him—and why he left the earl’s employ—but he wouldn’t tell me. He seemed excited and then… well, to tell you the truth I thought he was scared, sir. Then he came in, in a hurry, like, took his horse and said he was off to Bristol to see his cousin.’
‘If he should return, please ask him to come and see me.’ Daniel gave her one of his cards.
‘Yes, sir, of course.’ Mrs Bailey smiled as Daniel slipped a coin into her hand. ‘I expect it is just restless feet—you know how young men are, sir.’
Daniel agreed he did and left her. His enquiries in the village so far had been of some help, though he was troubled by what he had discovered. Marcus had certainly been at the inn for two hours on the afternoon of his death. The landlord said he was in a bad mood, and that he sat talking to a gentleman in the corner for an hour or more before the stranger left.
‘Did you know the man?’ Daniel asked.
‘No, sir. He was not local—but a gentleman, I would say. A surly cove. When one of my serving wenches went over to the table and asked if they wanted more wine he told her to stay away, for their talk was private.’
‘Is the girl here, landlord?’
‘No, sir, more’s the pity. Molly was a good worker. She went off the day after your cousin was killed—and never even told her mother where she was going. She’s not the first, but I didn’t think Molly was the flighty sort. There have been others go off, some would say gone missing, but I reckon they went to London to make their fortune—if you understand me. Still, Molly were a quiet girl and I thought she had a local lad.’
‘If you should hear anything you think might interest me, please send me word.’ Daniel gave him his calling card and two guineas for his trouble.
‘Yes, sir. I will let you know if Molly comes back.’ The landlord was thoughtful for a moment. ‘Does the name Cheadle mean anything to you, sir?’
‘Yes, it does—why?’ Daniel’s gaze narrowed intently.
‘The name was mentioned between them, sir. Molly heard them arguing—and your cousin said, “I can’t ask Cheadle to wait for ever.” The other man said, “Cheadle is dangerous. If you cross him, you may regret it, but he is a poodle compared to you know who…” I don’t know if that is useful, sir?’
‘It may be,’ Daniel said and frowned as he nodded to the landlord and gave him another guinea. ‘Thank you. Please contact me if you remember more.’
‘You may be certain I shall, sir.’ The landlord pocketed the money and smiled to himself.
There Daniel had left his investigations for the moment. He thought he might have to employ the ser vices of an investigative agent to search for Molly and Jed Bailey. It was strange that two young people had gone off without a word—unless they had run off together?
His thoughts were busy after his brief meeting with Miss Eliza Bancroft. The pieces had been all jumbled up at the start, but they seemed to be coming together in his mind. He was reaching for something, but was not quite there.
He was determined to discover more about his cousin’s death, because he was almost certain now that Marcus had been murdered. The horse had been left outside the inn for some time and it was perfectly possible that someone had tampered with the saddle while it was there.
So the opportunity was obvious, and the likely suspect the man Marcus had been arguing with in the inn—but where was the motive?
It was after meeting Miss Bancroft that Daniel suddenly remembered that both his uncle and the landlord had spoken of other young local women going missing. Could the disappearance of these girls and his cousin’s death be linked? It hardly seemed likely and yet Marcus had hinted at something dark and sinister in his letter.
It would bear investigation, even though the truth might be hard to swallow. Drinking, gambling and tumbling the local girls were things that many young gentlemen indulged in—but snatching girls from their homes was quite another. Daniel had no illusions about what happened to the young girls; they would be taken either to whorehouses or, even worse, sent abroad to be sold into the
