Page 15 of Marriage and Murder (The Casebook of Barnaby Adair #10)

DECEMBER 5, 1840. ST. NICHOLAS’ CHURCH, ASHMORE, DORSET.

Barnaby, Penelope, and Stokes did, indeed, visit Ashmore village again. On a crisp winter morning, they were among the company who gathered to witness the wedding of Henry, Lord Glossup, and Miss Madeline Huntingdon.

“Out of adversity, good things do grow,” Penelope whispered to Barnaby as the radiant bride, now on the arm of her new husband, who could not have looked prouder, all but skipped up the aisle.

“New shoots,” Barnaby whispered back, “growing up from a field of desolation.”

That was certainly the way matters seemed as, smiling as widely as the rest of those there—most if not all of the village congregation as well as a small army of the groom’s and bride’s London friends—Penelope and Barnaby fell in behind the happy couple and followed them up the aisle.

Given the bride was still in mourning for her late sister, the wedding had been designed as a quiet affair, but the villagers were so glad to put the recent past behind them that they’d thrown themselves wholeheartedly into welcoming their new lady of the manor. The church had been bedecked with seasonal greenery, and the singing of the hymns had been wonderfully enthusiastic. More, Henry and his household had risen to the challenge, and literally everyone there was invited to the big house—meaning Glossup Hall—for the wedding breakfast.

For a time, Penelope chatted with her sister and brother-in-law and the various close friends who were present. Charlie Hastings was there along with his recently acquired wife, Claudia. The pair engaged Stokes and Mallard in a discussion of the improvements being made to the policing of the less-salubrious precincts in London, a project in which the couple had developed a deep interest.

Of course, the village gossips were out in force. Penelope made time to chat with Mrs. Foswell as well as her husband, who had officiated at the ceremony. Iris Perkins introduced Penelope to her husband, and Penelope also spoke with Gladys Hooper and met her husband and three strapping sons.

Unsurprisingly, at least to Penelope, the village had gathered around Arthur Penrose, supporting him through the ordeal of his wife’s trial. Ida Penrose had been found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging, but had been moved to London with the sentence still to be carried out, and Arthur and the village had—in Penelope’s opinion sensibly—endeavored to move on.

Apparently, Arthur’s widowed sister, Martha, had never seen eye to eye with Ida. On being introduced to Penelope by Jim Swinson, Martha confided, “I always suspected Ida was a little strange. She was so…well, obsessive over anything to do with Arthur. He’s my younger brother, so I was always passing judgment, as one does with younger brothers, and as you can imagine, that never went down well with Ida. In the end, once I married and moved away, I stayed away. But now my James is gone and our boy is in the navy, it seemed sensible to come back to the village and do what I can for Arthur. Thanks to Ida, he’s one as now needs taking care of. He doesn’t even know how to boil an egg, poor man.”

“I expect Jim is a help, too,” Penelope pried.

“Oh yes!” Martha nodded. “I don’t know what Arthur would do without Jim to remind him of what needs doing in the fields and orchard. Gradually, Arthur’s coming back to us, finding his way again, which is what we must hope for.”

“Indeed.” Pleased to know that positive shoots were blooming there as well, with a smile and a nod, Penelope moved on.

Madeline had told her that she was taking steps to have the boundaries of Penrose Cottage and Lavender Cottage redrawn so that Arthur—and possibly Jim in the future—wouldn’t lose a third of the prized orchard to which Arthur had devoted his life. As Madeline had staunchly declared, “And if anyone thinks that’s giving Ida what she killed Viola to get, then all I can say is that I don’t need that piece of orchard, but Arthur assuredly does. Now more than ever.”

Penelope couldn’t have agreed more, especially as, courtesy of several reciprocal visits to their London homes during which she and Madeline had further developed their idea of a ladies’ investment society, Penelope had gained a much clearer notion of Madeline’s wealth. Monty Pincer, now incarcerated and likely to be transported, would be ill if he ever learned just how fat was the pigeon he’d let fly away.

Eventually, Penelope found her way back to Barnaby’s side. He was standing with Stokes at the edge of the lawn beside the path leading down to the lane. When she looped her arm in his, Barnaby smiled down at her. “Are you ready to head back to Glossup Hall?”

She ran her gaze over the company. “Yes, I think it’s time. Soon enough, everyone else will realize that, as we’re all going to the same feast, they can transfer their conversation to more congenial surroundings.”

“Indeed,” Stokes rumbled. “And here come the bride and groom to lead the way.”

Sure enough, emerging through a sudden eruption of rice, Henry and Madeline, holding hands and laughing as they ran, came rushing down the path.

Penelope, Barnaby, and Stokes clapped and cheered as the pair went past, then with the rest of the congregation, streamed down the path and out through the lychgate to where the Glossup Hall coachman, in full livery, had a landau drawn by a pair of glossy blacks waiting.

Henry helped Madeline to climb into the carriage, then quickly followed.

The crowd surged all around, calling out good wishes even though they’d see the happy couple again soon.

The coachman flicked his reins, and the carriage rolled slowly off, passing the Adairs’ waiting carriage along the way.

As the congregation bustled off to their various conveyances to travel the few miles along the lane to the Hall, Penelope and Barnaby made for the carriage door Connor was holding open, with Stokes ambling beside them.

As they reached the carriage, Penelope heaved a huge sigh.

When Barnaby, Stokes, and even Connor looked at her questioningly, she beamed and said, “Another happy ending. I do so appreciate it when we manage one of those.”

All three men chuckled, and they climbed aboard and headed up the lane to enjoy their latest triumph.