Page 101 of Murder at Donwell Abbey

George’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t follow.”

“She immediately deduced that the real killer was still on the loose. In the back of my mind, I understood that to be the case as well, yet I was too busy managing the situation to fully grasp it. Isabella, however, was convinced that murderous smugglers were about to descend on Highbury en masse. She was ready to run to the stables and prepare the carriage for departure, on the spot.”

“Ah, yes, the smugglers. Isabella’s assumption makes a great deal of sense, given that the smuggled tobacco and the mobcap were so conveniently found together.”

“First, I find a package of smuggled tobacco on the path. Then Sharpe receives an anonymous tip and goes to find two similar packages in Larkins’s cottage along with the bloodstained mobcap. It’s all very neat, isn’t it?”

“Too neat. It also clearly suggests that this person was close enough at hand to knowwhento plant the items in Larkins’s cottage.”

She stared at him in abject dismay. “And knew enough about Donwell and Highbury to frame a credible suspect. George, this isdreadful.”

So dreadful that she found herself longing for another glass of sherry—one considerably more generous than the last one.

“What are we going to do?” she asked him.

“I’ll contact the revenue agent again and insist that he make a more detailed investigation of smuggling activity in and around Highbury. I was doing exactly that when you returned home.”

“That makes perfect sense, but what about poor Larkins?”

“I’ll hire a solicitor for him, though I fear there’s little we can do until we can discover who’s behind this smuggling scheme. I suspect that will then lead us to the real killer.”

“And you’re truly convinced of that connection?”

He shrugged. “Nothing else makes sense.”

She pressed a hand to her chest, as if to hold back the growing sense of dread. “Do you know what this means? At least one smuggler was here the night of Prudence’s death. Do you think anyone connected to Donwell could be part of all this?”

“Do I think any on our staff are involved? Emphatically no. As to our tenants, it’s unlikely, although I will follow up on that. But please remember that the house was bursting with people that night. It would have been entirely possible for someone to slip in unobserved.”

“Or, perhaps, it could have been a guest at the party. After all, Mr. Weston told me that even wealthy and supposedly respectable people sometimes participate in smuggling.”

“Unfortunately true.”

Another ghastly thought struck her. “Prudence … she was the one involved with the smugglers, wasn’t she?”

George now looked as grim as a hanging judge. “So it would seem, but in what way we don’t yet know.”

Emma rubbed her forehead. “This is so awfully complicated. How will we ever figure it out?”

“As we did last time. One step at a time.”

“Last time also involved a great deal of luck, as you recall,” she ruefully commented.

“You sell yourself short, my dear. In the meantime, how did you leave things with Isabella and your father?”

“After Isabella regained some composure, I convinced her to postpone her departure until the morning.” She crinkled her nose in apology. “I’ll have to move back to Hartfield, first thing. I cannot leave Father alone.”

He briefly cupped her cheek. “I would expect nothing less.”

“Father also wants you to move back to Hartfield with me. He fears that Donwell Abbey has become a den of killers and smugglers. It took some work on my part to disabuse him of that notion.”

George cracked a half-smile. “I think it’s wise for me to remain at Donwell for at least the next few days. Once the revenue agent arrives, I will reassess the situation.”

“I know you will do whatever is appropriate, dearest. You are not to worry about us at Hartfield.”

“Perhaps you can enlist Miss Bates to help you. She all but lives at Hartfield as it is.”

“Good heavens, I’d completely forgotten about Miss Bates. Father will have told her everything by now, and I’m sure the two of them have perfectly wound themselves up. You remember that the last time we had a killer running about Highbury, I had to keep my smelling salts at the ready for the both of them.”