Page 21 of Murder at Donwell Abbey

“I agree with you completely, sir,” Perry was saying. “There can be no doubt in my mind.”

Dr. Hughes stopped dead at the sight of Highbury’s apothecary. “Mr. Knightley! I hope you haven’t permitted Mr. Perry to view the body. Amateurs should not be involving themselves in these matters, as youwellknow.”

Mr. Perry, an exceptionally mild-mannered person, simply crinkled his brow in perplexity.

Not so Emma’s father. He rose from his chair, the picture of mortal offense. “Dr. Hughes, if it’s your intention to insult our dear Perry, then I mustgreatlyobject. I hold his opinion in all medical matters to be above reproach. Unlike that ofsomein Highbury.”

Emma and George exchanged an exasperated glance. This horrible evening was fast careening downward to the level of gruesome farce.

CHAPTER5

Emma hurried over to her father, hoping to forestall further outbursts. “Father, there’s no need to—”

He shot up a hand. “I will not countenance Dr. Hughes insulting my good friend. George simply asked for his opinion, and Perry was happy to comply. Perry might not be a coroner, although one may indeed wonder why a man of his talents is not in that position. But he is certainly capable of giving trustworthy observations when asked to do so.”

By the end of this discourse, Highbury’s actual coroner appeared on the verge of an apoplectic fit.

“Mr. Woodhouse,” he said in freezing tones, “the law dictates thatImake the appropriate determination regarding cause of death, and I alone.”

Mr. Perry held up his hands. “I have no wish to cause trouble, sir. I was simply providing Mr. Knightley an opinion on a very particular question, athisrequest.”

“Very true,” said George. “And if—”

Dr. Hughes interrupted him. “Mr. Knightley, I must object to this breach in protocol. Frankly, I would not have believed it of you, given your normally firm command of the law.”

Emma’s irritation had swelled in proportion to the doctor’s speech. “Dr. Hughes, not only is my husband the magistrate, but this is his estate. That surely gives him the authority to make certain decisions in your absence.”

“That is a very salient point,” said Father with approval. “If a similar tragic event were to occur at Hartfield, I can assure you that the first person I would ask to examine the body— after George, of course—would be our dear Perry.”

Miss Bates let out a little shriek. “Oh, Mr. Woodhouse, I couldn’t bear to think of such a thing happening at Hartfield. Such a lovely, elegant house could not possibly be the scene of so dreadful an occurrence.”

George held up a hand. “If I may—”

“If you ask me,” Sharpe interjected, “the opposite is true. If the incident occurred at the house of the magistrate, then it seems that said magistrate should be thelastperson in charge of any investigation.”

Father looked aghast. “Emma, you should not let that dreadful Sharpe person speak to George in so rude a fashion!”

“Constable Sharpe is frequently in the habit of making rude statements, Father. It’s best to simply ignore him.”

Her husband shot her an incredulous glance. “Really?”

“It’s ridiculous to think that you would ever act inappropriately,” she replied, feeling a trifle defensive.

“I find I must agree with Mrs. Knightley,” Dr. Hughes announced, unexpectedly entering the fray on her side. “Mr. Knightley could never be guilty of any sort of improper conduct, although I must admit that our good magistrate’s judgment was perhaps temporarily deficient when he allowed Mr. Perry to view the body. However,” he added, holding up his arms as if to confer a benediction on the room, “even our estimable Mr. Knightley’s judgment cannot always be perfect, so we must make allowances for the very rare error.”

“Thank you,” George said in a long-suffering tone. “Now, if we could just return to the subject at hand?”

Miss Bates frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t remember what that was.”

“It was Dr. Hughes insulting Perry,” responded Emma’s father. “And that Sharpe person calling George’s judgment into question, which was very rude.”

“Now see here, sir,” snapped Constable Sharpe. “You’d best—”

Emma chopped down her hand. “Gentlemen, if we go on much longer, that poor girl’s body will be a block of ice. And then no one will be able to examine anything unless we bring her inside and thaw her out. I cannot imagine that would be a pleasant exercise for anyone.”

A startled silence filled the room while everyone stared at her with varying degrees of disbelief.

Oh dear.