Page 131 of Murder in Highbury

“My only concern is for Mr. Elton.”

George directed a look at the vicar. “Sir, are you sure you are well enough to continue? As my wife noted, we have no wish to cause further distress.”

Mr. Elton, who’d been silently watching them with a strangely dull expression, seemed to rouse himself.

“If Mrs. Knightley is able to bear it, then I must, as well,” he responded.

Emma mentally frowned. It seemed an odd thing to say, but George simply nodded and carried on.

“Constable Sharpe suggested that Mr. Suckling’s financial woes triggered the final dispute with your wife.”

“Yes.”

“What, exactly, do you think caused him to take so drastic and irreversible an action? From what you and the constable have told us, if anyone had the right to be outraged, it was Mrs. Elton, not Mr. Suckling.”

Emma mentally blinked. Now that George had voiced the thought, it was blindingly obvious.

“You’re right,” she exclaimed. “Under the circumstances, Mrs. Elton would certainly be more justified in killing Mr. Suckling than the other way around. At least one could understand the desire to do so.”

As soon as the words dropped from her lips, she froze. As true as they might be, they were ones that should have remained unsaid. She had little doubt that George would scold her for such a thoughtless remark, and she wouldn’t blame him in the least.

Her husband breathed out a quiet sigh, while Mr. Elton looked . . . stunned.

She grimaced. “Do forgive me. I cannot imagine why I would say something so dreadful.”

“Were you able to ascertain the specific motive from the correspondence, Mr. Elton?” George asked, clearly deciding to carry on.

When the vicar didn’t reply, continuing to stare at her, Emma felt a painful heat rise into her cheeks.

“Mr. Elton,” George sharply said.

The vicar startled. “Oh, I beg your pardon, sir. Motive, you say? Yes, I believe I found one. From what I could glean from Horace’s final reply to Augusta, she had apparently expressed great dismay with what she deemed hiscriminalbehavior and his refusal to assist her. It also seems clear that Horace was hiding the magnitude of his losses from dear Selina, and Augusta intended to correct that.”

George’s expression was politely skeptical. “While it would certainly be distressing for Mrs. Suckling to hear such news, it hardly seems a reason to commit murder.”

“And would not Mrs. Suckling wish to assist her husband in his difficulties?” Emma couldn’t help asking. “She would gain nothing by exposing his troubles to the world.”

“True, and Selinaisvery loyal,” Mr. Elton replied. “It would seem that Augusta was hoping to enlist her sister’s help in gaining restitution from Horace. His response to that declared intention was . . .” He pulled a grim face but then winced and gingerly patted his jaw before continuing. “Strongly worded, to say the least. He also feared Augusta would publicly expose him, which, of course, would have had a dire effect on his reputation and bring creditors to his doorstep.”

Emma frowned. “Please believe that I have no desire to offend, sir, but would Mrs. Elton expose her sister to such a scandal? Because her actions would surely do so.”

“My wife was a woman of great integrity,” he said with quiet dignity. “If she felt a wrong had been done—and it clearly had— she would seek to correct it. Horace lied to Selina and the Lord only knows whom else. That is not something my wife could tolerate.”

That was certainly an inspiring characterization of Mrs. Elton. Unfortunately, it hardly squared with the woman that Emma had come to know.

“If what you say is true—” George started.

“It is,” the vicar tersely interrupted.

George nodded. “Then no doubt Mr. Suckling was in fairly desperate straits. Mrs. Elton was threatening to expose him to his wife and potentially to his creditors, as well.”

While that was all true, some part of it still didn’t make sense to Emma. “But wouldn’t his losses all come out, anyway? One can hardly cover up a bank failure.”

“Bank failures are not uncommon,” her husband replied. “Others have survived such occurrences if they have the opportunity to retrench. Perhaps Suckling was trying to secure additional funding to cover the losses or needed time to manage his creditors. Mrs. Elton’s actions would threaten that. If Mrs. Elton was insisting that Mr. Suckling make her whole, that would make it more difficult for him to recover his situation.”

“I suppose so,” she replied, though doubts remained.

But if nothing else, she would have to defer to her husband’s superior knowledge of the issue.