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T he Osborns’ cozy front room was silent except for patter of the rain on the roof and windowpanes and the sound of someone snoring—Athena presumed it to be Mr. Osborn—from somewhere at the back of the house.

All the other guests at the funeral gathering had left. As Miss Osborn dried her tears with her handkerchief, Athena seized on the young woman’s comment about the parish constable to redirect the conversation, hoping to learn more about the morning Sally had died.

“Miss Osborn,” Athena began, folding her hands in her lap, “yesterday, you said that you had awoken to find that Sally hadn’t slept in her bed?”

Miss Osborn nodded. “Her bed was still made.”

“Was that unusual?”

“Sally never made her bed. Never . She said she had enough of making beds for others all day long. So I made her bed every morning after she left for work. I didn’t mind.

I like to keep things tidy. And working at the George and Dragon, it’s all cleaning tables and serving pints—I don’t have any beds to make.

I told Mr. Sinclair that Sally hadn’t slept in her bed, but he said I was mistaken, that she had obviously just made her bed before she left that morning. ”

Athena wondered why Mr. Sinclair had so quickly rejected Miss Osborn’s statement.

Was he so convinced of his own theory that he couldn’t entertain any others?

Was he dismissive of women in general? Had he simply been anxious to close the case?

Or all of the above? “What do you think happened to Sally?”

“Mr. Sinclair said Sally was on her way to work and slipped on the path. She hit her head and fell into the river.”

“Yes, but do you think that’s what happened?”

Miss Osborn’s forehead furrowed. “I don’t know.”

“Did you happen to notice Sally’s shoes?”

“What do you mean?”

“When Sally was found, she wasn’t wearing her boots. She was wearing a pair of blue shoes.”

“That can’t be right.” Miss Osborn’s head jerked in disagreement. “Sally only wore her blue shoes to church and for special occasions. She would never have worn them to work.”

“And yet, that was what she was wearing.”

“Are you certain?”

“I am.”

Miss Osborn frowned and stood. “Let’s check.”

Athena followed Miss Osborn to the small, neat bedroom that the two women had shared. The young woman opened a pine wardrobe, burrowed beneath the few hanging garments, and brought out a pair of old, leather boots.

“You’re right! These are… They were Sally’s.” Miss Osborn’s voice broke on the last three words.

The sight of those boots made Athena’s heart twist with sadness. Their owner would have no more need of them. “Can you think of any reason why Sally would have worn her blue shoes yesterday instead of her boots?”

“Maybe they have a hole or a broken lace?”

They studied the boots. They were worn and scuffed, but the laces were intact, and the soles didn’t have any holes. “They look fine to me,” Miss Osborn observed.

When they had resumed their seats by fire, Miss Osborn let go a cough and a sigh.

“I don’t understand. Sally would never have gone to work without those boots.

And she didn’t like walking in mud. After a hard rain, she would be more likely to take the road to Thorndale Manor.

It’s usually less muddy than the river path. ”

Interesting. “Did you tell Mr. Sinclair this?”

“No. When I came upon Sally face down in the shallows, everything else flew out of my mind.”

“Perhaps Sally wasn’t on her way to work at all that morning,” Athena suggested. “Perhaps she went out the previous night before it rained?”

“Why would she have done that?”

“To meet a friend?”

“Sally didn’t have any friends. Leastways she hadn’t for a long time.” Miss Osborn stared down at her hands, her voice low and flat. “Except for that maid at Thorndale Manor. Tabitha, I think her name is?”

Athena took that in with a nod. It might prove useful later. “Did Sally have a beau?”

“A beau?” Miss Osborn shook her head emphatically. “ No . Sally had no beau.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because she had sworn off men long ago.”

Athena hadn’t expected that. “Why did Sally swear off men?”

“Too much heartache, I expect.” Miss Osborn stared at the fire in the hearth with a sigh.

“When she was working at Woodcroft House, Sally told me she was seeing a man in secret and was madly in love. But he vanished one day without a word, and she never heard from him again. I think she decided not to risk her heart again.”

Athena’s own heart twinged, recalling her unlucky experience with love.

In her case, though, it was she who had broken up with the gentleman in question.

Even so, the pain of that awakening still lingered.

“I understand why Sally would have made such a decision all those years ago. But is it possible that she met a man recently and changed her mind?”

Miss Osborn’s brow wrinkled. “I suppose. She was acting strange the other night.”

“You mentioned that. In what way was Sally acting strange?”

“When she came home from work, she had this faraway look in her eyes, and all through dinner, she jumped whenever I said something. I asked, ‘What’s wrong?’, but she kept saying, ‘Nothing.’ I’d swear she was hiding something from me.”

Athena’s pulse quickened. She felt that she was getting somewhere. “Did Sally often keep secrets from you?”

“No! Well, I don’t know.” Miss Osborn’s features softened.

“As girls, we used to tell each other everything. Sally was so much fun in those days. She was all happiness and light. She sang and danced and told jokes. We used to swim in the river and walk in the woods and make daisy crowns for our hair. But after she started working at Woodcroft House, we didn’t see each other except on her one Sunday off a month.

And then, when Sally started working at Thorndale Manor and moved back home, well, she was never the same after that. ”

“When was this?”

“Nine years ago, I think.”

“In what way had she changed?”

“Sally got all quiet. She didn’t smile anymore.

She came home from work, ate dinner, and read her Bible until bedtime.

We used to love to read the Bible out loud together, Miss Taylor.

We used to memorize the psalms and quote them to each other.

But after Sally moved home, she read the Bible by herself for hours, almost like it was a duty.

She was still doing that all these years later.

If she got any comfort from it, I couldn’t say. ”

“ Was she seeking comfort? Had something been troubling her?”

“I asked her, but she wouldn’t say.”

“Do you think she was still upset about her lost love?” Athena wondered aloud.

“Maybe. If so, it’s very sad. That happened so long ago.” Miss Osborn sighed. “But that light in her eyes, I never saw it again.” She paused, adding, “Except the night before she died, I caught a hint of it.”

“What kind of hint?”

“It was like Sally was excited about something. But at the same time, nervous. If that makes any sense.”

“It does make sense.” Athena’s stomach tightened. “This is important testimony, Miss Osborn. You need to tell the parish constable.”

“Oh! I wouldn’t dare.” Miss Osborn shook her head firmly. “He would never listen to anything I say.”

“He’ll have to,” Athena insisted. “It’s his job. If Sally met someone on the bridge path that night, they might know what happened to her. Perhaps it was just an accident. Or… perhaps not.”

Miss Osborn gave her a blank look. “What are you saying, Miss Taylor?”

“I’m saying, it’s possible that Sally didn’t slip and fall into the river. Someone might have hit her on the head and pushed her in.”

Miss Osborn’s eyes widened, and she gasped. “Who would do such a thing?”

“That’s what we need to find out.”

“No. No! I can’t imagine that. No one would have wished to harm my sister. She was too sweet and good.”

“But—” Athena began.

Miss Osborn cut her off. “Whether it happened at night or in the morning, what difference does it make? My sister is dead. And nothing’s going to bring her back.

” Fresh tears sprang into Miss Osborn’s eyes.

She stood. “Forgive me, Miss Taylor. I don’t wish to discuss this further. It’s been a long and frightful day.”

Athena rose, again expressed her deepest sympathy for Miss Osborn’s loss, and took her leave.

As she walked home, Athena’s heart pounded with every step.

Her suspicions about the shoes now seemed very likely.

Even if Sally had, uncharacteristically, chosen to wear different shoes to work, she wouldn’t have done so knowing she’d have to walk in mud.

Which meant she hadn’t been on her way to work .

She must have gone down to the riverbank that night before the rain.

“It was like Sally was excited about something. But at the same time, nervous.”

Had she gone there to meet someone? Had Sally had a secret beau? Miss Osborn may not have been privy to the secret, but someone else might have been.

Athena knew exactly whom to ask.

*

After teaching her science class, Athena turned the girls over to Selena for fifth-period French and made her way to the drawing room.

The late-afternoon sun filtered in softly through the mullioned windows of the corridor, where rectangular shadows on the walls gave testament to paintings that used to hang there.

Athena loved art almost as much as books and she wondered what those missing paintings had represented.

The artwork that remained, primarily landscapes of the English countryside, was lovely.

She was grateful that the former owner had included them when he’d sold the house—at a price, as she understood it, that had been far less than market value.