Katherine recalled the dish cloth upon his shoulder. She smiled at his humbleness, his willingness to lend a hand.
“It can’t be easy to be a vicar here,” she began. “There are so many families spread out across the valley.”
“Indeed, but Earnan and I like the challenge. He’s headed up to the crag just now. Mrs. Cabe is grieving. She lost her husband.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear it. Had she been married long?”
“I don’t know. They moved here from Stirling about two years ago. Her husband had been a cobbler. I don’t think they remained in one place for very long. I assume the misses thought they might settle down here.”
“How is that little foreign girl found on the moor doing?” Katherine asked abruptly.
“She’s improving nicely and, with the Bishop’s connections, we’ve found a position for her in Glasgow. I know the family there very well, and I think she’ll do fine.” He frowned slightly. “She’s a strange child. Although she’s friendly enough, she’s been abused. And she refuses to say how she got here.”
“Possibly she would rather not think on it.”
“Perhaps not. Still one can’t help wondering if…” Gazing at Katherine and seeing that she wasn’t really paying attention, he let his words trail off.
The silence returned. David, who was used to waiting for his troubled parishioners to voice what it was that brought them to his door, sat back and wondered what it was that had brought Katherine. He noted her rather disheveled appearance, not that she was in disarray, he decided, but she had gone off without a hat and gloves. A rather sudden decision had prompted her visit, and he wondered what it could be. But he would wait until she was ready to tell him.
Five minutes passed before Katherine, whose mind had been going over all the events at Wistmere and how she could muster the courage to talk about them, finally realized that David had stopped speaking. Her gaze flew from the carpet to his face, and she blushed deeply.
“Oh, I… I am sorry,” she stammered. “Please forgive me for being so rude. I was trying to collect my thoughts and…”
But David saved her from having to continue. “Don’t think another thing about it. I often find that my visitors seem hesitant at first in telling me of their troubles. It goes with the territory.”
His smile reassured her.
“Here ye be,” interrupted Mrs. Hoode, entering with a tray. “I hope ye like scones for that be what I’ve baked.”
Taking the tray from her arms and placing it on the table, the vicar reassured her that scones would be delightful. “You may leave, Mrs. Hoode. I’ll pour.” Bobbing a curtsey, she left, closing the door softly behind her.
“Tea?” He asked, offering Katherine a cup.
“Yes, thank you.”
“I hope that you’ll feel more comfortable after we’ve ‘broken bread’, so to speak, to tell me what it is that brought you here. Scone?”
Declining, Katherine sipped from her cup hoping to gain some more time. But after David had buttered himself a piece of the quick bread, she realized that she would have to say something or appear very foolish. Putting her cup down, she began, “I needed to… that is… I had hoped you would let me tell you about a few things that have transpired since I arrived here.”
“You mean aside from finding yourself locked in a tomb?”
His manner put her at ease, and she laughed lightly. “Yes, aside from that. I’ve… I find myself in somewhat of a strange position. I think someone is trying to kill me.”
His cup rattled on the saucer, and his demeanor instantly changed from lightheartedness to one of great concern. “What do you mean, someone is trying to kill you? I thought the occurrence in the cemetery was an accident?”
Taking a deep breath, Katherine told David all that had happened since she returned to Wistmere. Halfway between the telling, he rose and paced before her, a frown permanently creasing his brow. When she finished, he came and knelt beside her.
“And Garth says that he knew about the fire and about this woman?”
“Yes.”
“And what does Mr. Fleming say?”
“I haven’t told him.”
“Oh, why not?”
She hurriedly added, “Because I think he might have something to do with it all.”
“And you have no idea where this Selina is keeping herself? Or who could be aiding her?”
Katherine shook her head. “No. May-Jewel and I have been through most of the manor and have found no trace of her.”
“And Garth, did he seem surprised that she should be here and threatening you?”
“No… not actually.”
“Well, did he offer any assistance in locating her?”
“I–I didn’t give him a chance. I didn’t stay. I was too upset.”
“Yes, that’s quite understandable.” He took both her hands in his and looked into her now paling face. “I grieve for your suffering. The law must be called upon and, in the meantime, you and Mistress Belwood must stay here at the manse until this awful business is cleared up. You’ll be safer here.”
“Oh, no,” she slid her hands free. “We couldn’t do that. It wouldn’t be proper, staying where there are two men. I mean, even though you’re the vicar, it’s not proper.”
“But we could get Mrs. Hoode’s oldest to stay here as well. She’s almost seventeen, and I’m sure her mother would approve.”
Katherine shook her head. “No, I couldn’t just run away. I can’t let fear control me and rob me of everything.”
“But you could be harmed. It seems that this Selina has stepped up her intentions since the cottage incident. Your sister didn’t know what was in the glass?”
“No. Could it have been poison?” Tears appeared, making her eyes glisten.
Pulling Katherine to her feet, David held her hands tightly in his against his chest. “I really wish
