‘Despite everything,’ Amelia said, sipping at the tea which had been served to them by one of the cleaners they had employed, ‘I am sorry about the news regarding Verity Randall.’
‘That she took her own life in prison?’ Amelia nodded. ‘It’s about the only decent thing she ever did, and it saved Ida, Sir Philip and Gideon from the embarrassment of a spectacularly public trial. Besides, she knew what fate awaited her and decided to choose her own form of death. She needed to remain in control, right up until the end.’
‘Ingesting poison can’t have been pleasant. How did she come by it?’
Riley shrugged as he bounced Simon on his knee and Bruno rolled on his back on the lawn, paws flapping skyward as he luxuriated in having a new family to fuss over him. ‘We shall never know. Several people visited her, including her husband and Sir Philip.’
‘What made her so vindictive, I wonder?’
‘She wasn’t always that way, I’m told. Like most young girls she dreamed of falling in love and being swept off her feet. She met her heart’s desire but her brother spoiled things by telling the young man that Verity’s fortune wasn’t as large as he had been led to believe. He was attempting to protect his sister, one supposes, by warding off fortune hunters. And that warning had the desired effect. Jason’s feelings didn’t mirror Verity’s and he broke off the connection.’
‘Poor girl.’
‘Quite. One imagines she would have understood his need for financial security once she got over her disappointment, but for the fact that he then married a young woman of exquisite beauty who didn’t have a brass farthing to her name.’
‘Ouch!’
‘Quite. Then Ezra came along. She was no longer a green miss, but even she was taken in by his charm, saw him for what he was and came up with a ruse. She despised Ida, was jealous of her beauty, her lax morals and what she saw as her parsimonious nature, and recognised a way for Ezra to ingratiate himself and line both their pockets. But then Ezra—’
‘Took up with the beautiful Ida and cut Verity out.’
‘And then had the discourtesy to add insult to injury by falling in love with her equally beautiful sister-in-law. She still held a grudge against her brother for interfering with her first love. She also knew that her husband was involved with another woman and…well, I imagine the injustice of it all became too much for her to bear.’
‘If she wasn’t so wicked, I would feel some sympathy for her. We all suffer disappointments, but few of us resort to murder.’
‘Sir Philip has resigned his position and he and Ida are planning to go away for a year or two, until the scandal dies down.’
‘Hopefully she will have learned her lesson and be a little more discreet in future, if she must indulge in dalliances.’
Riley chuckled. ‘That I very much doubt. But at least Gideon will be able to start again and choose his own career. He’s resigned too. I hope he will have learned from his mistakes and make a better choice of wife if he decides to take the plunge for a second time.’
‘It was a very kind thing that you did for Salter,’ Amelia said, smiling when Simon gurgled at her, ‘giving him the deposit for a new house.’
‘He didn’t want to take it but Mrs Salter—what was Jack’s expression? Would have had his guts for garters, I believe is what she said—if he’d turned it down.’ Riley glanced down the length of the sun-drenched lawns to the stream sparkling at their foot. They smiled as Bruno splashed about in it, cooling himself down. ‘The lure of indoor plumbing was too much for her to resist. Jack’s a good man and I should be lost without him. And talking of companions...’ He nodded towards the derelict cottage that they hadn’t been sure what to do with. ‘Feel free to dismiss the idea, but it occurs to me that you will require someone to care for the prune and the new baby when it comes, since Agnes has given notice.’
‘Whom do you have in mind?’
‘I have told you about Ruth Dawson.’
‘Ah, the very pretty young woman I keep hearing about. The woman whose husband you have rather conveniently just incarcerated. Should I be concerned that she is still uppermost in your thoughts?’
‘You know better than that. Despite Paul Dawson fighting her corner, Mrs Dawson has taken against her and blames her for Sam’s travails. She has effectively lost two sons, and her sense of judgment is perhaps not at its best.’
‘Sam will be gaoled for a longer period?’
‘Oh yes. The full extent of his thieving has been uncovered and was far more extensive than anyone realised. The owner of that building project is demanding the maximum sentence, and he has enough authority to make his voice heard. Sam will be lucky to get less than twenty years, and few survive for that long in such a hostile environment as our prisons.’
‘You are worried that his pretty widow will be obliged to fall back on the oldest profession if her husband’s family have turned their backs on her.’
‘Paul hasn’t, but he has a wife and family of his own to support.’
‘Ah, I see.’ Amelia smiled. ‘You have a soft heart, Riley Rochester.’
‘Don’t tell anyone,’ he said, chuckling. ‘No criminal will take me seriously ever again if word gets out.’
‘Ruth Dawson has two children, I think you said.’
‘A girl of five and a boy of two, I think. I thought the cottage would be ideal for them. There are enough grounds here for the children to romp, and there is a village school.’
‘Of course we shall have them here if
