Mrs Rush, who had been waiting behind them, nodded as Adelia led them past, and Adelia knew she was off to arrange some refreshments.
And, it transpired, she also went to let Lady Agnes know that Captain Everard had appeared. Lady Agnes joined them in the reception room a few moments later and murmured something about late-flowering anemones and some pests that had attacked them, to which he replied with a suggestion that he ought to see the plant to diagnose the problem.
They left.
Adelia was somewhat astonished and she stared at Mrs Carstairs. “Was this all part of a plan?”
“Oh, no, of course not,” Mrs Carstairs said with a pink tinge to her cheeks. “That would be so utterly crass.”
Adelia wanted to roll her eyes. But she let the matter drop, and turned her attention to the menus that Mrs Carstairs was spreading out on the table. The theme was to be the sea, of course, and it seemed that lobster was going to figure in some fashion for almost every dish. Adelia braced herself in case that even included the sorbet.
Luckily, it did not.
That was going to be prawn.
“But mostly lemon,” Mrs Carstairs added hastily. “Almost entirely lemon. With a hint of prawn.”
“I am not sure that anything ought to have a hint of prawn.”
“Oh, hush now! Let us try new things and be adventurous. Surely being in this castle must infect you with a desire to explore and be bold? It is the seat of many generations of explorers, after all.”
“I suppose that it is. Lady Katharine does not seem to have inherited that tendency, however. Did you know her late husband at all?”
“Oh, the odious Mr Jacob Brodie? I did not know him and I did not care to know him and I do not care to even think of him – and I can tell you that Lady Katharine is of the same mind.”
“Do you know Lady Katharine?”
“Indeed yes. I have been a support to her throughout her dark times, as I try to support all ladies of reduced circumstances in the area. And I know that most people take me for a gossip and I’ll admit I do enjoy my parties and my At Homes and my soirees. But it is because I love all that so much that I feel so dreadfully sad about women like Lady Katharine who find themselves completely thrown to one side. I have visited her regularly for years.”
“Goodness. That is good of you. I paid a call recently but she did not seem to want to converse.”
“She is a quiet woman but a pleasant one once one has built a rapport with her. Yes, it often seems as if I supply both halves of the conversation, but I am happy to do so. Mr Carstairs often says I have enough words to play both parts, and he is able to go to sleep as I can carry the discourse perfectly well on my own. He means it as a jest but it can be a strength.”
Adelia was enjoying Mrs Carstairs’ unselfconscious self-awareness immensely. She laughed and said, “When was the last time you saw her?” She was interested to discover if Lady Katharine had said anything about the murder.
She was stunned, therefore, when Mrs Carstairs replied, “Oh, it was last Sunday! I know that I should have been at church but I was avoiding Mrs Robertson – oh, nothing dramatic, just a little misunderstanding regarding something I might have said about her gown last month – anyway, it will blow over. I know that Lady Katharine does not go to church but she keeps the Lord’s Day in her own way, and I decided I’d do a good thing and go and pay a call, and offer to read with her or some such. I felt I ought to do something right and proper, do you see?”
“I do. And were you there all morning?”
“Yes. I arrived at the gatehouse around ten in the morning, and she was all alone, just as I thought, and happy enough to make me tea – her woman had gone off to chapel with some of the servants from the castle – and we spent the morning in a quiet contemplation together. I left around midday so that I was home for luncheon.”
“Was it just the two of you? Where was Oscar?”
“Yes, it was the two of us. Young Mr Brodie never joins us.”
Adelia’s mouth had gone quite dry. Mrs Carstairs began to chatter on about other matters, but Adelia could only hear her own thoughts.
Oscar had no alibi.
And his mother had lied.
AS SOON AS MRS CARSTAIRS left, Adelia ran up to the makeshift laboratory and found Theodore poring over his notes.
He looked up. “I left Felicia sleeping, don’t worry.”
“No, it’s about Oscar!” she gasped out as she entered, temporarily putting her daughter to one side in her mind.
“Oscar Brodie? He’s not here. He was around a moment ago; he won’t be long, I’m sure.”
She looked around in a panic and lowered her voice as she hurried to Theodore’s side. “Oscar did it, I am sure of it,” she said. “He was not with his mother last Sunday. Lady Katharine was with Mrs Carstairs all morning and Oscar was nowhere to be found. He has no alibi, and he is strange, and he could have done it to get some kind of money or something, if that is what Hartley Knight was hiding in the ice house. Did he not hint to you that Knight could have been hiding something in the ice house? Perhaps he was closer to the truth – because he knows the truth.”
“What of Lady Agnes? She was our top suspect.”
“No. It is a ridiculous suggestion. She might have her secrets but she did not hit anyone on the head and then poison
