Faro only half listened to the argument.
'Don't you agree with me, Mr Faro?'
Not quite sure what he was expected to agree with, Miss Crowe speedily enlightened him.
They make their annual pilgrimage to the crowning of their king at Kirk Yetholm every year.'
'Another king,' said Faro. 'Does this entail a mortal combat like your wild cattle?'
Imogen Crowe eyed him coldly. 'Not at all - the gypsy king -'
But her explanation was cut short as Hector interrupted: 'Mr Faro is fascinated by the cattle, Mark.'
'Are you indeed?' asked Poppy since Mark and his bride had their heads close together, lost in some magic world of the newlyweds. 'Do show him, Hector. The wooden box on the desk.'
Hector brought out the yellowed parchment and laid it before Faro. 'Perhaps you'd like me to read it to you: this is their earliest recorded mention - when the Scots troops occupied us in January - see, 1645:
'What with the Soldiers and this continuing Storme, if it lye but one Month more, there will bee neither Beast nor Sheepe left in the country. Your Honour's Deere and wild Cattle I fear will all dye, do what we can: The like of this Storme hath not been known by any living in the Country. The Lord look upon us in mercy, if it be his blessed Will.'
'Fascinating,' said Faro.
There is another account,' said Hector, warming to his subject. 'Our neighbour, the Earl of Tankerville, celebrated his son's birthday in 1756 by ordering a great number of the cattle to be slaughtered, which, with a proportionate quantity of bread, were distributed among upwards of six hundred poor people.
'It's certainly a wonder the animals did survive.'
‘They had no predators, Hector,' said the minister.
'Only man,' put in Dr Brand. 'The worst predator of all.'
But Faro shivered, as the ghost of his recurring nightmare glared down at him from the wall opposite. The head and horns of an enraged bull.
Chapter 24
When Faro and Vince left the Castle some hours later, dawn was breaking and the ladies had long since retired. Only Imogen Crowe remained, in earnest and, Faro admitted disgustedly, argumentative conversation.
Although she represented the new breed of womankind of whom he was a little contemptuous and a little in awe, gallantry remained. However, his offer to see her safely down the drive was scornfully rejected.
'Good heavens, no. I wouldn't dream of it.'
Alarmed in case she had misinterpreted his offer, he said hastily, 'Vince and I will be leaving in the carriage shortly.'
'Carriage, indeed. It's no distance at all and the walk will do me good. I need the exercise and you gentlemen need your port. Yes, you too, Hector,' she said firmly.
Hector looked so put out that Faro, regarding him sharply, wondered if he was in love with Miss Crowe. A situation he found personally unimaginable, although on closer acquaintance she was pretty enough and intelligent too. But he cared little for opinionated young females with their militant views regarding women's position in society.
'If they ever get the vote, heaven help us,' he said to Hector, who still looked annoyed at Imogen's rejection of his company as he shared their carriage, silently wrapped in his own thoughts.
As they prepared to retire for what remained of the night, Vince yawned: 'What a day, Stepfather. And what a curious wedding. At least Mark is one suspect you can cross off your list.'
Faro didn't care to disillusion Vince by suggesting that the possible intrigue of the pretty widow and her stepson had been neatly explained, simply to give rise to another more sinister reason for Sir Archie's demise: the obstacle to Mark's marriage had been conveniently removed.
Faro would have given much to know the exact location of Mark Elrigg, expert archer, when his stepfather died. Murders had been committed for much less than Mark's and Harriet's urgency.
Perturbed by his stepfather's silence, Vince asked: 'What do you make of Miss Crowe?'
'Not a great deal,' said Faro shortly.
'She's quite a stunner,' was the encouraging reply.
'Indeed. I hadn't noticed,' said Faro, removing his cravat. 'And what about Olivia?'
'Livvy. What about her?'
'Aren't you being, well, a little unfaithful?'
'Who said I had to be faithful to Olivia?' Vince demanded sharply.
'I presumed -'
'You presumed wrongly, Stepfather. I have no intentions but those of the friendliest towards Olivia.' He looked out of the window at the sun rising behind the standing stones. 'At present.'
Faro was thankful for those two words when Vince went on: 'Besides it wasn't for myself I was putting forward Miss Crowe as a marriageable proposition. She is a little old for me, past thirty, I should think. I had her in mind for you.'
You - thought -' Faro was at a loss for words.
'Indeed I did. You were getting along famously and I noticed, and I'm sure everyone else did, what a handsome pair you made.'
'Then you and everyone else are quite wrong.'
'Come, Stepfather, you really should have a wife,' Vince sounded suddenly sober. 'You aren't all that old - in your prime, most men would say, and Rose and Emily won't always have Grandma, they would take a young stepmother to their heart.'
'Indeed? As you took a stepfather to your heart at their age,' said Faro in bitter tones that reminded Vince of how deeply he had resented his mother marrying a policeman.
'It was only until I got to know you,' Vince said meekly.
'And may I remind you that I worked very hard at that. You were an obnoxious child.' Faro grinned suddenly. 'Amazing that you turned out so well under my guidance.'
Vince shared the laughter and then Faro said sadly: 'I'll never find another woman like your mother again. If I could, I swear I'd marry her. What I don't want is a clever opinionated wife, I want someone nice, kind, loving and homely - like my Lizzie.'
Vince smiled. 'There is someone who fits that description exactly, you know, Stepfather. And she is right under your nose every
