She shook her head. It was useless to speculate on the strange incident of Dorothy declaring Edward had died, despite him standing there. What possible motive would she have to make such an announcement? After all, she was now out of the inheritance, based on the reading of the will that Mr. Fallow gave to Vera. If anything, Dorothy would want to insist Edward was alive even if he wasn’t.
Not too far away, Vera spotted Orville standing awkwardly near a tall stone grave. He caught her gaze and seemed about to walk over, but she quickly turned away. She wasn’t ready to speak to Orville yet.
“You all right?” Lenore asked.
“Oh, nothing. Orville and I had a little argument yesterday. He doesn’t want to hear about the Springfield case.”
“There is no Springfield case,” Lenore reminded her.
“I’m not so sure.” Vera informed her friend about the bloodstained rug that quickly disappeared.
“Huh. Circumstantial at best,” Lenore said. (She was an avid reader of true crime.)
“Looks like Dorothy isn’t talking to Edward either,” Vera sighed, when she noticed both Springfields standing far away from each other.
“Maybe she’ll come around in a little while. Edward has tried to visit her at the B and B, you know. Very polite, as always. Comes to the door every day and asks Ben if he can come in and speak to Dot. And poor Ben always has to say no. But Edward brings a bouquet and Ben takes it on Dotty’s behalf. It’s really rather tragic,” Lenore added in a rush.
Vera nodded. She couldn’t argue. Ravens were the experts on tragedy.
A podium had been set up at the base of the hill, and this was where the family gathered around the closed coffin. The Reverend Dusty Conkers stood near the podium, patiently waiting to begin the service.
“I think we should go find our places,” Vera murmured to her friend. “No one likes funerals to begin late.”
“The deceased might want to put it off,” the raven countered, deadpan.
Dusty delivered a beautiful sermon. The jackrabbit possessed a resonant voice that could project out for a quarter mile (a skill developed when he was a circuit minister on the western prairies). He spoke of Adora’s deep love for her family and her neighbors, her unfailing generosity, such as when a thunderstorm swept through Mirror Lake and she housed thirteen families in her own home for a week, until repairs could be made to the damaged buildings. A huge oak tree had fallen and blocked her own front door, so she simply had everyone use the storm door to the basement instead!
After the service, Edith Von Beaverpelt looked around. “Mrs. Springfield must have been quite a personality. Such a lot of folks have come!”
“I’m sure more came to Daddy’s funeral,” Stasia said quickly.
“If that’s even true, it was only for the spectacle,” Esme countered. “No one can say our father was particularly loved.”
“Oh, what a thing to say!” Edith lifted a lacy handkerchief to her nose and sniffed. She did not, however, deny the statement.
“Well, this wake probably won’t be as fancy as Daddy’s,” Stasia said.
“Yeah, probably it won’t be as dramatic either. Remember when his mistress showed up and started shouting?”
Edith moaned and swayed as if she were about to faint. “Must I never forget that moment?” She wailed. “So ungracious….”
The crowd had broken up and creatures began chatting with each other in low voices, many of them preparing to make a slow, solemn walk to the Springfield house to join the wake.
Just then, Edward approached Dot, clearly wanting to restore their relationship. “Dot, you planned so much of this service, and it all turned out so well.”
Dot looked slightly mollified, but said only, “It’s the least I could do for Adora.”
“You did so much more for Mother, and I’ll always be grateful you were there for her at the end. Oh, darling, please can’t we make up? On this day of all days. My mother laid in the ground. Can’t we be together again, like we were? I hate this…you so distraught, and not even sleeping in our house, but at an inn!”
Dot seemed to waver, saying in a low voice, “How’s the house? At sixes and sevens, I’ll bet. Not even swept for weeks….”
“It’s fine, Dotty. It’s just fine. Let’s go back there now, and sort everything out. Please, my sweet Dotty.”
Suddenly Dot narrowed her eyes and stepped back. “No! I cannot do that. No, don’t move an inch closer!”
Ben, despite being far smaller than Edward, moved between the couple. “Perhaps it would be best if I escorted Mrs. Springfield back to the B and B. She ought to rest.”
Edward’s jaw had gone tight, and Vera sensed the almost electric charge of an animal ready to spring into battle.
Before he could make a move, Orville was there, his bulk huge and uncompromising.
“That’s a good idea, Ben. Take Dot back, would you? I’ll swing by in a little while to make sure everyone’s settled.”
It was a politely worded warning, but a warning all the same. Edward would find stiff resistance if he tried to enter the Bramblebriar today.
The rat’s stance relaxed into compliancy. “A difficult day for everyone,” he said, nodding. “I’ll just go back to the house and see that everything is in order for the wake. All are welcome, of course. I hope to see everyone there.” He looked appealing at Dorothy as he said the last words, but she refused to meet his gaze.
“Welp,” Esme muttered, “scratch what I said about not being so dramatic. I say, Shady Hollow sure knows how to do a funeral.”
Chapter 7
Ben was helping Dot to
