The Wicked Wager (30 page)

“Her alibi?” Nutters interrupted.

“Pickering could have fallen asleep. The
earl and Emma may have been aware of being followed and worked together to kill
my sister once the coast was clear.”

The duke became silent thereafter. The
others stirred as if awakening from a trance. They waited a few moments for the
duke to continue and when he did not, they moved to pour themselves tea or
wine.

Soft murmurs soon became louder as they all
discussed the duke’s observations. The clock chimed ten and they wondered if no
more was to come.

Pickering entered the room with a tray of
refreshments, dispelling the thought that the session was now over. They were
in for a long night.

No one had any desire to eat, and the duke
finally gestured to Pickering to remain, “It is not pleasant talking about
people I love in such a ruthless manner. I am being as impartial as I can. It
would not be fair if I only dissected the strangers or friends present and spared
my own family. It pains me as much as it is hurting all of you. Mr Barker,
would you like a cigar?”

Mr Barker jumped at the sudden change of
subject and shook his head.

The duke passed the box to Lord Raikes, and
then continued, “Allow me to speak of your daughter, Mr Barker,”

Mr Barker nodded worriedly.

“Prudence was being blackmailed by my
sister, and we all know that, since the evidence was found in the form of
letters and the brooch. I will not go into details of what she was being
blackmailed for. I hope anyone who is aware of the reasons will keep it to
themselves. She has a strong motive and no one to vouch for her innocence. Now,
I beg your indulgence a little further by discussing your wife.”

Mrs Barker fidgeted under all the eyes that
suddenly turned towards her. She absently picked up a pastry on the table near
her and dug the spoon into the light as air dessert. She did not lift the spoon
to her mouth as she waited for the duke to continue.

“She too was being blackmailed. She gave me
her reasons, and unfortunately it was not the complete truth. After discovering
the murder, I instructed Pickering, and a man provided by Nutters, to stand
guard outside my sister’s door. It was lucky I thought of it in spite of my
state of shock. Mrs Barker and Mr Barker were seen lurking around outside the
door. They had no reason to venture into that part of the house as their room
falls in the opposite direction. They have visited my home often enough to know
their way around, so their excuse of getting lost did not sit well with me. I
therefore searched through every piece of paper in my sister’s room and found
the reason. Mr Barker was involved in the embezzlement of a large sum of money.
That was the true reason for the blackmail. I suspected Mrs Barker was lying
the moment she told me she was afraid her husband would find out about her
extramarital affairs. Her husband, as we all know, could not have been unaware
of his wife’s indiscretions, as she has no qualms flirting outrageously in
front of him. I think he even encourages it to further his own means.”

Mr Barker, for once, remained silent. Mrs
Barker had dropped the pastry on her lap, where it now sat melting into her
skirts.

“I then conducted an experiment. I asked
Nutters to go into Mrs Barker’s room when she was not present. I similarly
entered Mr Barker’s room and closed the connecting door. The servants assured
me that the door between their rooms has remained closed for years. They often
know such things, and it would be too much of a coincidence if the door were
suddenly opened on the night of the murder. I then asked Nutters to open the
main door and slip out into the hallway. According to Mr Barker, he had heard
his wife leave in the middle of the night. Imagine my surprise when I found
that I could not hear a thing. I then requested a younger servant to take my
place to ensure nothing was wrong with my hearing. He, too, could not tell when
Nutters departed the room. I concluded that the two had planned to face my
sister together. I am also sure they had an ugly argument with her. The reason
was the brooch. My sister had failed to locate the basket left by Prudence. She
expected the girl would come and see her that night with a valid excuse. She
did not think Prudence would dare to ignore her instructions without an
explanation. Accordingly, she had pulled out the brooch to gloat and kept it
next to her as a reminder to Prudence as to who held the reins. She was a cruel
woman. Instead, Mr Barker and Mrs Barker arrived in her room to reason with her.
They noticed the brooch lying on the bed and realised who else she had been
blackmailing; hence, they argued and perhaps in a heated moment … killed her.”

“We did not kill her,” Mrs Barker
whispered, “It is true, we fought bitterly, for I could not stand the thought
of my daughter being subjected to the same misery as I was. It was heartless to
use such a young girl for her means. It was the first time that I knew of it,
and I could no longer control my emotions. I was so angry, and I could have
killed her, but I did not!”

The duke just glanced at her blandly and
continued as if he had never been interrupted, “I had briefly touched upon the
topic of Lady Babbage’s son yesterday. I want to expand on that and tell you
some more about him. I had mentioned that each one of you has seen him but not
met him. His name is Joseph Babbage, and he has been working as an
under-gardener on the estate. I was not aware of this until a few days ago when
one of my men overheard him speaking to my sister. He was planning to rob the
house on the night of the murder. That is why I had requested Pickering to bar
the entrance to the servant quarters and stay within the main house.”

“So did he kill her?” the earl asked.

The duke did not immediately answer. Then
he spoke slowly, “I was told that a blonde man with a knife was seen in the
corridor. I had assumed our killer was Joe. It would have been a convenient
solution that protected every member of my family, and I would have gotten rid
of the rogue. Unfortunately, he became aware of the fact that I knew of his
planned robbery. Lady Babbage may have overheard my conversation with Pickering
and warned him. I do not know for sure. He left right after dinner and went to
the local pub in the village. He drank himself into a stupor and passed out on
the table. The pub owner threw him out on the street, where he lay until the
morning. I did not believe his story until the villagers confirmed it.”

“Then who is the blonde man?” the earl
wondered aloud.

“There is only one man in this house who is
tall and blonde, and that happens to be … you, Lord Richard Hamilton.”

The earl turned white and Emma emitted a
strangled sound.

“Let me continue. I know you did not commit
the crime, since Pickering followed you around the whole night in the mistaken
belief that you had been convinced by Lady Babbage to rob me. He never liked
the look of you, which as it turns out is lucky for you, since you have a
watertight alibi from two people I trust. Yes, I trust you, Emma, because I
know you,” the duke said, looking at her, “I also believe you, because your
actions that night do not make sense otherwise. Why would the two of you hunt
for proof that Lady Babbage was a blackmailer if you intended to kill her? What
was the point if, by the end of it, she would be dead and Prudence safe? You
had no idea Pickering was following you or that I had asked him to stay that
night. I told him right after everyone returned to bed and there was no way you
could have overheard. My study was closed and has thick walls to keep my
business private. Even if you had somehow found out, this whole act of hunting
for the note just to ward of suspicion did not make sense. What could you gain
by it? The murder would not have been made any easier.”

He turned to address Mr and Mrs Barker,
“You also had a reason to commit murder and you were the last to see her alive.
I again question your actions on that night. If you had murdered my sister,
then the last thing you would want is to be seen returning from the direction
of the victim’s room. Imagine you murder a woman and immediately after the act,
you walk down the corridor to return to your rooms.
Would
you be so blatant about your departure? The murder was planned, please
remember, since the weapon used was a butcher knife which
is not an object ordinarily found lying around in
one’s rooms. It was not an act of momentary passion. If it were planned, then
why, Mr Barker, would you allow yourself to be foolishly seen. You did not even
attempt to conceal your identity. Now I come to the biggest question. If you or
Prudence murdered her, then why in the world would you leave the letters and
brooch in her room after the act? The letter referring to the embezzlement was still
there, as well as the letters for Prudence. Why would you leave the brooch
sitting by her bed? If you had left it as a clever ploy to ward of suspicion,
then why did you try and return to her room later that day? If you knew the
woman was dead, you could have fetched it all through those hours before the
body was discovered. Mrs Barker is well aware of my character. She knows I will
not let any financial misconduct go unpunished. In the same manner, why would
Prudence kill her to conceal her secret, and then leave the letters airing
those very secrets out for all to read?”

He paused to take a deep breath. His eyes
softened, as he looked towards his daughter. He patted the arm of his chair,
hoping she would come and sit by him.

She ignored him, her face expressionless.

The duke sighed and continued, “Catherine
and Lord Raikes, why did I discount them? They have been crossed off my
excellent advisor Mr Nutters’ list. Let me start with Lord Raikes. I spent
considerable time learning his character and grilling him after his arrival
here. I knew my daughter was growing attached to him and Lord Raikes never
tried to hide his feelings. I know he is an intelligent man and well-travelled.
He has visited places of which I have never even heard. I also know he studied
medicine along with Lord Hamilton. If a man like that had to commit a murder,
what would he do? He would use his experience and knowledge. He would do the
job so neatly that no one would be able to tell that the death had not been
natural. He understands medicine and he understands poison. He could have used
a number of rare roots to bring about heart failure or leaves to cause a death
coma. Why would he not slip some herb into her cup instead of stabbing her with
a knife? The knife made it obvious that it was murder and that meant Catherine
could be implicated. He loves Catherine, and the last thing he would want is to
have suspicion fall on her. He did not hate anyone else in the household to
want the blame to fall on them. He could have secretly hated his best friend,
but he knew Hamilton had an alibi in Emma. He did not know anyone else.”

He turned once more to face his daughter,
“You must be wondering by now why I first give a long speech implicating
everyone and then spend the next hour proving how they are innocent. I am not
doing this because it gives me any perverse satisfaction. The reason is that I
want the murderer to know why everyone else is eliminated and how no other
suspect is left. I do not want the person to have any room to escape what is
coming. The murderer is well aware of all the motives each one of you had. Your
actions prove your innocence, trapping the murderer. So I beg you to indulge my
monologues a little longer.”

The people in the room became tense,
realising that not many of them were left to be analysed. It was becoming
increasingly obvious that the duke knew who had killed his sister and he was
patiently and methodically eliminating each one of them, moving closer to the
culprit.

“I know that if I beseech you to believe
me, on the basis of a father’s insight, that his daughter did not commit such a
heinous act, then no one would believe me. Therefore, I must strive to convince
you with practical deduction. If Catherine had killed her aunt, then she could
hardly expect her own father to call her out for it. She would have felt safe
committing the crime making her the most dangerous and obvious suspect. Imagine
for a moment that she planned the entire thing. She sat ready and waiting for
the right moment. She knew that I would investigate the next morning. What
would a murderer do in such circumstances? Would she go to man’s bedchamber
after midnight, a man she believed to be her cousin’s fiancé? Why would she
risk that her cousin who she cares for deeply would, become aware of her
misdemeanour? Questions would be asked and Lord Raikes would have to confess
his night’s activities. Prudence saw her as well and even if Raikes decided to
keep silent, she might not. A murderer would have ensured that he or she stayed
out of sight. The moment that they are seen roaming the hallways at an odd
hour, they would be suspected. She could not possibly know how many people were
walking the halls that night. We know the murder was committed after Mrs Barker
left my sister’s room. That had been just after one in the morning. Lord Raikes
went to Catherine’s room which is closest to her aunt’s. He would have been the
other person implicated since he too had been in the vicinity of the murder.
Her growing regard for him is obvious. Then why would she visit his room and
put him at risk of being a murder suspect? She would have chosen another night
for the planned murder. If she had waited this long, she could have bided her
time for another day. If she murdered her aunt, then she was shooting herself in
the foot by letting at least two people know she was awake and out of bed at
the time of the murder. I, too, would hear of her midnight stroll to Lord
Raikes’ room. It did not make sense that she would want everyone to know of her
improper behaviour.”