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Quinlan was standing at the farther end of the room, his lean face, with its long nose and chiseled lips, deep in thought. He was watching Hester, amusement in his eyes. Perhaps he was wondering how she would approach Mm, what she would find to say. Monk felt a rush of loatMng towards the man, not for Hester’s sake-she was well able to take care of herself, or if she were not it was her own fault for being here-but for Eilish, who could not escape.
Baird stood by the fireplace, as far as possible from Quinlan. He looked pale, as if he had not eaten or slept, and there was a haunted air about him, as though he were preparing to fight but had no hope of wi
Ke
They had been indulging in polite conversation about nothing that mattered, but the room seemed to crackle with the underlying silence, the waiting for someone to broach the only subject that mattered. Finally it was Alastair who did it.
“Oonagh says you went to find out about the other brooch which no one has seen. I can’t imagine why.” A curious look came into his eyes, doubt, incredulity, hope. “Surely you don’t think one of the servants took it… do you? Isn’t it merely lost? Mother does seem to have been somewhat careless…” He left the remark hanging in unfinished silence. No one had yet explained the gray pearl brooch, and somehow it seemed crass to mention the subject at all now, in front of Hester.
“No I don’t,” Monk said grimly. “I am sorry, Mr. Farral-ine, but the explanation for that is quite simple. Your mother never had it. It was commissioned in the first place by your brother, Ke
Alastair pulled a face of distaste, then turned slowly to look at Ke
Ke
Monk glanced at Eilish. Her expression was a painful mixture of anguish and hope, as though she had not expected to be hurt by Ke
Oonagh turned a questioning gaze at her younger brother.
“Well?” Alastair demanded. “Don’t just stand there glowering, Ke
“I admit it,” Ke
“You are paid what you are worth!” Alastair said, the color mounting in his cheeks. “But if you were paid nothing at all beyond your keep, that would not excuse you from buying presents for your mistress on Mother’s account. Dear God, what else have you done? Is Uncle Hector right? Have you embezzled from the company accounts?”
The blood fled from Ke
Oddly, it was Quinlan who stepped forward to speak, not Ke
“Yes he did, months ago, over a year now, and Mother-in-law knew about it at the time. She paid it all back.”
Alastair exploded with disbelief. “Oh really, Quin! Don’t expect me to believe all that. I know how you feel about Baird, but this is absurd. Why on earth would Mother cover up Ke
“Of course not,” Quinlan agreed with a twist of his mouth. “If you look at Mother-in-law’s will, you will find that Ke
Alastair said nothing.
Quinlan smiled. “Come on, Alastair. That is what Mother-in-law would have done, and you know it She would never have precipitated a scandal by prosecuting her own son. We all knew her better than mat-even Ke
“How dare you-” Alastair began furiously, but Oonagh cut him off.
“I presume the solicitors will know this much?” she said quietly.
“Of course,” Quinlan agreed. “There is no reason given in the will, except that Ke
“How do you know this, when the rest of the family doesn’t?” Monk asked him.
Quinlan’s eyebrows rose. “Me? Because as I said before, I conducted a great deal of her affairs for her. I am extremely good at business, especially investments, and Mother-in-law knew it. Besides, Alastair is too busy, Baird has no head for it, and obviously she would be a complete fool to trust Ke
“If you know so much about the business,” Eilish challenged him in a choking voice, “how is it you knew nothing about the land in Easter Ross and that she was getting no rent from it?”
Ke
Baird looked up at them, his face wretched.
“Mary knew everything that I did, and it was done with her permission,” he said quietly. “That is all I will tell you.”
“Well, it is not enough.” Alastair swung around at him desperately. “Good God, man! Mother is dead-poisoned by someone. The police aren’t going to accept an answer like that. If Miss Latterly didn’t do it, then one of us did!”
“I didn’t.” Band’s voice was barely a whisper between his lips. “I loved Mary, more than anyone else… except…” He stopped. Few in the room doubted he was going to say “Eilish,” not “Oonagh.”
Oonagh was very pale, but perfectly composed. Whatever emotions tore her at such a reality, they were too well concealed by time, familiarity, or sheer courage to show now.
“Of course,” Alastair said bitterly. “We would hardly expect you to say anything less. But words are immaterial now; it is only facts that matter.”
“Nobody knows the facts,” Quinlan pointed out “We only know what Mary’s papers say, what the bankers say, and Baird’s excuses. I don’t know what other facts you think there are.”
“I imagine the police may think that sufficient,” Monk responded. “At least for trial. What else they find, or need, is their affair.”
“Is that what you are going to do?” Eilish was desperate; it stared out of her anguished face and rang in the rising pitch of her voice. “Just accuse, and leave it to the police? Baird is one of the family. We’ve lived with him in this house, known him every day for years, shared our dreams and our hopes with him. You can’t just-just say he’s guilty-and abandon him.” She looked wildly from one to another of them, all except Quinlan, ending with Oonagh, perhaps to whom she had always turned in times of need.
“We are not abandoning him, my dear,” Oonagh said quietly. “But we have no alternative to facing the truth, however terrible it is for us. One of us killed Mother.”
Unintentionally Eilish looked again at Hester, then blushed scarlet.