The Victory Garden(102)

“And who is going to look after you, old thing?” she said softly, stroking him.

As the cold light of dawn silhouetted the upland of the moor, she got up, lit the stove and put on the kettle. Bobbie still slept in peaceful bliss in her cradle. There was no sign of Shadow. She wrapped her shawl around her and went out into the garden. Everything was blooming, and sweet scents surrounded her. The first of Mr Patterson’s bees were visiting the flowers. If only I hadn’t been stubborn and had married him, this would never have happened, she thought. Could he be someone she could ask for help now?

When she came in to make a cup of tea, she glanced outside the front window and saw that a policeman was now stationed there. She turned away, the sick feeling returning. She went about her morning chores, put the baby outside in her pram to get her daily dose of fresh air, then wondered if she should pack up all of Lady Charlton’s gifts to be returned to the big house. “But she did give them to me,” she said out loud. “She wanted to make me happy.” Now who would believe that?

Around mid-morning, the big motor car Emily had seen the day before pulled up outside. The original detective inspector was accompanied by another man, as well as his sergeant. Emily let them in. The newcomer was the inspector from Scotland Yard. He was less aggressive in manner than the Devon detective, but Emily sensed his questions were more dangerous. No, she was not qualified or experienced in herbal medicine. She had taken her recipes from old books. She thought that what she was doing was harmless and beneficial. So it was possible that she had, in fact, done harm to the old lady?

“I suppose it is possible,” Emily said, “but I can give you a list of every ingredient and make another batch of the tonic for you to test.”

“You were seen picking foxgloves—a potent heart stimulant.”

“Yes, but I didn’t use them,” Emily said.

“Then why pick them?”

Emily hesitated. “I read that they were efficacious in cases of heart failure, but also dangerous,” she said. “I considered using foxglove, but then decided against it.”

He nodded, stared thoughtfully at the ground, then looked up suddenly. “Why did you come here, Miss Bryce? What made you seek out Lady Charlton? Was she a prior acquaintance of your family?”

“No,” Emily said, warily now. “I was a member of the Women’s Land Army. We were sent here to help with her garden. She and I got along well, and we stayed in this cottage, which hadn’t been used for years. When I needed a place to go after we were released from service, I wondered if she’d let me use this cottage in return for continuing to work in her garden.”

“Why not return home to your family? Do you not have a family?”

“Yes, but . . . ,” Emily began. She was interrupted by a loud knocking on the front door. Before she could move, the sergeant went to answer it.

“Is this the residence of Miss Emily Bryce?” a man’s voice demanded.

“That’s right, but . . . ,” the sergeant replied.

“I’m her father, Judge Harold Bryce.” And he pushed past the sergeant into the room.

Emily stared at him in amazement. How could Alice possibly have delivered a letter to him by now? Judge Bryce’s gaze swept around the room, then focused on his daughter. “Emily, what on earth are you doing here? What has been going on?”

Emily stood up and took a step towards her father. She fought against her desire to fling herself into his arms. “Daddy, you got my letter.”

“Letter? I received no letter. In fact, your mother and I have heard nothing from you these past months. Your mother has been worried sick. When we heard nothing from you at Christmas, we contacted the woman in charge of your land army girls and learned that you had all been dismissed for the winter. She said something about you going to live with a friend, so we had no idea where the devil you were. That woman didn’t know. Nobody knew. What in God’s name made you come here?”

“It’s a long story, Daddy, and I’d like to tell you, but these are policemen who think that I tried to kill Lady Charlton when I was only trying to help her.”

“That’s what I heard. The commissioner came to my chambers first thing this morning and said he’d heard talk of an Emily Bryce being arrested for attempted murder. He didn’t think there would be more than one Emily Bryce in the county, so he was sure I’d know about it. Naturally, I didn’t like to admit that we’d not seen hide nor hair of you in months. I got the address and came straight away.”

“You’re the girl’s father?” the Scotland Yard inspector asked. “A judge?”

“I most certainly am. A judge of the Devon assizes. What exactly is my daughter supposed to have done?”

“There are several allegations—she prepared a potion that caused the old woman to have a heart attack. She has been accused of stealing from her, and it has even been suggested that she wanted the old woman dead because she is now mentioned in her will.”

“All nonsense, Daddy. I am incredibly fond of Lady Charlton, as she is of me. Those things they say I stole, they were all gifts from her as thanks for helping her catalogue her collections. And I knew nothing of her will.”

“And this potion?” her father asked.

“I have inherited a herb garden and books on herbal medicine. I have been trying to educate myself. I made what I thought would be a good heart tonic. There was nothing harmful in it, I’m sure. In fact, I have the recipe here, if the gentlemen would care to see it, and I would be happy to make up another batch from the same ingredients.”