A Perilous Perspective (Lady Darby Mystery #10)(76)

So wrapped up was I in my own thoughts that I almost missed Bree’s remark about what they’d learned from the staff at Poltalloch.

“Mairi kent her before she went to work at Poltalloch. She kent the Campbells, particularly Miss Margaret.”

“Well, of course she did,” I turned in my saddle to reply, confused by such a remark. “In this isolated an area, everyone would have known everyone, even those of a higher class.”

“Nay,” Bree retorted. “I mean she kent her. As in, they’d interacted before. Mrs. Kennedy said that’s why she was hired despite her father workin’ for Lord Barbreck’s brother.”

“But how can that be?” Gage’s mount moved closer to mine as the path narrowed. “Miss Margaret is an invalid. She rarely leaves the castle. So where could they have met?”

I watched as a pair of dragonflies whirled and darted to and fro above our heads. “Perhaps it hasn’t always been that way. Perhaps her illness hasn’t always kept her so confined.” I turned to look into my husband’s eyes, shaded by the brim of his hat pulled low. “Maybe she used to be able to venture beyond the walls of the castle. They could have met then.”

“True.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Was Mrs. Kennedy the only one to confirm this?”

“Confirm it? Yes,” Anderley answered leadingly. “But the other maids seemed to have no trouble believing it. They seemed to think this was the reason for her preferred treatment.”

I rolled my eyes at the maids’ obvious resentment. It would be easier for them to blame it on such a thing than examine their own behavior for fault.

I turned my head to peer through the trees as they crowded closer, their shade deepening. The sweat that had gathered at the back of my neck began to cool as I allowed my thoughts to turn over everything Bree had just revealed. Something she’d said was tickling my brain, trying to get my attention.

“Wait,” I exclaimed in realization. “Did you say Mr. MacCowan worked for Lord Barbreck’s brother?” I turned in my saddle to see Bree’s eyes widen warily, perhaps not knowing this was news to us.

“Aye. ’Least, that’s what Mrs. Kennedy said.”

My gaze darted to Gage, who seemed to find this piece of information as interesting as I did. “Now, why do you think Barbreck never told us that?”

Technically, even working for Lord Alisdair, Mr. MacCowan had been under the employ of the Barbreck estate, so it wasn’t a lie. But it was definitely another sin of omission.

“For that matter, why did no one else?” Gage groused. “We’re investigating the forgeries purchased or created by Lord Alisdair, and Mairi’s death. Given Mr. MacCowan’s connection to both, it seems a curious thing not to mention.”

I had to agree. “Even Mr. MacCowan failed to speak up about it. He reacted when we mentioned Mairi having died in the long gallery, but he said nothing.”

“And if the forgeries were created in Alisdair’s cottage, he likely knows something.” Gage leaned over to rub a soothing hand against Titus’s neck as he suddenly flicked his mane. “We need to speak with him again.”

I scowled, contemplating what sort of information Mairi’s father might hold about his former employer. As yet, we had gathered only bits and pieces of information about Alisdair, about the man he’d been and what he might have been capable of. He was a mere sketch. We didn’t even know how he’d died.

I took a swift breath, feeling the sensation in my gut that always alerted me when I’d stumbled upon something potentially important. It mingled with the knowledge that had been weighing on my mind since we’d discussed the poison with the Campbell sisters. “Has anyone mentioned whether there have been any other suspicious deaths, either at Poltalloch or Barbreck, or in the surrounding area?” I broached hesitantly.

My question was met with astonished silence.

“No?” I queried again when no one spoke.

“What are you thinking, Kiera?” Gage asked, knowing me well enough to realize that I would never posit such a suggestion without cause.

I took a deep breath rife with the scents of the forest, trying to find the right words to voice my unsettling suspicions. “It’s only that, if whoever poisoned Mairi intended for it to take full effect when she was at Barbreck, perhaps even inside the long gallery, then they must have known exactly how long it would take to work its way through her system. And the only way they would have been able to make such an accurate calculation is if they were familiar with the substance.” My voice deepened. “Very familiar.”

Gage’s expression was aghast. “You think they’ve used it before?”

“It’s either that or simply luck or coincidence that Mairi died where she did.”

No one seemed to have an answer for this, but I could tell they held as little faith in luck and coincidence as an explanation as I did.

“We need to expand our search,” Gage asserted.

“I think so,” I agreed. “We need to be sure.”

The trail began to widen again, and the trees thinned, giving us glimpses of Loch Craignish in the distance, its water sparkling in the sunlight.

“We can speak to the staff,” Anderley offered with a glance toward Bree.

“And I’ll talk to my aunt,” I said.