Page 35 of Honor Unbound

Chapter Fourteen

Lady Mary

“Let’s go overeverything we know.” I tossed a ham bone into the corner of the kitchen, hoping that would entertain the dog for at least an hour.

“Do we know anything?” Marie asked. She poured three cups of tea and distributed them between me, Mr. Burton, and herself at the kitchen table. Dinner had been cooked, eaten, and cleaned, and only the three of us remained in the room.

I pressed my lips together. This investigation might not have started out smoothly, but that was no reason to diminish our efforts.

Burton tugged his notepad out and laid it next to his mug. He was back in his livery, and the uniform’s pocket wasn’t quite as large as in his street clothes. “The wife. Not only did she have a motive to kill her husband because he was unfaithful to her, but she, also, was stepping outside her marriage. She might want to marry her lover. Divorce is difficult. A dead husband is much easier.”

“She has access to metal files.” I tapped my thumb against the rim of the teacup. Mrs. Trent must have visited her husband’s factory on occasion. “And her sister’s house isn’t far from her own. She could have slipped out and returned home to kill her husband.”

“Trent was killed the night Mrs. Trent supposedly visits her lover,” Burton said.

I pursed my lips. “He was killed around four in the morning. She could have returned by then.”

“That could also explain why the authorities haven’t found any bloody clothes.” Burton blew on his tea. “She went upstairs to change and hid the clothes she murdered her husband in.”

Marie shook her head. “The servants might not have heard Mr. Trent down on the ground floor, but their bedroom would be right below the servants’ quarters. They would have heard her moving around.” She put a lump of sugar in her tea then passed the bowl to Burton.

“Not necessarily.” He sweetened his own tea and finally gave me the bowl. “If they heard anything in the middle of the night, they might have assumed it was Mr. Trent going to bed and rolled over and gone back to sleep themselves.”

“We are losing the plot in the details.” I blew on my tea. “Can we agree that Mrs. Trent had a motive and opportunity?”

They nodded.

“And let’s not forget the man Mrs. Trent is having an affair with.” Burton shook his head, blowing out a long breath. “I wonder how she and Driscoll Gray met. After her husband sued him?”

I reached across the table and tapped the notepad. “Write this down. Gray has obvious motives, financial and romantic. He also has access to the murder weapon. A tin can manufacturer must have files falling out of his pockets. We need to know where he was at the time of the murder. Was Mrs. Trent still with him? Can anyone verify she was there at all that particular night?”

Burton looked up from his notes. “I’ll speak to his servants and those of his neighbors’. But at that time of night, or early morning, there isn’t much of a chance that someone saw him leave, if he did.”

“He would have had to take a hackney or awaken his own groom and driver.” I took a sip of tea and immediately regretted it. “Too hot.”

Southey looked up from his bone, made sure I wasn’t seriously injured, then turned his attention back to his treat.

I waved my hand in front of my open mouth. “Make sure you talk with the hackney drivers in the area and the local stablemasters.”

“What about Fenton Hicks?” Marie asked. “You said he seemed awfully bitter that Trent didn’t give him a bit of ownership in the company.”

I sighed. “The motives are easy to come by. Mr. Trent was not a well-liked man. We have too many theories and haven’t been able to rule any of them out.”

Burton raised one finger. “Hicks also has easy access to the murder weapon.” He raised another finger. “But we don’t know where he was at the time of the murder, either. Isn’t he married? His wife should be able to confirm if he was at home.”

“If she tells us the truth.” Marie lifted one shoulder. “If I was married, I’d lie to protect my husband. If I loved him.”

Burton arched an eyebrow. “That’s good to know.”

Marie frowned. “Why?”

“To know what your future husband can do without repercussion.” His lips slowly curled into a seductive smile.

My eyes flicked to the ceiling. The young could be so easily distracted.

“So you have several people to talk to,” I said, trying to get the conversation back on course. “Mr. Hicks seems proud of the cannery. He all but pressed that tin of food into my hands. Would he kill the owner even if they had disagreements? With Trent gone, the factory might close. Hicks could lose his job.”

“Where is that tin?” Marie asked. “I’d be curious to try this preserved food.”