Page 95 of A Single Thread of Moonlight

Nick pulled up on his horse and jumped lightly down from Felix’s back. He held the reins loosely in his hand as he walked a few steps of the path on foot, bending down to take a closer look.

“Yes, the ground is uneven,” he agreed. “But no more than, say, the paths out on the other side of the woods, down to the village.”

I dismounted and joined him.

“It doesn’t seem enough to unseat a half-decent rider, let alone Father,” I conceded. “I find it difficult to imagine him being so drunk he couldn’t avoid a rabbit hole. Not unless his drink had been tampered with.”

“Which we know it wasn’t,” Nick put in. “But you say he rode this path every day? So if someone did want to harm him they’d know where to lay a trap.”

“A trap,” I murmured, looking around us. Yes, this would be the perfect place for that. No witnesses except the silent, solemn trees. A breeze rustled through them then, one that carried untold secrets.

“If I were going to try and cause an accident I would string something across the track,” Nick said suddenly, pointing to the trees. “It would be easy enough to tie something around one of the trunks either side.”

“It would have to be something he wouldn’t see,” I said slowly.

“Fishing wire? Were the horse’s legs wounded?”

I shook my head. “No, Hercules didn’t have a mark on him. Something strong enough to make Hercules stumble but soft enough to break, leaving no mark on him or obvious signs of foul play when Tookes and Kielty found them.”

“Perhaps we are grasping at straws,” Nick sighed.

“No,” I said slowly. “No.” My breath caught. An idea came into my mind, one so unthinkable that I almost laughed. And yet … the pieces might well fit together.

“We need to go back now,” I said. “I have to talk to Cassie.”

Nick asked me no questions, only helped me into the saddle, and rode hard beside me all the way back to the house. My mind was turning furiously.

Fortunately, Cassie was an early riser.

We found her in the dining room, where she was making stiff small talk with the colonel, over her tea and toast. She looked almost painfully relieved when I burst into the room, Nick following at a more reasonable pace.

“I’m sorry, Colonel,” I said breathlessly. “I need to borrow Cassie for a moment. I’m afraid it’s quite urgent … about preparations for the ball, you know.”

Cassie’s face crumpled in confusion.

“The ball?” she murmured.

“Yes!” I cried, tugging at her arm, hauling her to her feet. “Ribbons!” I exclaimed, almost at random.

“Ribbons?” Cassie’s confusion only grew, but the colonel nodded understandingly.

“Female trifles,” he said in a low voice to Nick. “Always causing a kerfuffle.”

I dragged Cassie away, missing Nick’s reply, and made my way to the morning room, tugging a wriggling Cassie in my wake.

“Iris!” Cassie said in a low voice. “What’s going on?” She looked nervously over her shoulder at Nick, who had followed us.

“It’s fine,” I said. “He knows everything.”

“That’s precisely what I’m always telling people,” Nick murmured.

We reached the morning room and I led them over to the far wall and stopped.

“There,” I said, pointing at the framed embroidery.

“Your embroidery?” Cassie frowned. “What about it?”

I looked for a moment at the image, the wide, silver moon, high above the twisting river. The light captured in taut strands of silver thread.