Page 30 of Winterset

“Yet it seems unlikely that he would have been carrying a gardening tool or whatever he used to make the marks when he was going to a rendezvous,” Anna pointed out.

“True,” Reed agreed. “That would make it seem premeditated.”

“It would not be the first time someone chose murder to get rid of a lover whom they no longer wanted,” Dr. Felton mused.

For a moment they were all silent, considering the doctor’s words. Then Dr. Felton said, “I should go back to the village. I have stayed too long, I fear. There will doubtless be patients waiting for me at the surgery.”

He rose, and the others stood up with him. Anna thanked him again for bringing them the news about Estelle, and Kit offered to walk the doctor out. Reed and Anna were left alone in the drawing room, and they looked at each other awkwardly.

“I am glad to see that you are all right,” Reed said at last.

“It was something of a shock,” Anna admitted. “Still, it was not a complete surprise, I suppose, since Estelle has been missing for several days. I had hoped that everyone was right in saying that she had simply run away, but…”

“But you thought it was something more. Why?”

Anna looked at him. “I—I’m not sure.” She had told no one about what had happened to her in the woods. She certainly was not about to admit her odd feeling to Reed. She cast about in her mind for another explanation for her uneasiness. “Perhaps it was because we found that dog in the woods the same day.”

Reed’s eyebrows lifted. “You think they are connected?”

“No. Well, I don’t know. I did not really connect the two things. It is just that the way the dog was so badly wounded made me feel a little uneasy. And then, when I came home, I learned that Estelle was missing. I didn’t really think at the time that they had anything in common, but I think that the feeling of uneasiness carried over when I heard about Estelle.”

“At the time?” he repeated. “Do you mean that now you think that they do have something in common?”

“I’m not sure. It was just that when the doctor described the marks on—on Estelle’s body, it occurred to me that the wounds on the dog’s side looked something like that. I assumed he had gotten into a fight with a larger dog, but the marks were rather far apart to be a dog’s claws. I didn’t really think about it then, but when Dr. Felton was talking about how they were wide-spaced, I realized that what he said could apply to the twins’ dog, as well.” She shook her head deprecatingly. “It’s probably nothing.”

“But it could be that whoever killed your maid might have injured the dog, as well.” Reed studied her for a moment, then said, “I noticed that when the doctor was talking about the claw marks, you exchanged a look with your brother.”

Anna glanced at him, startled. Her heart began to beat a little faster in her chest. “I don’t know what you mean. I—I don’t remember looking at Kit particularly.”

“You did. I wondered if the claw marks meant something to you.”

Anna stiffened, her expression turning chilly. “Just what are you saying? That I know something about the murders?”

“No, of course not,” Reed said quickly. “Damn my tongue. I always seem to say the wrong thing to you. All I meant was that you seemed to pay particular attention to that detail. As if something about it was familiar or—”

“That’s ridiculous,” Anna snapped. “I looked at Kit, I suppose, because he hates those tales of the Beast. He thinks them ignorant and foolish, and he dislikes the fact that people continue to repeat the legend. This will only further confirm people’s belief in it.”

“I see.” Reed looked at her for a moment. Her gaze was direct and challenging. After a moment, he glanced away. “Anna, I hope you will take care where you go, what you do. I know you have always loved to tramp about, but…well, that doesn’t seem very safe at the moment. I hope you will take someone with you when you go out.”

Anna gaped at him. “But this has nothing to do with me. No doubt it was the man Estelle had been meeting, as everyone says. There isn’t some wild animal roaming the countryside looking for victims. And even if there were, it did not happen in the woods or anywhere around our house. They found her clear over at Hutchins’ farm.”

“I know. But there is no reason to take any chances. The consequences are too horrendous. It is little enough trouble to take a groom with you when you ride or your maid when you walk—”

“That is easy enough to say when you are not the one who has someone following your every step,” Anna retorted. “The whole point of my long walks is to be alone, to—to think and look at the world around me.”

Anna did not know if it was because her mother had died and she had taken over the reins of the household at an early age or merely because her father was a most understanding man, but she had, since she was an adolescent, been allowed to go around the countryside on her own. She cherished that freedom—valuing it even more so when she had seen her friends like Miranda had been plagued with the propriety of never venturing out without a companion. The idea that anyone would try to take away that freedom was enough to arouse her anger; the fact that it was Reed seemed to make it even worse.

“I cannot believe that you, after all the things you told me about your mother and how you were raised, would be advocating—”

“Blast it, this isn’t about propriety!” Reed retorted, stung by her words. “It is about your safety.”

“But that’s absurd. There is no reason why I am not safe,” Anna said flatly. “Do you plan to go about armed, or take a servant with you?”

“No, of course not. But I am able to take care of myself.”

“Against a man with a gun?” Anna asked, looking at him coolly. “I don’t think the fact that you are a man or even your size would help you there.”

“I’m not likely to meet up with a man with a gun.”