The Duke’s Guests Laughed as the Maid Fell Into the Lake — She Said, “I’ll Remember Every Face”
Chapter 27
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Lord Vane opened his mouth; no words came out."Last night," the Duke went on, "Mr. Brody and his men followed your servant to the blacksmith's forge in the village. They saw everything. They found Ned Turner lying on his floor with his head broken open. He is alive, thank God, and he will be a witness. And at dawn, they took the man guarding the old mill." His voice went very cold. "He told us everything, Edmund. About the girl in the mill. About what you planned to do with her after the wedding."Lady Cordelia gave a little cry and put her hand over her mouth. "Papa!""But when the constable opened the mill door," the Duke said, and now, for the first time, his voice cracked, "she was already gone. The window was broken. The river was running high. We thought she had drowned." He turned and looked at Clara, and she saw it in his eyes now: the terror he must have felt, the grief, and the relief when she walked through those church doors alive. "When you came in," he said quietly, "I had to send you out again. Edmund's men were in this church. If I had run to you, they would have known everything was finished, and someone might have been hurt: you, my mother, any of these people. I needed them to take you outside into the churchyard where Mr. Brody was waiting." He swallowed hard. "Saying those words to you was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life."Clara could not speak. Tears were running down her muddy cheeks.Then Lord Vane laughed. It was a desperate, ugly laugh; nothing warm about it now. "This is all very touching," he said. "But a letter proves nothing about murder! Stealing money, yes, perhaps I may have made some mistakes with the accounts. But I never touched that saddle! I was in my bed, asleep that night! I never went near the stables!" He pointed a shaking finger at Silas. "If anyone cut that saddle strap, it was him! He acted alone! I knew nothing about it! Nothing!"Silas Crane slowly lifted his head and stared at his master."I think," Clara said quietly, "that I can help with that."Every head turned toward her. She stepped forward. She looked out over the crowded church, at the rows of silk and feathers and jewels, and she began to speak:"Mr. Henry Faraday, third row, blue waistcoat: you shouted 'Swim, girl, swim!' when I fell in the lake." The young man went red to the ears. "Miss Lavinia Price, yellow ribbons: you laughed so hard you dropped your fan into the water. Sir Walter Bigg, the banker: you were eating a strawberry tart. The Misses Clarendon, both in pink. Lady Augusta Moore: you said I looked like a drowned rat. And you, my lady," she turned to Cordelia, "called me a drowned cat."The church had gone completely silent. People were staring at each other. Every word was true. Every single one.