He said: "I saw Samuel leaving--has he got something to do with this?"
Augusta spoke quietly, and Micky leaned close to hear her, so close she could have kissed him almost without moving. "He came to tell me he will not seek the position of Senior Partner."
"Good news!"
"Yes. It means that the post will certainly go to my husband."
"And Papa can have his rifles."
"As soon as Seth retires."
"It's maddening the way old Seth hangs on!" Micky exclaimed. "Papa keeps asking me when it will happen."
Augusta knew why Micky was so worried: he was afraid his father would send him back to Cordova. "I can't imagine Seth will last much longer," she said to comfort him.
He looked into her eyes. "But that's not what has upset you."
"No. It's that wretched boy who drowned at your school--Peter Middleton. Samuel told me that Peter's brother, a lawyer, has started asking questions."
Micky's fine face darkened. "After all these years?"
"Apparently he kept quiet for his parents' sake, but now they're dead."
Micky frowned. "How much of a problem is this?"
"You may know better than I." Augusta hesitated. There was a question she had to ask, but she was afraid of the answer. She screwed up her nerve. "Micky ... do you think it was Edward's fault the boy died?"
"Well...."
"Say yes or no!" she commanded.
Micky paused, then at last said: "Yes."
Augusta closed her eyes. Darling Teddy, she thought, why did you do it?
Micky said quietly: "Peter was a poor swimmer. Edward didn't drown him, but he did exhaust him. Peter was alive when Edward left him to chase after Tonio. But I believe he was too weak to swim to the side, and he drowned while no one was watching."
"Teddy didn't want to kill him."
"Of course not."
"It was just schoolboy horseplay."
"Edward meant no real harm."
"So it's not murder."
"I'm afraid it is," Micky said gravely, and Augusta's heart missed a beat. "If a thief throws a man to the ground, intending only to rob him, but the man suffers a heart attack and dies, the thief is guilty of murder, even though he did not intend to kill."
"How do you know this?"
"I checked with a lawyer, years ago."
"Why?"
"I wanted to know Edward's position."
Augusta buried her face in her hands. It was worse than she had imagined.
Micky prised her hands away from her face and kissed each hand in turn. The gesture was so tender that it made her want to cry. He continued to hold her hands as he said: "No sensible person would persecute Edward over something that happened when he was a child."
