Maddox nodded; it was of a piece with everything he knew of the public character of Edmund Norris to have stipulated that the young ladies should be protected from such a shocking and distressing spectacle, but on this occasion his interference had had terrible and unintended consequences.
"Your cousin’s consideration for you has, for once, done you a grave disservice. Had you been permitted to see it with your own eyes, rather than relying for your information on rumour and servants’ gossip, you would have saved yourself many hours of needless grief and self-reproach.The wounds inflicted on Miss Price were far more grievous than anything you describe. The blows that killed her were made by an iron mattock, not a human hand."
Maria raised her head and stared at him, daring, for the first time in days, to allow herself the possibility of hope. "But how do you know that I am telling the truth — that I did not pick that mattock up and wield it, just as you say?"
Maddox shook his head, and smiled. "You have the proof, there, in your own hand."
Her expression of uncomprehending amazement was, he had to admit, exceedingly gratifying, and one of the subtler pleasures of his chosen profession.
"I do not take your meaning. I have nothing in my hands — nothing of relevance."
"On the contrary. Before I intruded upon you, you were engaged in needlework, were you not?"
"Yes, but — "
" — and, if I am not mistaken, you hold your needle in your left hand? And your pen, when you write?"
She nodded. "It is not the common way, I know — indeed, when I was a girl, my aunt Norris insisted that our governess school me to use my right hand instead, “as all but idiots do”. Everything was attempted, including tying my left hand behind my back in the school-room, but it was to no effect. Not for nothing does my aunt call me
"I fear the effort was always doomed to failure, Miss Bertram. Such preferences are in-born, and cannot easily be changed — if at all. But you are correct in noting that it is not a common trait. It is so
He could have carried on in the same vein a good deal longer, but elected to be merciful; this girl had suffered enough, and all to no purpose.
"I have considerable experience in the art and act of killing, Miss Bertram. It is not a suitable subject for young ladies’ ears, and I myself am frequently shocked and sickened at the extremities of cruelty and pain that human beings are capable of inflicting on one another. But such a long and intimate acquaintance with the many methods by which my fellow men have met an untimely death, allows me to be quite categorical as to certain critical aspects of the horrible crime I have been asked to investigate here, including the full significance of the exact position of the wounds that killed Miss Price. In consequence, I know for a fact you did not take your cousin’s life. The person who wielded that mattock did so with their
It took several more minutes to convince her, and even longer to quiet her into anything resembling a composed state of mind, but Maddox was patient. He had one more question to ask, and a demand to make, and he required her to be both rational and sensible when he did so.
"Before I allow you to depart," he said presently, "I must enjoin you to absolute secrecy as to the nature of our discussion this morning; I have already commanded as much from your maid. I am sure Miss Bertram will find herself more than willing to accede to this request, in exchange for a reciprocal silence on my part. After all, I cannot believe she would wish to submit her mother, in particular, to further unseemly revelations about the goings-on in her own family."
There was a blush at this, and she bent her head with downcast eyes.
"Good. I was sure we would understand one another. My final request will not, I am sure, surprise you. Would you be so good as to inform me what
Maria stared into the distance, as if to force her attention to the reviving of such a distasteful memory.
