I made my way to the morning room, barely noticing the opulent furnishings and decor. I’d been in Mulvern House long enough that they were becoming so familiar to me that their beauty didn’t register. My thoughts were preoccupied with what Nora had told me. Nora wanted me to keep her secret, and I intended to do so—for now. I felt like a tiny light had been switched on, illuminating a small corner of a cavernous room. I needed to find out what the rest of the dark corners contained before I spoke to Lady Agnes.
I felt I was finally getting to the truth of what had happened the night Lord Mulvern died, but Nora had lied to me once, and Gilbert had apparently done the same. Before I went to Lady Agnes with any updates on what I’d discovered, I wanted to check Nora’s story.
I tapped on the open door to the morning room and entered. “Good afternoon, Miss Belgrave,” Lady Agnes said. “I’ve written you a check.” She came across the room, a slip of paper in hand. “It’s the balance of the amount that we agreed upon. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done.”
I looked up from the check. “What I’ve done?”
“Without you asking questions, Mr. Nunn’s activities never would have come to light.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand. There’s no solid proof that Mr. Nunn killed your uncle.”
A wrinkle appeared between Lady Agnes’s eyebrows. Now that she was closer to me, I noticed her eyes were red and her eyelids were puffy. She’d been crying. “We have Mr. Nunn’s confession thanks to you. It’s a tragic and sad situation.” She looked away and pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose as she fought off tears. “Terribly sorry,” she said as she took a deep breath. “But now that we know what happened, I find myself a tad emotional.” She sniffed and straightened her shoulders. “But at least I know what happened, which—although disturbing—gives us a resolution. I’m a firm believer in knowing the truth, even if it’s uncomfortable or difficult. We have that truth now. Mr. Nunn wasn’t what we thought, but at least we know what happened.”
“But it was my understanding Inspector Longly is still investigating Mr. Nunn’s death.”
“Still investigating? What is there to investigate?”
“Perhaps Mr. Nunn was only a convenient scapegoat,” I said, knowing I was overstepping, all thoughts of being circumspect disappearing. Lady Agnes had essentially said my work was done. Next, she’d tell me to pack my bags and walk me to the door.
“No, I’m sure that’s not the case. Mr. Nunn was desperate. He didn’t want to face the loss of his job. He was here in Mulvern House the night Uncle Lawrence died, and he wrote a letter confessing to the deed. No, I’m sure Mr. Nunn was responsible, and he took his own life out of regret.”
How ironic. Lady Agnes had been so adamant her uncle’s death hadn’t been suicide, but she was quick to accept the explanation of suicide for Nunn’s death. Clearly, she wanted answers about her uncle’s death so badly that she’d accepted this solution and was clinging to it.
“But there are still so many questions—”
“No,” Lady Agnes said, her tone unyielding. “There are no more questions, at least none that concern you, Miss Belgrave.”
She wouldn’t change her mind. Anything I said from this moment on would only dig me further into the hole I’d just begun digging when I challenged her thoughts. I held out the check to her. “I can’t accept this.”
“Of course you can. I wanted answers about my uncle’s death, and I have them now.” She gave me a brief, strained smile then walked back to her desk. “I won’t accept it back. It’s yours. Keep it or destroy it as you like, but I always pay my debts.”
I recognized a stubborn streak in Lady Agnes that I possessed as well. In fact, interacting with her now was a bit like looking in a mirror. I knew she wouldn’t change her mind, so I folded the check in half and put it in my pocket. I wouldn’t deposit it, and I wouldn’t stop looking for the truth about Lord Mulvern’s death. Even though Lady Agnes considered the matter settled, it didn’t mean it was.
The telephone on her desk rang, and Lady Agnes said, “I do hope you’ll stay on with us at least until tomorrow and attend the exhibit opening, then I’m sure you have obligations you must attend to.”
Ah, manners—only those of the best breeding can inform you their hospitality toward you has ended but couch it in a way that makes it sound as if you’re doing them a favor. Well, I was as much of a lady as Lady Agnes and could match her display of decorum. “I would like that,” I said. I’d stay on until the next day and use every moment of my time at Mulvern House to continue my investigation on my own.