The Bet

“Well, now we know that Myles is the main beneficiary rather than Isaac, I think it is safe to assume that he might be the killer’s next target,” Barnaby murmured.

“Why? I mean, if they intended him any harm, why didn’t they try to kill him this morning when they killed Gerald?” Estelle felt bad for Gerald, even though she had never met him.

Myles, shaken to the core by what he had just learnt, picked her hand up in his and patted the back of it, more for his own comfort than for hers.

“I was with two members of the gardening staff this morning. We were discussing what to do with the lawns once the weather cleared. It would have been impossible to kill me,” he replied honestly.

“Well, I think we all need to look a little more carefully at you, cousin dear. I mean, you race here but almost kill someone on the way. Rather than take her home, or to a doctor so she can get the proper medical help, you bring her here. How do we know you didn’t do that to protect yourself? Just in case her injuries were severe. I mean, a random stranger who vanishes in the night is hardly going to tell anybody you killed them, are they?”

“Isaac, shut up,” Barnabas ordered coldly.

Isaac laughed cynically. “Oh, I don’t think so, uncle. Not now that I have finally started to see sense. You two have been in on this from the very beginning, haven’t you?”

“Don’t be absurd.”

“How preposterous!” Myles and Barnabas spoke together then looked at each other.

Neither of

them would deny it looked suspicious, but they were not prepared to be accused of such behaviour by anybody in their own home.

“It is all starting to become clear now. I mean, you rushed home when you received your letter. Everybody agrees that it is strange that the sender knew where to find you. Now, my poor father has been butchered in the house owned by the person who is to inherit his immense wealth and estate. It is a little too convenient,” Isaac snorted.

“I did no such thing,” Myles replied calmly but firmly. “I think you need to calm down and consider the fact that your father mentioned on several occasions that he was not happy with your profligate ways. If you had just listened then he wouldn’t have taken the steps he did to prevent you from damaging the family name.”

Isaac stared at him for several long moments. Estelle watched and waited. She half expected him to launch himself at Myles so they could battle it out. In the end, Isaac threw Myles a dark glare and slammed out of the room without speaking to anyone.

Barnabas opened his mouth to call him back, but Myles stopped him.

“Let him take some time to himself,” Myles murmured. “I am sure it is just the grief talking.”

“But he shouldn’t go anywhere on his own,” Barnabas protested.

“He is armed,” Myles sighed. “Given the temper he is in I think the murderer is in more danger than Isaac.”

He knew from Barnabas’ heavy snort that he didn’t believe it for a second. Neither did Myles, but he wasn’t going to wrestle Isaac back into the room. It would just cause more anger and ill feeling between everyone, which only added to the problems they currently faced.

“What now?” Estelle asked quietly. “I mean, if you are the beneficiary, and if someone killed Gerald to get their hands on his money, that makes you their likely to be their next target.”

Myles’ face was grim when he nodded. “Well, if anything happens to me, Barnabas gets it all, including Uncle Gerald’s estate, and that is the end of it. Hopefully, I will have a long and happy life, and will be able to hand everything over to my children.”

Estelle felt a wild flurry of something like anticipation sweep through her when he said that. She had to wonder what his children would look like. Would they be tall like their father? Would they have his dark hair, or his wonderful grey eyes?

The silence that settled over the rest of them could only be described as tense. Estelle sensed a slight undercurrent between the other occupants of the room. She suspected that the family had things they wished to speak about, but weren’t inclined to want to discuss them in the presence of a stranger. Aware that she was intruding, she pushed to her feet.

“I am going to have a lie down if that is alright?” she murmured.

Myles shot to his feet, a frown of concern on his face. “Are you alright? Is it your head?”

It wasn’t, but she nodded. She needed an excuse to leave and retreat to her room for a while and suspected that if she said she was fine, Myles would insist on following her to her room and staying with her until she was prepared to return to the study. After the shock the day had brought to everybody, she needed a few moments to herself to gather her thoughts. She felt as though she was being carried along by a storm; an out of control one she couldn’t break free from. It left her slightly breathless, and unsure of, well, practically everything.

“I have a bit of a headache, that’s all.” She offered him a reassuring smile but it dimmed far too soon to convince him of anything other than the fact she was still hiding something.

“I will escort you to your room,” he suggested with too much force for it to be an offer.

Estelle still shook her head. “It is alright. I can manage by myself, thank you,” she replied equally as firmly.

“But I have said you should not go anywhere in this house by yourself,” he protested.