Tuppence (The Tipton Hollow 3)

“Might it have been his coachman?” Isaac had no idea why he was pressing her for an answer.

“Why would the coachman want to scare me? I mean, it is illegal, isn’t it? Trespassing and trying to scare someone. Would an employer ask an employee to do something like that?” Tuppence squinted at Isaac.

“A questionable employer would possibly persuade a questionable member of staff to commit a crime, yes. If there was enough money in it, a dubious member of staff would scare you.” Personally, Isaac would release any of his staff who did such a thing.

“Why, though? If it were his coachman, why would they have done something like that?”

“To try to scare you into selling the farm to Richmond,” Isaac replied. “The problem is that someone has now murdered Richmond.”

“Why? Does someone else want the farm, do you think? If so, who?”

“I don’t know. Has anybody else offered to buy the farm?”

“No. I have already gone through this. There was just Mr Lewis and Mr Richmond.” Tuppence’s voice shook beneath the force of her fear. “But they are both now dead.”

Isaac saw the fear in her eyes when she mutely shook her head. He didn’t stop to think about the wisdom of hauling her into his arms. “Then we have a problem because we cannot identify the real killer. He is still on the loose and claiming victims.”

For several long moments, neither of them moved or spoke. Instead, they remained locked in their individual thoughts. They were together against the invisible enemy, one that wanted to either kill them or tear them apart forever.

“I should leave here,” Tuppence whispered. “I know you have vouched for me, but if I sneak away in the night, you and your family will be safe. I mean, you cannot guard me all the time and you were nearly killed today. If I just go, you will be safe. The killer will target me. You cannot be dragged into this, Isaac, not now that the gunman shot at you too.”

“No.”

When Isaac went to cup her face in his hands, Tuppence captured his fingers and held them away from her. While bitterly regretful of the distance she put between them, she knew she had to do this. She couldn’t allow him to be injured or, worse, killed trying to help her. As she spoke, Tuppence already knew that it was what she was going to do, even though Isaac was going to strongly object to it.

“I can’t be held a prisoner here. Staying will just put your life in danger, Isaac. I cannot risk it.”

“The gunman may return in the mistaken belief that you were still here, though. He has no way of knowing that you have left, don’t forget. You might end up putting your life in even more danger than it is right now. If he sees you, he will kill you as efficiently as he has killed Richmond and Lewis. This is a killer we are discussing here, Tuppence, someone who has killed two men in cold blood. He is targeting us already. Don’t go out there and make it easy for him.”

Because being beside him was so distracting, Tuppence rose and moved over to the window to stare blankly at the rose garden outside. “I can’t stay.”

“You must.” Isaac followed her and forced her to look at him. “You must.”

“You will die too if I stay.”

Isaac glanced at the rose garden over her shoulder and immediately slammed the shutter closed. It struck him then just how vulnerable everyone was on the estate even by walking past un-shuttered windows while inside the house. Isaac was horrified to admit it, but he began to wonder if Tuppence would be better off in jail. At least the killer couldn’t reach her there. The problem was that the Great Tipton Police would then kill her anyway because she would be tried and found guilty of the murder and would receive the death penalty.

“Jesus. How did we manage to get to this?” he hissed, frustrated because he couldn’t even rely on the law to do the right thing. “How in the Hell could the justice system in this bloody country get things so wrong?”

“Until I can find out who is prepared to kill to get Hilltop Farm to themselves, I have to stay away from everyone.”

“Tuppence, if you run, the killer will have succeeded in scaring you away from your own property. It is worthless to you anyway then. That is what he wants, don’t you understand? He doesn’t want you up there. He doesn’t want you owning the farm. He wants to be able to control it, and you. It is very calculating, but he has tried to chase you out. When that didn’t work, he has tried to get the authorities to kill you on his behalf for a crime he has committed.” Isaac sucked in a deep, calming breath and forced himself to ask: “Who inherits the farm if you die?”

“I am not sure. I haven’t written a will.”

“It would be handed over to the authorities then.”

“I don’t have any other relatives, so I suppose it would be.”

“If you wrote a will, who would you leave it to?”

Tuppence shrugged. “I don’t know who I could leave it to. Harriett wouldn’t know what to do with it. I could have left it to Mr Lewis. He would at least be able to look after the animals, but now that he has gone there really is nobody else. Beatrice is likely to be moving away soon. Her and her husband want to go and live closer to his relatives, so they won’t be resident in Tipton Hollow for much longer. Constance is looking after her mother, and Eloisa is hopeless around animals.”

Isaac felt sorry for her but was also proud of her at the same time. She had battled life, the elements, nature, and now killers, to keep a roof over her head and food on the table. She had done it while looking after others, even animals, with no help from anybody. It was startling to realise just how strong she was, not just physically but mentally and emotionally too. His farm was run by a capable group of farm labourers who were all supervised by a farm manager, and even then, they were rushing around until they dropped during harvesting. Isaac barely got involved. The problem was, while Tuppence had managed to survive life on her farm, it had cost her. There was a paleness to her complexion that was almost wan, despite her life outdoors. It was as if her life was being sucked out of her. The sparkle had gone from her eyes, and there was a slight droop to her shoulders he couldn’t remember having seen there when her parents had been alive. She looked as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and was struggling beneath the burden.

“I want you to promise me that you are going to stay here, Tuppence. Please don’t sneak out in the middle of the night. My men will be even more at risk than they are now if they have to search the countryside for you. It is safest for everyone if we stay as close to the estate as possible. Besides, my men are armed now. They are under orders to shoot any trespassers on the estate. If they noticed you scurrying through the bushes, they could mistake yo

u for a trespasser and shoot you. Besides, if a trespasser is caught on my property, they will face the full weight of the law.”