The Shadow at Greystone Chase (An Angela Marchmont Mystery Book 10) Read Online Free PDF Page A

mean Roger de Lisle. In reality nobody else mattered. Roger was the head of the family in the most traditional sense. He ruled ruthlessly and absolutely. If he issued a decree then there was no gainsaying it. He would have his way and nobody could dissuade him without feeling his temper.’
    ‘I see,’ said Angela. ‘Then Edgar—Mr. de Lisle—could not have married Selina without his father’s permission.’
    ‘I shouldn’t say that exactly,’ said Mr. Gilverson. ‘Edgar was of age, after all. However, he knew his father, and knew that if he went against Roger’s wishes then either he or his mother would suffer for it—most likely his mother, for Edgar might go where he pleased, of course, while Evelyn had no choice but to stay at home.’
    ‘Did nobody ever go against Roger’s wishes, then?’
    ‘Not as a general rule. There was some dispute between Edgar and his father over Edgar’s wish to go into the bloodstock business instead of the family wine-making concern, but I don’t know how it ended. As far as I know it was still unresolved when my nephew was arrested for his wife’s murder.’
    Angela was silent for a second, remembering what Valencourt had said that day in Hyde Park. He was planning to go to South America to breed horses, he said. It was what he had always meant to do.
    ‘Tell me about the murder,’ she said. ‘Why did they think Mr. de Lisle had done it?’
    Mr. Gilverson hesitated. He seemed to be looking for the right words.
    ‘The marriage was a mistake, I think,’ he said at last. ‘They fell in love too quickly, and just as quickly the thing burnt itself out. They were two of a kind, he and she—both attractive, lively, charming people—but in the end they were too similar, and it led to conflict. Edgar was away much of the time and Selina was bored. She craved excitement, but there was none to be had at Greystone, and she blamed him for it. I don’t doubt she loved him, but I believe part of the reason she married him was to have the freedom she could not have had as an unmarried orphan girl. And there was no freedom at Greystone. Everyone bowed to the will of Roger de Lisle. All that was left for her to do was to create discord among the family. It is a great pity,’ he finished. ‘I didn’t especially like Selina, but I don’t believe she was a bad person. She certainly did not deserve to die the way she did.’
    ‘How did she die?’ said Angela, although she did not want to know the answer.
    ‘She was strangled,’ said Gilverson. ‘Her body was found in a little wood in the grounds of Greystone Chase. She had been expecting a child and it died with her.’
    Angela looked down at the floor. It was worse than she had feared.
    ‘Yes,’ said Mr. Gilverson. ‘It was very unpleasant. Such a violent end for such a young girl. And I’m afraid all the evidence pointed to Edgar’s having done it.’
    Angela wanted to ask something but could not. Mr. Gilverson saw her questioning gaze and went on:
    ‘I shall tell you all the facts as I know them, since I was not there at the time. It all happened one Sunday in late April. Edgar was home on leave and was due to return to duty in the next day or two. At some time in the afternoon he and Selina were overheard by Godfrey and Victorine de Lisle engaged in a quarrel, after which Selina declared she was feeling unwell and went up to her room to lie down.’
    ‘What was the quarrel about?’
    ‘The witnesses could not say. My nephew later testified that it was nothing of any moment, and that he shortly afterwards followed her upstairs and begged her pardon, after which all was well again between them. According to Evelyn de Lisle’s maid, who had been sent to attend to her, Selina spent most of the afternoon in bed. She was certainly not seen downstairs again. Some time in the early evening, a servant came to report that Selina was still indisposed and intended to spend the rest of the evening in her room, and that she did