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

refuse to hear any more. The urge was so overwhelming that she made to rise, and would certainly have been out of the room the next second, but before she could act on her impulse she happened to catch sight of Mr. Gilverson’s face as a shadow passed fleetingly across it. He had kept his sorrow well hidden up to now, but that one look was enough to convince her that he had been deeply affected by it all. Here, at least, was someone who did not believe in his nephew’s guilt—or at least, did not want to believe in it. Instead of standing up, therefore, she hesitated, and said:
    ‘You say he didn’t do it. Why do you think that?’
    ‘Because Edgar was not a violent man. It was completely out of character for him to do such a thing.’
    ‘But the evidence—’
    ‘Yes, yes, there was no denying the evidence,’ he said. ‘And yet I believed in his innocence. I still do.’
    ‘Was there nothing you could do then?’
    ‘Very little,’ said Gilverson. ‘You see, Roger and I had fallen out a few weeks earlier—or shall we say I was in his bad books, and was not welcome at Greystone. The news of Edgar’s arrest did not reach me as soon as it might have. Naturally I did what I could in the way of legal assistance, but by then the story had got out and people were already saying he had done it, and the rest of the family were maintaining what I should call a loud silence, which said as clearly as anything that they thought him guilty. Then there was the trial, which was over shamefully quickly and could have only one verdict under the circumstances, and after that there was nothing to be done.’
    ‘Didn’t his family have anything to say in his defence?’ said Angela.
    ‘Very little,’ said Gilverson. ‘In fact, his own brother testified to having overheard the row between the two of them. Naturally he could not lie in court if he had overheard it, but I’ve always wondered why he felt the need to mention it at all.’
    ‘And what about Roger and Evelyn de Lisle? Did they give evidence in court?’
    ‘I believe they did, but only as it related to the movements of everybody in the house on the day Selina died. Nothing quite as damning as the evidence of the quarrel.’
    Angela pondered for a moment, then said:
    ‘Very well, then, if Mr. de Lisle didn’t kill his wife, who did? I don’t suppose it’s possible that someone from outside the house might have come in and done it?’
    ‘It’s highly unlikely,’ said Mr. Gilverson. ‘Naturally, inquiries were instituted in the area, but no-one reported having seen anything unusual or suspicious.’
    ‘Then presumably the murderer was someone in the house.’
    ‘Presumably, yes,’ said Mr. Gilverson.
    ‘But who?’ said Angela. ‘Who was in the house on the day of the murder?’
    ‘The family, of course: Roger and Evelyn; Godfrey and Victorine; Edgar, naturally. Henry Lacey was also staying there at the time, as was an old school-friend of his called Oliver Harrington, who was on leave and had come to visit for a day or two. I don’t know what became of him.’
    ‘And none of them came under suspicion at the time?’
    ‘Seemingly not. The police had a perfectly good suspect in front of their noses, and why should they look any more deeply into it?’
    Angela fell silent, for exactly the same thing might have been said about her own arrest and trial. The case against her had seemed water-tight at the time, and yet she had been innocent. Might the same be true of Edgar Valencourt? It was an uncomfortable thought, but that, after all, was why she was here. Despite the unusual circumstances (to say the least) and her vow never to involve herself in another murder inquiry, her interest was aroused by the story Mr. Gilverson had told. There were one or two points which did not seem to fit what she had herself known of Valencourt. Despite his dubious choice of career, she had known him to be a generally good-tempered, rational, intelligent man who thought