The Sudbury School Murders Read Online Free PDF

was he like?"
    Sebastian shrugged. "Kept to himself. Came to
Sudbury to enjoy the country life, he said. But he didn't much like
dirtying his hands. He left the messy work to us. I didn't mind
because I like moving among the beasts. He knew that I could handle
a horse, no matter what, better than any of his other lads."
    "Did Middleton speak much to anyone else at
Sudbury?" I asked. "Rutledge? The pupils?"
    Sebastian shook his head. "He watched me and
the other stable hands whenever we saddled horses for the students.
Sometimes he'd talk to the boys while they waited, but not much.
Only one of the tutors rides much, Tunbridge, I think his name is.
And Miss Rutledge rides."
    His eyes took on a soft look. I imagined that
was how he and Belinda had met, Sebastian saddling her mount and
her looking on, young and pretty in her riding habit.
    "What happened last night after you finished
your duties?" I persisted.
    Sebastian took a breath. "Mr. Middleton said
he was going into Sudbury to the pub, and not to look for him until
late. I was glad, because Miss Rutledge sent word that she wanted
to see me. I went to her."
    So Belinda had indicated. "You are a pair of
brave fools," I said. "What time was this?"
    He thought. Sebastian would probably not own
a watch and likely could not read the time anyway. "The clock at
the school struck ten, I think. I walked to the canal and down the
towpath. Miss Rutledge had told me to meet her around the first
bend past Lower Sudbury Lock. There is a stand of trees there that
would screen us from the school."
    "How did she send the message? Did she write
you?"
    He shook his head. "I cannot read. She sent
her maidservant."
    "Unfortunate," I said.
    He looked indignant. "Bridgett loves Miss
Rutledge."
    "Perhaps, but even if Bridgett would die for
her mistress, tongues slip. But go on. Did Miss Rutledge meet you
as planned?"
    He nodded. "She came late. The clock had
struck the half hour before I saw her. Bridgett came with her. I
was glad. I would not have liked her out in the dark, alone."
    "In that case, you should have sent word for
her to stay home."
    His eyes were anguished. "But I craved to see
her. Her father guards her well."
    In a school filled with boys and a handsome
young Romany in the stables I could hardly blame Rutledge. I
reflected, though, that in this instance, he'd not guarded her
sternly enough.
    "So, she arrived, and you met her. What did
you speak about?"
    He smiled. His smile was dark and roguish,
and had my daughter lived with me, I'd certainly set a guard on her
day and night. "In truth, sir, little. My heart was full, I
couldn't think of what to say."
    I would have accused him of reading too much
poetry had he been able to read at all. "I must ask you directly,
are you and she lovers?"
    He looked almost shocked. "No, sir. She is an
innocent. I would never touch her, never."
    The pair seemed too romantic to be true. I
had been a bit romantic about Carlotta, but my craving for her had
not been merely in my heart. I'd proposed to her in a Norfolk
meadow; when she'd said yes, I'd laid her down and made sweet love
to her then and there.
    But then I'd married her right away. Our
families had been furious, but society had accepted the
marriage--we'd been of similar background and class, and our
alliance was no worse than any other. Sebastian and Belinda, on the
other hand, would be thoroughly condemned. Belinda would be ruined,
received nowhere, her family could shun her--living death in a
world that valued honor and social standing above all else.
Sebastian's own family would likewise not be pleased.
    "Well, at least you were sensible in that
regard," I said. "How long did you stand and gaze at each
other?"
    His face darkened. "Not long. We were
together twenty minutes, I think. She was gone before the clock
struck the hour again."
    That took us up to eleven o'clock. "What did
you do then?"
    "I stayed near the canal. I did not want her
reappearance at the school to be connected to