Read Online Arsenic with Austen by Katherine Bolger Hyde - Free Book Online

stubborn as Balaam’s ass, but Agnes seemed genuinely cut up when Beatrice died.”
    â€œThat’s what I thought. And she was the one who first mentioned the word poison . She wouldn’t do that if she were responsible.”
    â€œNot likely. In a mystery novel, now, that’d be my cue to say ‘unless she wanted us to think that,’ but I really don’t think so with Agnes. I doubt she has any idea what to do with her newfound wealth except save it for when she gets too old to work. Which, knowing her, will be the day she dies.”
    Emily nodded. Suddenly it struck her how bizarre it was that she should be sitting in a diner with Luke discussing possible suspects for the possible murder of her aunt, when far more burning personal questions of thirty-five years’ standing hung between them. Not to mention the question that had set up a running static at the back of her mind since she first saw him yesterday, making concentration on any other issue almost impossible: What might the future hold?
    She folded her napkin and laid it beside her plate. Luke, forking up the last of his crab melt, raised an eyebrow at her half-finished meal. “Full already?”
    â€œI guess I’m too keyed up to eat much. It’s been a roller coaster the last few days.”
    â€œYou can say that again.” He looked into her eyes. “We need to talk.”

 
    eight
    â€œWhen you have finished Udolpho,… I have made out a list of ten or twelve more of the same kind for you.… Mysterious Warnings, Necromancer of the Black Forest, Midnight Bell, Orphan of the Rhine, and Horrid Mysteries. Those will last us some time.”
    â€œYes, pretty well; but are they all horrid, are you sure they are all horrid?”

    â€”Isabella Thorpe and Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey
    Just then an elderly woman shuffled up to their table, breathless. “Oh, Sheriff—little Timmy—come quick. That tree—so high … I can hardly see him.” She stood, wringing her hands, her features contorted.
    Luke made a face for Emily’s benefit, then stood and patted the woman’s shoulder. “Now don’t you worry, Mrs. Trimble; little Timmy’ll be just fine. Let me walk Mrs. Cavanaugh back to her car, and I’ll be over there in two shakes.”
    Mrs. Trimble looked at Emily for the first time. “Oh … Mrs. Cavanaugh … You’re Beatrice’s niece, aren’t you? So sorry … Dear friend … Oh my.” She fluttered as if she’d made some dreadful faux pas.
    â€œThank you, Mrs. Trimble,” Emily said. “We’d better get going so Luke can get your grandson out of that tree.”
    Mrs. Trimble’s eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth. “Grandson? Oh dear … Oh no…”
    Luke slapped some bills onto the table. His mouth twitched as he shepherded both women out of the restaurant. In Emily’s ear he said, “Little Timmy is her cat.”
    Emily barely kept her countenance until Mrs. Trimble was out of earshot, hurrying down a side street. “So that’s how a small-town lawman spends his time—rescuing cats from trees for the mayor’s wife?”
    â€œHis mother. She’s not safe out, ought to be in a home, but Mayor Trimble’s so fond of her, he won’t hear of it. And you don’t know the half—by the time I get there, the cat’ll be safe on the ground, wondering what all the fuss is about.” He halted. “You could just come with me.”
    She hesitated. Part of her wanted never to leave Luke’s side; the other part wanted to run from all the feelings his nearness stirred up in her. And she wasn’t ready to have that talk he kept mentioning; one subject in particular she was determined must never come up. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day. And I need to talk to the doctor.”
    His face fell.