her, and she bobbed an awkward curtsy that had me feeling just as awkward. Curtsies were for ladies and princesses. My only link to that sort was having lived in a gentleman's attic for most of my life.
Jack walked Mrs. Mott out then returned to me. "What do you make of that?" he asked, sitting down again.
"I think we need to speak to the Butterworths and ask them if they had any business with Mott."
"Agreed."
"The mayor belongs to a few societies in the area," Jack said. "His wife too. A building could have been commissioned for one of them."
It sounded reasonable enough, but after believing that the Society For Supernatural Activity was behind Mott's activities, I found it difficult to think of anyone else as having been involved. And the mayor, of all people! What did he have against August Langley, or us? Why would he go to great lengths to summon a demon here?
"Then there's Myer," he said. "It was clever of you to describe him to her."
I tried to think back to the conversation we'd had with Myer about Harborough and Frakingham. "He never told us he hadn't been here," I said. "So he hasn't lied."
"No, but someone with nothing to hide would simply acknowledge that he'd visited our area. He did mention that he'd heard about the Frakingham Abbey ruins. Heard , not seen."
"He makes me terribly anxious," I said. "I wish Samuel had not agreed to go to him."
It was just my luck that Samuel entered the room as I said it. "Stop worrying about me, Hannah," he scolded gently. "I'll be all right. His hypnosis is useless on me, and if he proves a physical threat, I'll box him."
"This isn't a joke, Samuel!"
"I wasn't joking." It was impossible to tell from his impish smile whether he was or not. "Hannah, it's sweet of you to worry about me, but you shouldn't. This is something I need to do. Surely you and Jack can understand that."
I sighed and appealed to Jack. He merely shrugged. "You know you're always welcome back here whenever you wish," he said.
Samuel clapped him on the shoulder. "Thank you, Friend. Now tell me what the Widow Mott wanted."
We told him about the letter to her husband, signed by the mayor, but he was more interested in where the extra money had come from.
"Do you think it was payment for successfully summoning the demon?" he asked.
"Or guilt money," Jack noted. "Whoever bought Mott's services sent him to his death and condemned his family to poverty."
***
Sylvia would not be left out of an excursion to the village, particularly when we had dresses to pick up. Mrs. Irwin the dressmaker had sent word that morning that our ball gowns were ready.
"Samuel and I will visit the Butterworths while you're at the dressmaker's," Jack said once we four were seated in the carriage.
"You will not," I told him. "I want to come too."
Sylvia groaned. "I should have suspected you'd say that."
We tried our gowns on one final time in Mrs. Irwin's house where she worked out of a back room. They fit perfectly, and she boxed them up for us. Jack, Samuel and the driver tied the packages to the roof of the carriage and we drove off to the Butterworths' house a short distance away.
Sylvia peered out of the window and searched the sky. "If it rains, our gowns will be ruined."
"There isn't a cloud in the sky, Syl," Jack said.
"There may be no clouds now , but you know very well it could be raining by the time we set off for home again."
"In that case, you can sit beside the driver and the boxes can ride in the cabin with us."
Her glare could have cut him it was so sharp. "Let's just get this conversation over with."
I'd met the Butterworths for the first time only recently. They were an oddly matched couple. She was taller than he and had a commanding manner, while he seemed more submissive in nature. They were both pleasant enough, however, and I had liked them on the whole. I wasn't sure what to make of the notion that one or both of them could have been involved in the summoning of the demon. It seemed
Jack walked Mrs. Mott out then returned to me. "What do you make of that?" he asked, sitting down again.
"I think we need to speak to the Butterworths and ask them if they had any business with Mott."
"Agreed."
"The mayor belongs to a few societies in the area," Jack said. "His wife too. A building could have been commissioned for one of them."
It sounded reasonable enough, but after believing that the Society For Supernatural Activity was behind Mott's activities, I found it difficult to think of anyone else as having been involved. And the mayor, of all people! What did he have against August Langley, or us? Why would he go to great lengths to summon a demon here?
"Then there's Myer," he said. "It was clever of you to describe him to her."
I tried to think back to the conversation we'd had with Myer about Harborough and Frakingham. "He never told us he hadn't been here," I said. "So he hasn't lied."
"No, but someone with nothing to hide would simply acknowledge that he'd visited our area. He did mention that he'd heard about the Frakingham Abbey ruins. Heard , not seen."
"He makes me terribly anxious," I said. "I wish Samuel had not agreed to go to him."
It was just my luck that Samuel entered the room as I said it. "Stop worrying about me, Hannah," he scolded gently. "I'll be all right. His hypnosis is useless on me, and if he proves a physical threat, I'll box him."
"This isn't a joke, Samuel!"
"I wasn't joking." It was impossible to tell from his impish smile whether he was or not. "Hannah, it's sweet of you to worry about me, but you shouldn't. This is something I need to do. Surely you and Jack can understand that."
I sighed and appealed to Jack. He merely shrugged. "You know you're always welcome back here whenever you wish," he said.
Samuel clapped him on the shoulder. "Thank you, Friend. Now tell me what the Widow Mott wanted."
We told him about the letter to her husband, signed by the mayor, but he was more interested in where the extra money had come from.
"Do you think it was payment for successfully summoning the demon?" he asked.
"Or guilt money," Jack noted. "Whoever bought Mott's services sent him to his death and condemned his family to poverty."
***
Sylvia would not be left out of an excursion to the village, particularly when we had dresses to pick up. Mrs. Irwin the dressmaker had sent word that morning that our ball gowns were ready.
"Samuel and I will visit the Butterworths while you're at the dressmaker's," Jack said once we four were seated in the carriage.
"You will not," I told him. "I want to come too."
Sylvia groaned. "I should have suspected you'd say that."
We tried our gowns on one final time in Mrs. Irwin's house where she worked out of a back room. They fit perfectly, and she boxed them up for us. Jack, Samuel and the driver tied the packages to the roof of the carriage and we drove off to the Butterworths' house a short distance away.
Sylvia peered out of the window and searched the sky. "If it rains, our gowns will be ruined."
"There isn't a cloud in the sky, Syl," Jack said.
"There may be no clouds now , but you know very well it could be raining by the time we set off for home again."
"In that case, you can sit beside the driver and the boxes can ride in the cabin with us."
Her glare could have cut him it was so sharp. "Let's just get this conversation over with."
I'd met the Butterworths for the first time only recently. They were an oddly matched couple. She was taller than he and had a commanding manner, while he seemed more submissive in nature. They were both pleasant enough, however, and I had liked them on the whole. I wasn't sure what to make of the notion that one or both of them could have been involved in the summoning of the demon. It seemed
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