Read Online The Heiress of Linn Hagh by Karen Charlton - Free Book Online Page B

guests stayed for the evening. Helen had excused herself and retired to her room. The servants heard her bar the door just after nine. The next morning, when Helen didn’t appear, her brother, fearing his sister may have taken ill, broke down the chamber door. The room was completely empty.’
    ‘Was the window closed?’
    ‘Her bedchamber is at the top of the tower. When you see Linn Hagh, you’ll understand why no one would consider escaping from the window. Her bed was still made as if she had not slept in it, and a tray of food from the night before lay untouched on the table.’
    ‘Uh-oh.’ The noise that escaped from Woods’ gaping mouth was involuntary, but audible enough to be heard by the sharp ears of the old man.
    ‘Yes, exactly, a very strange state of affairs. I trust you’re not a superstitious man, Constable? I’ll be very disappointed if you report to me in a few days’ time that my great-niece has been spirited away by the fairies.’
    ‘Of course not, sir,’ Woods reassured him. ‘There’s bound to be a simple explanation.’
    ‘We shall make it one of our first priorities to establish how Miss Carnaby managed to leave her room with the door barred,’ Lavender said quickly. ‘It will be a significant step in establishing whether she left the room voluntarily—or was forced.’
    ‘Good. None of the addled-brained constables around here have managed to explain this mystery. Unfortunately, because of the unusual nature of Helen’s disappearance, there has been a resurgence of old superstitions and folktales in the town. It’s a small, tight-knit community, Detective, with a high rate of illiteracy and a lax approach to church attendance. The situation is not helped by the unpopular presence of a band of faws in the neighbourhood.’
    ‘Faws?’
    ‘Gypsies. A travelling band of tinkers. Baxter Carnaby, Helen’s father, was always far too indulgent with them and allowed them to camp on his land. There have been mutterings of witchcraft in the town since Helen’s disappearance—linking it to one of the gypsy women.’
    ‘Has their camp been searched?’
    ‘Yes. This was one of the first things the local constable arranged. His men came away with nothing—except the curses of the faws ringing in their ears.’
    ‘What other steps did the local constables take to track down your niece?’
    ‘I’ve arranged for the local man, Constable Beddows, to call on us at ten o’clock. He will escort you to Linn Hagh and furnish you with further details of his enquiry.’
    The door opened and a middle-aged woman came into the room. She was round-faced and plump, with a kind smile, and wisps of curly, grey hair escaped over her forehead below her lace cap.
    Lavender and Woods rose hastily to their feet.
    ‘Detective Lavender, Constable Woods—may I present my eldest daughter, Miss Katherine Armstrong? Katherine runs the house for me since my dear wife died.’
    Lavender bowed over Miss Armstrong’s hand. She smiled, nodded courteously to Woods and then moved over to her father and straightened his blanket.
    ‘Please excuse me, gentlemen; I’ve just come to check that Papa is not tiring himself too much.’
    ‘Don’t fuss, Katherine,’ her father whined. She ignored his protests and poured out a measure of dark red medicine from one of the bottles on the rosewood table beside his chair. He took the drink, swallowed it back in one gulp and grimaced at the bitter taste. His daughter sank gracefully onto a padded stool next to her father’s chair. Lavender instantly felt that she was a pleasant and likeable woman.
    ‘Helen’s disappearance has been so distressing for him.’
    ‘I’m sure it must have been very upsetting for everyone,’ Lavender observed. ‘You seem a close family. How was Miss Carnaby related to you all?’
    ‘Helen’s grandfather was my older brother, Thomas Armstrong. She is my great-niece. You may have heard of Thomas? While I happily settled for a steady