A Bride for the Prizefighter - Alice Coldbreath Page 0,138
her tea and then replaced it on her saucer before speaking. “And what of Gus Hopkirk? Can he shed no light on the matter?”
Guthrie looked pained. She noticed he was rather pale today and suspected he had not been allowed much sleep the previous evening. “Mr. Hopkirk maintains he knows precious little about the matter,” Guthrie admitted. “He claims he has been a foolish old man, slipped the odd bottle of rum to impart his local knowledge. According to him he was shocked and dismayed to find Reuben Prouse had abducted you and expected him to stand guard over you in that passage below Vance House.”
Mina looked up quickly and Guthrie nodded. “He knows he faces a hangman for his part, so he is striving to appear fully cooperative. They dug that bullet out of his shoulder yesterday and he looks fair to mend. Hopkirk claims Reuben showed him the passage a month or so ago and swore him to silence. When asked to meet him there yesterday, he apparently had no notion of the kidnapping plot. Indeed, he claims he only knew Reuben Prouse as the face of the smugglers and none other.”
“He does not implicate my husband, then,” Mina pointed out.
“No, he does not,” agreed Guthrie slowly. “Hopkirk begs for me to carry word to you that he is most anxious you are recovered from your ordeal and restored to your husband. He acted quite bewildered that Nye should be in custody at all.”
Mina could only feel herself greatly relieved that Gus did not mean to try and pin the role of mastermind to Nye. It seemed absurd to her that anyone could think Reuben a commanding figure, but she supposed he had little else to fall back on.
“He says you will bear him out that he was most careful of your health and wellbeing and acted champion against Prouse’s repeated threats of violence.”
Mina nodded, “That is true enough.”
Guthrie, she noticed looked visibly frustrated by her words, though he did not press her. “As for Tom Rowley, he insists he is a ‘peaceable man’ with a large family and says he never saw hide nor hair of him anywhere near the place.” He hesitated. “We want to know if you will testify against Tom Rowley, Mrs. Nye.”
“I’m afraid I cannot,” Mina answered with perfect truth. “I was quite insensible after Reuben struck me and I did not catch sight of the carter’s face at any point.”
“Your maid, Edna Lumm now says she cannot be sure the man was Tom Rowley who drove the cart out of here yesterday afternoon. She only says she took him for Tom Rowley at the time.”
“Edna is one of the most truthful people I know, Mr. Guthrie. If she says she cannot swear to it, then I must believe her.”
Guthrie’s look was rather hard before he dropped it. “Rowley was taken into custody but released again this morning,” he admitted. “Indeed, I start to fear ma’am that we will not get a successful conviction against any of the ring at this rate.”
“You have no expectation of identifying who the mysterious ‘guvnor’ they spoke of might be?”
Guthrie shook his head. “Hopkirk talks ceaselessly, but it’s all sound and no substance. To hear him talk, Prouse was the villain of the piece and he a poor duped old man.” A look of disgust passed over his face. “I believe ma’am, that he would vastly enjoy appearing before a jury.”
“They would be eating out of his hand before the trial was over,” Mina predicted softly.
Guthrie shook his head. “You have no other detail to impart that might help us with our investigation. No new angle that might aid us in our enquiry?”
“I’m afraid not,” Mina said quietly. Helping their enquiry build a case was not exactly her priority, but she could hardly admit as much.
He looked disappointed, but not surprised and took his leave of her shortly after. Edna and Corin rallied around with Edna exclaiming she had never liked Gus and always thought him a smooth-tongued villain. It was Corin’s half-day that afternoon and the girl said she would not take it, but Mina insisted.
“You must go into the village Corin and visit with your granny as usual. And you must make sure to tell her anyone else you meet there, that Edna and I have both told the Riding Officers most unequivocally that we cannot identify Thomas Rowley, and neither would Gus. Only Reuben’s involvement with my abduction is confirmed with witnesses.”