A Mischief in the Snow - By Margaret Miles Page 0,59
should stay with your earlier fabrication— that of a complete stranger.”
Now Dudley scowled, his dislike of the attorney returning.
“This second death, then,” Reed continued, “which Lem seems nearly to have witnessed. Will the village take it for an accident? You seem to have decided, John, on very little evidence, that it was no more than mischance.”
“Well, it would seem Catherine Knowles did no more than what others have done! She was old and feeble, and could hardly see. However, some may say ‘Mad Maud’ is now free of the old woman, and is off that cursed island. Not that I'll be among those to suggest she had anything to do with what happened. But it was a strange thing after all, the two of them living there alone. If they were alone. I believe they may have had company—unquiet spirits, and other unnatural things that have kept most men away.”
“Some will be more interested,” said Longfellow, “in learning where the money goes, now that Mrs. Knowles is dead. Isn't it said she controlled a fortune?”
“As it happens, I know the answer to that particular question,” said Moses Reed. Longfellow rose to pour another round of brandy.
“Do you, Mr. Reed?” he asked, when no further information was offered.
“I should. I've acted as attorney for Mrs. Knowles for many years.”
“I wasn't aware of that.”
“Few are.”
“Will you tell us more?”
“At the moment, I'm afraid I can't say much. First I must speak with the family—at least with Magdalene Knowles. Though there are some things, I suppose, that I might reveal to you now.”
“Gentlemen, may I join you?” asked a new voice. The men looked to the door and saw Diana Montagu sweep toward them.
In fact, she had been waiting for some time in the passage, wondering if she would hear something of interest within.
Moses Reed made no objection. Constable Dudley, Diana thought, actually blushed at her approach. He reached to a table and picked up his hat, looking as if he might run away. But it seemed he only wished to mangle the thing further.
“Sit, then,” said her brother, setting a chair near, but not too near, the fire.
“When I came here two days ago,” Moses Reed went on moments later, stroking his beard, “it was for two reasons: First, I wished to discuss a small legacy with Mrs. Willett, as I believe you already know. Second, I also hoped to see Catherine Knowles, or at least to send a message to her, and wait for a word in return. I needed to clarify certain matters relating to her late husband, Peter Knowles.”
“Oh, yes!” said Diana, suddenly sitting forward. “I knew I'd heard something about a family named Knowles. But I hardly thought this could be the same, for they live in Philadelphia. Yet I'm sure a Peter Knowles was mentioned by my friend Mrs. Cooper.”
“It is a wealthy family,” Reed went on, “and an old one with several branches. Peter Knowles, the patriarch of one, has just died.”
“I'd assumed he'd done so long ago,” said Longfellow. “Then husband and wife lived apart?”
“For reasons that had to do with an unfortunate bent in the husband. After the marriage it became clear that his mind was weak, or worse—not entirely unlike the case of Magdalene Knowles, his unfortunate sister.”
“You've known them long?” Longfellow asked.
“I met Peter Knowles a year or two before he returned to his family in Philadelphia, now some twenty years ago. I can also tell you that while he lived, Catherine Knowles gave up her right to his support, in exchange for complete control of the fortune left by her father—including the island. That, perhaps, was not in her best interests. I found she had little understanding of business, and refused to invest wisely. But under the new arrangement, she retained a right to a widow's portion, a third of her husband's estate. At his recent death this became hers, as well.”
“She will hardly need it now,” said Longfellow. “But then there's Magdalene to consider. Yet I don't imagine she can inherit, if she's not of sound mind. Still, if her brother did so?…”
“Because he was a male, the best light was put on Peter's doubtful condition by the immediate family, so that they might not lose the fortune to another part of the line. With Magdalene, there was no reason to ignore the obvious. Catherine made a small provision for her future and instructed me