We both turned at the sound of his disgruntled voice.
“There isn’t another disturbed grave in the cemetery, is there?” Gage asked in dismay.
I shook my head. “I . . . don’t think so. But I suppose we should check. Although . . .” I glanced at the pile of clothing “. . . it would need to be a very recent burial. If I’m not mistaken, and I often am when it comes to fashion, that gown was purchased rather recently.”
Gage lifted the gown by the shoulders so we could see the bodice better. “No. You’re right. These wide puffed sleeves haven’t been en vogue for long.”
I couldn’t help pursing my lips. Two months prior, I had eyed those sleeves in the shops in Edinburgh with distaste, and they certainly hadn’t grown on me since. Stylish they might be, but they were not conducive to painting. The big, floppy things would simply get in the way and hinder my movements.
“But I thought Lord Buchan said his uncle’s burial was the most recent, and that was twenty months ago,” Trevor pointed out.
Which made it unlikely this gown had come from a grave in the abbey’s cemetery.
My brother shifted closer, his face creased in a troubled frown. “So if those clothes are not from a corpse, then where did they come from?”
We all turned to stare down at the pile of strange garments.
“And where is the girl to whom they belong?” Gage added grimly.
? ? ?
After searching the remainder of the abbey ruins that were safely accessible, we retraced our steps through the west door and then turned to follow the path that led away from the abbey out across the wide lawn toward Dryburgh House. The Earl of Buchan’s manor was relatively young by most standards, having been built barely a century earlier, and also charmingly modest considering the previous earl’s eccentric reputation. Fashioned from the same reddish-brown sandstone as the abbey, it somehow seemed natural that the Palladian mansion should be situated there, even with its grand pillars and arched windows. I suspected this had more to do with its size than anything else, for rather than dominate the landscape, it seemed to simply settle neatly into its space, enhancing the setting instead of altering it.
The current earl greeted us warmly as we were ushered into his study. He was clearly glad to see Gage, and I tried not to feel slighted, though it was impossible not to feel some sting. It was a reminder that I was merely the assistant. Gage was the inquiry agent, with his own extensive reputation and that of his father’s to back him up. I’d merely helped solve two investigations—two tricky investigations—but only two, nonetheless.
“Lord Buchan,” Gage began, settling into a chair. “We may have uncovered something significant.”
“Oh?” Buchan murmured, leaning forward eagerly.
“Yes. But first, I must ask, have you received any communication from the men who took your uncle’s bones?”
Buchan sat back suddenly, his heavy brow arched high. “Communication? Why, no. Of course not.”
Gage’s eyes flicked to my own. “I’m afraid there’s no ‘of course’ about it.” He related the story of the similar abduction of Sir Colum Casselbeck’s body and the ransom note the Casselbeck family had received. All the while, Buchan’s eyes widened farther and farther with each new detail until I thought they might be expelled from their sockets.
“Oh, my. No. I haven’t received anything of the like. Should I be expecting it?” he asked.
“I’m not certain,” Gage admitted. “But there is a possibility the two body snatchings are related.” He sank back in his chair, resting his linked fingers over his abdomen in a gesture I’d become very familiar with. Then he tilted his head to the side to ask, “Do you know if your uncle was acquainted with Sir Colum?”
“Why, yes. They were friends. And both founding members of the Society of Antiquaries.”
Gage’s posture straightened, the only outward indication he gave that his interest had been piqued along with mine. “This society is the same one to whom Mr. Collingwood alleged his aunt donated his family’s gold torc?”
Buchan glanced over at me for the first time since we’d taken our seats, clearly realizing I had shared this information with Gage. “Yes. Do you think Mr. Collingwood also accused Sir Colum of theft?” he asked Gage.
“I don’t know. But I shall find out.” He studied the earl before posing his next query. “I suppose your uncle considered many of the other members of the society to be his friends.”
Buchan nodded. “He was quite enthusiastic about the subject, and many of the other men thought very highly of him. They still speak of him so.”