Wedding Rows by Kate Kingsbury

rapidly, she watched him whistle to the dogs. They came at once and, tails wagging, followed him back to the Jeep. She trailed behind them, committing to memory the picture of man and dogs, happy and carefree in each other’s company. It would be all she had while he was away.
    Arriving back at the manor, he pulled up in the courtyard and turned to her. The dogs leapt from the Jeep and disappeared around the corner of the ancient building. “I guess this is good-bye for a while,” he said, smiling down at her.
    It was hard to smile back. “You take care of yourself,” she said, striving to keep her tone light.
    “You, too.” His grin faded. “Stay out of harm’s way, Elizabeth. I won’t always be around to help out.”
    “I know.” She grasped his hand in both of hers. “Don’t worry about me, Earl. I promise I won’t do anything foolish. Just concentrate on coming safely back to me.”
    “You’ve got a deal.” He touched her cheek with his free hand. “So long, sweetheart.”
    She caught her breath. It was the first time he’d used the endearment. It was something else to cling to in the dark hours ahead. She could not say good-bye. It was too final. She’d never been able to say it to him. Even when she’d thought he was leaving her life forever. “Until we meet again,” she said, adding inwardly, my love .
    Instead of waiting for him to help her down from the Jeep, she scrambled out on her own. The last she heard of him was the roar of his engine as he drove off to the back of the manor.
    Rather than wait the eternity it took Martin to open the front door for her, she made her way through the greenhouses to the kitchen door. Violet was putting dishes away when she entered and looked up in surprise.
    “I thought you were taking the dogs for a walk,” she said, sliding the last dinner plate onto the pile in the cupboard.
    “I was.” Elizabeth glanced at the clock. “I have to get down to the village hall now. Bessie is going back there this afternoon to finish cleaning up and I want to talk to her.”
    Violet peered at her over her shoulder. “About the murder?”
    “We don’t know if it’s a murder yet,” Elizabeth pointed out.
    “From what I understand, some poor bugger was lying dead on the floor with a knife in his chest. I daresay he didn’t put it there himself.”
    “It could have been an accident. He could have fallen with the knife in his hand.”
    Violet turned all the way around. “And what would he be doing in the cellar with a knife in the first place?”
    Elizabeth smiled. “Don’t worry, Violet. I’ll find out what happened. I usually do.”
    “That’s what worries me. You always seem to end up in trouble yourself when you start going around asking questions like that.”
    “With so many people worrying about me,” Elizabeth said, as she headed for the door, “how can I possibly get into trouble?” She closed the door behind her, before Violet could answer.
    A few minutes later she halted her motorcycle in front of the village hall, just as Bessie emerged carrying a huge box. By the way she staggered as she reached the gate, Elizabeth could tell the poor woman’s load was too heavy for her.
    Elizabeth climbed off her motorcycle with as much haste as decorum allowed and hurried to help Bessie squeeze through the gate.
    “Thank you, your ladyship,” Bessie said, panting with exertion. “I thought I was going to drop it. Really I did.”
    “I do hope you’re not expecting to carry this all the way back to the Bake Shop.” Elizabeth grasped one edge of the box.
    “Well, I was going to try.” Bessie looked doubtfully at the motorcycle. “I carried it down here.”
    “But it’s uphill all the way back.” Elizabeth shifted the weight of the box against her hip. “What’s in here, anyway?”
    “China. The ladies from the Housewives League brought glasses and plates, and I brought the cups and saucers from the tea shop.”
    “Oh, my.” Elizabeth wavered,