Murder at Mansfield Park

"He may not have found very much in the mud, but I gather that a search of the nearby workmen’s cart was rather more productive. One of the mattocks was found to bear distinct traces of — "

Mrs Grant gave a loud cough, and cast a look of meaning at her husband. Dr Grant was a sedentary man, but his intellectual tastes and pursuits were exceedingly various, and he devoted many of his lengthy leisure hours to the study of scientific matters; he had, therefore, felt all the curiosity of a interested party in the steward’s description of the fragments of human brain and flesh discovered on the blade of the mattock, and would have proceeded to give them a detailed account thereof, but a glance at Mary shewing her to have turned as pale as she had been on first returning from the Park, he contented himself with remarking, "Well, well, I shall merely say that it was quite clear that this was the instrument with which the deed was done. Moreover, there had clearly been a rather clumsy attempt to disguise the fact. It had been wiped, but some traces still remained."

"And what did the family have to say to that?" said Mrs Grant, who had poured a glass of wine for Mary, and was obliging her to drink the greater part.

"I believe he has asked to question the servants, and to carry out a search of the house, but the latter has been absolutely refused. Miss Bertram has declared that her mother is in no fit state to accede to such a request, and Mrs Norris was, as one might have expected, particularly loud in her outrage at such an idea; all the more so since — in her opinion — it is now palpably obvious that one of the labourers must be responsible. She is all for having the whole lot of them carted off to Northampton assizes, but I suppose we should not have expected anything like reason or logic from that lady."

"How so, Dr Grant? I am hardly an admirer of Mrs Norris, in general, but surely there is something to be said for such a view of the matter?"

Dr Grant shook his head."It is no more plausible, my dear," he said patiently, "than your picture of a gang of murderous gipsies marauding unchecked and unnoticed across the Mansfield lawns. A mere five minutes’ mature deliberation should be sufficient to remind you that the workmen are always under supervision of one kind or another when they are in the park, and share sleeping quarters in the stable block. I doubt anyone of them could have slipped away and committed such a crime without one or other of his fellows noticing, especially as there would have been a great effusion of blood, which could not possibly have been concealed. And what could be the motive for such a deed? I believe Maddox has agreed to question the men concerned, if only to appease Mrs Norris, but I suspect that he knows as well as I do, that he will have to look elsewhere for his assassin."

It had not escaped Mary’s notice, that Dr Grant’s initial contempt for their London visitor had modulated into something very like respect, and she was still wondering over it, when her sister spoke again.

"If only it were possible," mused Mrs Grant, "to tell for certain who had handled that mattock. Then all would be made clear in a matter of moments."

Dr Grant gave a smile that expressed all the indulgence of self-amusement in the face of feminine irrationality. "Now you really are growing fanciful. If you are both ready to withdraw, I will retire to my study."

Mary and her sister sat over the fire in the parlour, both absorbed in their own thoughts.

"It still does not make sense to me," said Mrs Grant at length. "Even if the workmen indeed prove to be innocent, I cannot believe that this Mr Maddox can possibly suspect any of the family of complicity in this dreadful deed. Surely some delinquent vagabond or escaped criminal is far more likely? Whatever Dr Grant says about it being improbable that strangers could go undetected about the park, I find it equally unbelievable that anyone at Mansfield could be guilty of such a brutal outrage against a defenceless young woman."

"You do hear of such things," said Mary with a sigh. "And no doubt a London thief-taker like Mr Maddox has had experience of them, if anyone has."

Like her brother-in-law, she had to acknowledge a grudging admiration for the man’s energy and penetration. She had not given these qualities their proper estimation at first, to her cost, but she now suspected him to be a man with an extraordinary talent for stratagem and manoeuvre, who would likely prove to be a fearsome adversary. God forbid she should find herself in such a position! She shivered a little, and Mrs Grant got up to stir the fire.

"That said, I do not envy Mr Maddox the task of questioning the servants. You know how such people are, Mary — if they are not idle and dissatisfied, they are trifling and silly, and gadding about the village all day long. It will be an insufferably tedious task, and I doubt he will end up with very much to shew for it."