Free Murder at Longbourn by Tracy Kiely

job somewhere in Ohio. And Marty and I moved to Connecticut. Greenwich,” she added after a brief pause. She was quiet for a moment, seemingly lost in her memories. “It’s funny how things turn out,” she said slowly, more to herself than to me. “I thought I would have such a perfect life with Marty. He came from a wonderful family. He was rich and handsome. But he was also the biggest lush I ever had the misfortune to meet.”
    “Oh,” I said, taken aback at this blunt admission. “I’m sorry. That must have been very hard.”
    “It was. But I wasn’t the first woman to marry an alcoholic. At least we had ample money so I never had to worry about losing the house. And, of course, I had my charity work to keep me busy. Thankfully, we weren’t able to have children. At the time, it was quite distressing, but in hindsight I think it was a blessing.”
    I was thankful that Linnet’s constant nibbling had emptied my tray, because it gave me a reason to excuse myself from the conversation. I had no idea what to say to her, not that it mattered. Shestruck me as the sort of person who talked a great deal but seldom required a response. She’d had a difficult marriage, but she didn’t invite much sympathy. Maybe it was her lack of loyalty to people. By her own admission, she had tossed Jackie aside when they were younger, and from what she had told me about her husband, it sounded like once she realized he had a problem, she had pushed him aside, too. As I made my way across the room, I caught Peter staring at me again and I had a sudden immature urge to stick my tongue out at him. I restrained myself and continued to the kitchen.
    On my way I saw Lauren. She stood with her back to me, talking on her cell phone. As I neared, I heard her say, “Okay, I’d better go. Happy New Year. I love you, baby.”
    With a soft click, she shut the phone and dropped it into her little purse. Seeing me, she pasted a bright smile on her face. “The party is going wonderfully, don’t you think?”
    “So far, so good,” I agreed.
    With a nod at my empty tray, she said, “Well, don’t let me keep you.” She hurried back to where Gerald stood. Of the many possibilities Lauren’s conversation did suggest, I was secretly pleased that an affair with Daniel was not one of them. I continued on to the kitchen, my mood vastly improved.
    After refilling the tray, I headed back to the dining room. As I passed the rear door that led to the garden, it opened and Joan and Polly walked in from the cold. My face must have shown my surprise because Joan quickly said, “Oh, hello, Elizabeth! My, it is really coming down out there! It’s like a winter wonderland. Polly and I just couldn’t resist—there’s something about snow that brings out the kid in everyone, I guess.”
    As directed, I looked out the back window. The snow was indeed coming down heavily, transforming the backyard into a sea ofwhite. I must be getting old, I thought. For unlike Joan and Polly, I had absolutely no desire to go stand in it. I was quite happy to enjoy the view from the comfort of the heated indoors.
    Joan hurried back to Henry while Polly stayed with me, although she said nothing. Aunt Winnie laughed loudly at something and Polly said, “Your aunt seems like a lot of fun.”
    I looked over to where Aunt Winnie stood talking to Gerald and Lauren. “She is,” I agreed with a smile.
    Polly continued, “Sorry about my father’s behavior earlier. He can be … overbearing at times.”
    That was one way of describing the man. I could think of several other terms, which while more fitting wouldn’t be appropriate to share with his daughter. I snuck a glance at Polly. She was still staring at her father, her face an unreadable mask. Quite suddenly, an expression of pure hatred crossed her face. As quickly as it had come, it was gone, and the controlled mask was firmly back in place. It happened so fast that I wondered if I had imagined that look.
    I felt for