Free The Heiress of Linn Hagh by Karen Charlton

career in law, my brother was a shrewd businessman and an entrepreneur. He made a fortune from various enterprises.’
    Inwardly, Lavender congratulated himself. It was important to him that he was always thoroughly prepared for every case, and he usually carried out meticulous research on his clients before he met them. The good citizens of Northumberland would be amazed at how many parchment documents containing their details were now being held and filed, down in the dusty offices of the burgeoning British Home Department in London.
    ‘Was your brother, Thomas Armstrong, of the Newcastle shipbuilding yard of the same name?’ he enquired.
    Armstrong looked impressed.
    ‘Yes! He had successful interests in several shipping lines and coal mining ventures. He amassed a fortune. Sadly, his son and heir died in infancy, which left him with only one child, a daughter named Esther. Helen’s fortune comes down the maternal line, from her mother and my brother.’
    ‘This George Carnaby you mentioned—is he your great-nephew?’
    ‘Heavens, no. They share the same father but had different mothers. George Carnaby has nothing to do with the Armstrong inheritance; he is Helen’s half-brother. I’ve a copy of my own brother’s will, Detective—if you think it would help with your investigation.’
    ‘Yes, thank you, it would be helpful, but I’ll pick it up another time,’ Lavender said.
    ‘Esther was my cousin,’ Miss Katherine told him as she rearranged her father’s blankets. ‘We were very close as girls, and we’ve always been very fond of her only child, Helen.’
    ‘Yes, Esther was a lovely woman.’ Mr Armstrong looked sad. ‘Unfortunately, she died earlier this year, in February.’
    ‘That was why Helen came home from school in Whitby,’ Miss Katherine explained. ‘She came to nurse her mother in her final few weeks.’
    ‘School? Exactly how old is Miss Carnaby?’ Lavender started with alarm. Had he missed something here?
    ‘She is twenty years old. When she finished her education, Helen stayed on as a pupil teacher for a while. She only returned to Northumberland in February when her mother became seriously ill.’
    Ah, a pupil teacher. That explained it. For one awful minute, he’d thought he had misread the information and was looking at child abduction.
    ‘Several of my sisters have sent their daughters to the same school,’ Miss Armstrong volunteered. ‘I understand Helen was well liked and very popular with the pupils.’
    Lavender nodded and glanced at the clock. It was nearly ten o’clock.
    ‘Before we leave you to set off for Linn Hagh, I need to ask you if you have a likeness of Miss Carnaby.’
    ‘Yes, we’ve a small portrait of her.’ Miss Armstrong rose to her slippered feet and padded over to the great mahogany desk that stood by the window. She removed an oval-shaped frame from one of the deep drawers.
    Woods leant forward and both men stared at the portrait in Lavender’s hand. A very pretty, fair-haired woman smiled back at them. Her skin was luminous, and her vivid blue eyes gleamed with warmth.
    ‘She is beautiful,’ Lavender said. ‘Were either of you—or any of your family—aware if she had any admirers? A beau, perhaps?’
    Mr Armstrong shook his head. ‘We’ve been through this several times with Constable Beddows. As far as we know, Helen was not romantically attached to any young man. She was greatly distressed after her mother’s death and has just quietly lived at Linn Hagh since then.’
    Lavender nodded again, but a new thought struck him, and his forehead creased into a frown. ‘Why did Miss Carnaby need to work? I understood she was quite wealthy. Surely she didn’t need the money?’
    The two Armstrongs stiffened and glanced quickly at each other across the stuffy room. ‘I believe Helen wanted to teach at the school,’ Miss Katherine said carefully. ‘She enjoyed it and liked the independence she gained from having her own