Lethal Legend (30 page)
The sun shone through tall windows, making the rosewood pulpit gleam. It glinted off the gold ring studded with Maine tourmalines that Ben placed on Diana’s finger, sliding it easily into place in spite of her glove because she’d taken the precaution of splitting the seam on her ring finger.
She was determined that everything about this day should run smoothly.
When they turned to walk down the aisle as husband and wife, Diana’s happiness knew no bounds. To be married was wonderful, a joy increased by sharing it with the assembled well-wishers. So many of them had traveled great distances to be with them on this special day. All her mother’s family had come. Elmira, after a stern lecture from her daughter—and a few threats—had been persuaded to be civil to them. Elmira and Ed Leeves sat with Elmira’s two brothers and with Isaac and Janette Torrence. Horatio Foxe was beside Maggie Northcote, resplendent in one of her more outrageous gowns. Justus Palmer had sent word that he was unable to attend the wedding but would arrive before the end of the reception. Maggie, of course, insisted that this was because he was a vampire and couldn’t come out until after sunset.
Diana’s theatrical friends were in the congregation, too, along with her former landlady. So were Serena and Graham. Serena’s smile was almost as wide as Diana’s. In fact, Diana didn’t think the other woman had stopped grinning since they’d emerged from the cave.
What they’d uncovered on the rock face had turned out to be a primitive version of a memorial brass. Some sort of punch, Serena claimed, had been used to create it, and by drawing chalk lines between the indentations, one could clearly see the figure of a woman dressed in medieval garb.
Beneath the figure was an inscription in Latin. Translated it read: “Cursed be he who disturbs my bones.”
The piece Diana had written for the
Independent Intelligencer
, her last as an employee of that newspaper, had carried the headline LETHAL LEGEND OF KEEP ISLAND EXPOSED. In fact the inscription was not all that unusual for the times. William Shakespeare had put something similar on his tomb. It was pure speculation that something had happened after the lady’s death to make it seem that the curse had power. The details were lost in the mists of time, but Diana was convinced that Serena and Ben had been right. The woman had died of some European illness unknown in America and it had spread among the native peoples, creating the legend that Keep Island was cursed.
Whatever had happened, it had been a long time ago. The island had not brought ill luck to Serena or to Diana. The only one who was not happy on her wedding day was Paul Carstairs. He was in jail awaiting trial for the murders of Vernon Law, Frank Ennis, and Lucien Winthrop.
When Diana and Ben left the church, they were transported in a hired brougham to the Northcote mansion for the reception. The next hours passed with incredible swiftness. Diana renewed old acquaintances and met new ones, and through it all gave thanks that there were no explosions between members of her family. For once, everyone genuinely seemed to get along. She doubted the truce would last, but she was grateful for the respite.
“Where are you going on your wedding journey?” Horatio Foxe asked, red-faced and jovial after a liberal sampling of a bowl of punch to which “medicinal” brandy had been added.
“To England first,” Diana told him, “and then on to the Continent. Ben has research to do and so do I.”
“You’re really leaving me?”
“There is no shortage of journalists, and I have made my decision. I am going to write biographies of women, beginning with a distant family connection.” She reached out to Ben as he came up beside her, squeezing his hand. “Wish me luck, Horatio. I am going in search of an ancestor named Rosamond and the Elizabethan gentlewoman who raised her.”
A Note from the Author
Rosamond and the Elizabethan gentlewoman who raised her are, of course, Rosamond and Susanna Appleton from my sixteenth-century Face Down Mystery Series. This family connection, introduced in
Deadlier than the Pen
, seemed logical to me. My two sleuths have a great deal in common for all that they lived in very different centuries.
Many people were generous in helping me research this book. In particular I’d like to acknowledge Dana Cameron, archaeologist and mystery writer, Michele L. Brann of Reference Services at the Maine State Library, Linda Graf at the Islesboro Public Library, and Rowland (Bunny) Logan of the Islesboro Historical Society.
There is no real Keep Island, but all the other towns, cities, and islands are real. Similarly, the names of town, city, and county officials and local business people are taken from history wherever possible. If photographs or portraits were available, I’ve attempted to describe these individuals accurately. For those whose descriptions have not survived, I used a gentle application of poetic license. Any errors in presenting people or places on Islesborough (now spelled Islesboro), or in Bangor, Belfast, Bucksport, or Ellsworth, are mine.
The story of Henry Sinclair’s discovery of America is speculative history. It
could
have happened. The books and authors mentioned in the text are real, as are their arguments about whether or not the expedition really took place. The theory that Sinclair later sent colonists to the New World and that they ended up shipwrecked on Keep Island is my own invention.
The phases of the moon and times of high tide are as accurate as I could make them, thanks to the 1888
Farmer’s Almanac
. I have also tried to adhere to extant steamboat and railroad timetables, but in order to avoid stranding my characters halfway to their destination for hours, even days, I made up the
Miss Min
.
More information about the Diana Spaulding Mysteries, including a bibliography of all my sources, can be found at
www.kathylynnemerson.com
Books in the Diana Spaulding 1888 Quartet
Deadlier than the Pen
Fatal as a Fallen Woman
No Mortal Reason
Lethal Legend
Copyright 2008 by Kathy Lynn Emerson
Originally published by Pemberley Press [978-0977191352]
Electronically published by Belgrave House in 2012
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Francisco, CA 94117-4228
http://www.BelgraveHouse.com
This is a work of fiction. All names in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to any person living or dead is coincidental.