Murder in the Secret Garden Read Online Free Page A

zeal. She didn’t seem to care a whit about the person who’d been poisoned. In another clip, she discussed her tendency to travel with at least a dozen deadly plants in her possession.
    â€œIt’s not enough to show someone a slide of a plant,” the Poison Princess said. Her confident tone held a hint ofcondescension, but she was undeniably captivating. “Consider the difference between seeing a photograph of a cobra and having a cobra on the ground at your feet. The difference is significant.” Constance gave a little laugh and Jane shuddered at the analogy. Was Constance Meredith a fan of all biological organisms that produced toxins, poisons, or venom?
    â€œPlants are living things,” Constance continued. “I endeavor to give my audience an appreciation of their beauty, scent, and power.”
    â€œOh boy,” Jane muttered. She exited the website, pushed back her desk chair, and flung open her office door. It was her intention to march straight into the Henry James Library and ask Sinclair for a copy of the background check he’d run on Constance Meredith. The head librarian would have paperwork waiting for Jane’s perusal on all The Medieval Herbalists, but she couldn’t enter a public space in dirty jeans and a soiled T-shirt emblazoned with BOOK LOVERS NEVE R GO TO BED ALONE .
    At home, Jane discovered a note on the kitchen counter. The brief missive informed her that the twins had gone fishing with Uncle Aloysius.
    Jane smiled at the picture of the fish in the note’s margin. She loved it when Fitz and Hem spent time with her great-uncle, for he always entertained them with tales from his boyhood. Having never known a father, seeing as theirs died in a car accident before they were born, Fitz and Hem looked on Uncle Aloysius as their model of what it was to be a man. A Southern gentleman of impeccable principles and a kindly demeanor, Jane couldn’t have asked for a better example. Of course, there was no shortage of gentlemen tutors at Storyton Hall. Butterworth, Sinclair, and Lachlan also contributed to the twins’ upbringing, and Jane counted herself lucky that her sons were surrounded by father figures who not only cared for them, but were also willing to lay down their lives for them.
    Jane showered and changed into a navy blue sundress. She pinned her strawberry blond curls into a loose twist and then returned to the manor house. Having expected the boys to be long gone, she was surprised to hear Fitz’s voice echo down the lobby. This was followed by a shrill shout by Hem. Jane sighed in annoyance. The twins were breaking two rules. They weren’t to loiter in public areas without permission, and when they did visit these areas, they were supposed to speak in hushed tones.
    â€œUse your Sunday school voices,” Jane had told them. Now she couldn’t help wondering if they were behaving during Sunday school.
    Fitz caught sight of Jane and, clearly hoping to reach her before Hem, sprinted to her side. “Mom! Guess what?”
    â€œWould
you
like to guess how many rules you’ve broken?” Jane asked in reply, her eyes steely with disapproval.
    Fitz deflated. “Uncle Aloysius said we could come to the front to meet Mr. Hughes. He gave us free tickets to the rubber duck race!”
    â€œLower your voice, Fitzgerald,” Jane admonished sharply. “And I do
not
want to see you run in this lobby again or you’ll be sitting in your room instead of watching the duck race, do you hear me?”
    Chastised, Fitz nodded. “I’m sorry. I was just really excited because I saved my allowance to buy a ticket, so now I can pick
two
ducks. Hem can too.”
    Jane glanced down at her son. A few seconds ago, his face had been shining with happiness. The light had dimmed a little, but it was still there. Despite his transgressions, Jane realized that she’d rather see the gleam in his eye than have him be contrite.