Rose McQuinn 7 - Deadly Legacy Read Online Free Page B
Author: Alanna Knight
well. If you have any problems, then you can consult your own physician when you return home. Meanwhile I will make us a restoring cup of tea before you continue your journey - in safety this time.'
Dr Everson placed the cup of tea before me and proffered milk and sugar, which I declined. The first sip and the mists of confusion began to clear.
'I was perfectly fit until I boarded that train for Perth. But I have not the slightest idea why I required fresh air, opened the door, and fell out of the train.'
Now as I said the words, the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together. Those last moments - the maid Hinton's strong arm around me, my cries for help unheeded ... and the thought came sharp as a knife: did I fall or was I pushed?
'Your questions intrigue me, Doctor. Is there some point to them? Do I look as if I might be an opium addict?'
He smiled. 'Far from it, Mrs McQuinn, but many ladies take laudanum for relief from pain - our late Queen set a lamentable fashion.' He shook his head. 'As I lifted you, it was not opium or laudanum I detected on your breath but a substance much more dangerous.'
And as I raised the cup again to my lips, I thought of that other time in Waverley station. Hinton with the two cups of tea.
'Then I know the answer to your question, Doctor. I was travelling with a woman who tried to rob me.' I told him about the refreshments and he said firmly, 'It is obvious that she put something in the tea to drug you, and when it took effect, she pushed you off the train. What did she steal?'
'Nothing. I felt uneasy about her from the outset of the journey, her insistence that she should carry my bag I found rather odd.' And I told him of how I had taken the precaution of removing the package from the satchel in the ladies' lavatory at the station.
'I have the packages she wanted safe here,' I added, indicating the large pockets of my skirt, an invaluable necessity for the convenience of a lady cyclist, but I omitted any mention of the derringer I also carried which I had had no opportunity to use.
Dr Everson listened, his expression grave. 'This is a very serious matter, Mrs McQuinn. Attempted robbery and assault. A matter for the police for immediate investigation.'
He sat back and looked at me. 'This woman is a dangerous criminal. She tried to kill you. You must inform the police. At once,' he repeated.
'I shall do so when I get home, Doctor. My husband' - how odd the word sounded - 'is a detective inspector with Edinburgh City Police.'
The doctor gave a sigh of relief. 'Then he will know what to do, although I fear by the time you get back to Edinburgh it will be too late to catch this woman. She almost got away with murder.'
And that was all she got away with, I thought triumphantly, imagining her anger when she opened the satchel and discovered the small doll, intended for Meg's birthday, which I had substituted in the ladies' lavatory for the sealed package.
I was considering continuing my journey to Lochandor, but on my feet again, I realised that I was still severely shaken.
A glance in the mirror produced a very dishevelled image; in general I looked awful, with dusty clothes and wild hair, never easy to control at the best of times, clearly sending a message to all the world that I had been pulled through a hedge backwards. Which, in fact, was not far from the truth.
I had tried to restore equilibrium. The doctor had provided soap, a towel and a clothes brush, but when I reappeared he would not hear of my plan to continue my journey, insisting that doctor's orders were that I return to Edinburgh immediately and inform my husband of the attack made on me and allow him to begin investigations for my attacker's capture.
I had to agree with him. Even disregarding my appearance sorely in need of repairs, I did not feel like going to Perth, making my way to an unknown destination alone and travelling on to look for Meg in her new home.
I had to feel stronger than I did at this moment,
Dr Everson placed the cup of tea before me and proffered milk and sugar, which I declined. The first sip and the mists of confusion began to clear.
'I was perfectly fit until I boarded that train for Perth. But I have not the slightest idea why I required fresh air, opened the door, and fell out of the train.'
Now as I said the words, the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together. Those last moments - the maid Hinton's strong arm around me, my cries for help unheeded ... and the thought came sharp as a knife: did I fall or was I pushed?
'Your questions intrigue me, Doctor. Is there some point to them? Do I look as if I might be an opium addict?'
He smiled. 'Far from it, Mrs McQuinn, but many ladies take laudanum for relief from pain - our late Queen set a lamentable fashion.' He shook his head. 'As I lifted you, it was not opium or laudanum I detected on your breath but a substance much more dangerous.'
And as I raised the cup again to my lips, I thought of that other time in Waverley station. Hinton with the two cups of tea.
'Then I know the answer to your question, Doctor. I was travelling with a woman who tried to rob me.' I told him about the refreshments and he said firmly, 'It is obvious that she put something in the tea to drug you, and when it took effect, she pushed you off the train. What did she steal?'
'Nothing. I felt uneasy about her from the outset of the journey, her insistence that she should carry my bag I found rather odd.' And I told him of how I had taken the precaution of removing the package from the satchel in the ladies' lavatory at the station.
'I have the packages she wanted safe here,' I added, indicating the large pockets of my skirt, an invaluable necessity for the convenience of a lady cyclist, but I omitted any mention of the derringer I also carried which I had had no opportunity to use.
Dr Everson listened, his expression grave. 'This is a very serious matter, Mrs McQuinn. Attempted robbery and assault. A matter for the police for immediate investigation.'
He sat back and looked at me. 'This woman is a dangerous criminal. She tried to kill you. You must inform the police. At once,' he repeated.
'I shall do so when I get home, Doctor. My husband' - how odd the word sounded - 'is a detective inspector with Edinburgh City Police.'
The doctor gave a sigh of relief. 'Then he will know what to do, although I fear by the time you get back to Edinburgh it will be too late to catch this woman. She almost got away with murder.'
And that was all she got away with, I thought triumphantly, imagining her anger when she opened the satchel and discovered the small doll, intended for Meg's birthday, which I had substituted in the ladies' lavatory for the sealed package.
I was considering continuing my journey to Lochandor, but on my feet again, I realised that I was still severely shaken.
A glance in the mirror produced a very dishevelled image; in general I looked awful, with dusty clothes and wild hair, never easy to control at the best of times, clearly sending a message to all the world that I had been pulled through a hedge backwards. Which, in fact, was not far from the truth.
I had tried to restore equilibrium. The doctor had provided soap, a towel and a clothes brush, but when I reappeared he would not hear of my plan to continue my journey, insisting that doctor's orders were that I return to Edinburgh immediately and inform my husband of the attack made on me and allow him to begin investigations for my attacker's capture.
I had to agree with him. Even disregarding my appearance sorely in need of repairs, I did not feel like going to Perth, making my way to an unknown destination alone and travelling on to look for Meg in her new home.
I had to feel stronger than I did at this moment,
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