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“Ma’am.” Havelock appeared lost for words. Then, he rallied. “Ma’am—you have nothing to fear from us. I—that is, we—have no intention of sharing Farleigh’s secret with anyone. We have been sworn to secrecy by the Duchess.”

Heather took a deep breath. “Have you?”

I knew that we had undertaken no such oath, but so acute was Heather’s fear that I nodded my agreement. “We have been paid handsomely for it, too,” I said.

“Oh,” said Heather, clearly relieved. “Well. Perhaps the Duchess is cleverer than I give her credit for. What you said is right enough, Mister Harper. We appear meek and worthless, so that we are overlooked by those who would destroy us. The Duchess’s correspondences make it so.”

“Your disagreement, then?” asked Havelock.

“The Duchess believes that there is value in retaining correspondence with the world beyond Farleigh. In continuing to trade fruit for coal, and allow the occasional visitor. I would have us cut off altogether. Our children would benefit. They could grow up beyond the Empire’s shadow.”

“Surely it’s not all bad?” I said.

Heather peered at me; at my dress coat. “What horrors have you seen, I wonder? Wars, and killings, and exploitations. There is no horror here, Major.”

There was a moment of quiet, in which I was sure that both Havelock and myself thought on our last terrible case. There were indeed horrors aplenty in the Empire. “And yet,” said Havelock, at last, “there has been violence here.”

“And I expect that it was an outsider, too. A man like yourselves, visiting us with murder in mind. Why don’t you speak to our priest? He’s new enough, and very much a man of the Empire.” Heather scowled. “Is that the end of your questions? I should like to get the children inside, with such terrible persons abroad.”

We watched Heather gather the children and take them into the schoolhouse. When they were gone, Havelock took a deep breath. “A difficult conversation,” he said.

“I’m only sorry that I showed them my sabre.”

“Nonsense. I love to see you practicing your forms, and so did the children. I’d wager that they are smarter than their ward imagines, too. Meekness is certainly one defence, but sometimes one must meet might with might, or risk being destroyed. An understanding and respect of war is useful, ultimately—as abhorrent as war is.”

I let myself relax. “Will all our interviews in Farleigh be so fraught?”

“So long as they are frank. It is only dishonesty that wearies me.”

“You think Heather was being honest, then?”

Havelock nodded. “I believe it likely.”

“Do you think it could have been a stranger to the village, then?”

“No. The felling of the Duke was too impassioned, too specific.”

“Their new priest, then?”

Havelock smoothed his moustache thoughtfully. “We should continue our investigation.”

The church’s spire was visible, rising from the forest’s canopy, making for an easy landmark to follow. This time, when we arrived, the pastor was not orating to the trees. Instead, the church grounds were quiet and empty. I tried the doors, but they were firmly locked, and there was no sound of movement from within.

The day was growing hot, and Havelock sat beneath the shadow of the spire on what might have once been a stone bench, fanning himself with his hat.

“A thought occurs,” he said.

I joined him—happy to have the opportunity to sit a while after our excursion through the forest. “You know how fond I am of your thoughts.”

“When last we saw Farleigh’s priest, he appeared to be practicing a sermon.”

“What of it?”

Havelock gestured at the forest. “What if he wasn’t practicing?”

The sun was high, making for deep shadows beneath the trees inhabiting the graveyard. I saw, in those shadows, the words in their branches.

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