Sowing Poison by Janet Kellough Read Free Book Online Page A

the storm the temperature had risen. The sun would wear a lot of it away by the end of the day, but in the meantime the water collecting on the ice surface promised to make the footing even more slippery.
    Lewis busied himself with the morning chores and was just sweeping out the kitchen when he heard the bell at the front door. Surprised at anyone venturing out on such a day, he went to see who it was. It was Mrs. Sprung, this time without her sister. He waved her up the stairs and shook his head at the notion of anyone venturing out on such an unnecessary errand when good sense dictated staying safely at home.
    â€œWe used the last of the bread for breakfast, didn’t we?” Susannah said to him as he returned to the kitchen.
    â€œI wish I’d known sooner,” Lewis said. “I could have stopped at the bakery when I was out. I’ll go now, if you like.” He was a little annoyed at the prospect of having to make a second trip down the slippery street, but he supposed it was more interesting than sweeping.
    Susannah must have the heard the annoyance in his voice. “No, no, I’ll go now that the dishes are done,” she said. “There’s plenty of time before I have to start dinner.”
    Lewis finished tidying up the kitchen and swept both the stairs and the second-floor hall, and when he realized that Susannah had not come back yet, he returned to the kitchen and started to peel the potatoes for the noontime meal. There was still no sign of his sister by the time he’d started them boiling. Come to think of it, he had no idea where Daniel had got to either. He was beginning to notice that his brother-in-law seemed able to disappear for long stretches of time, but where he went and what he did were a mystery. It was nearly eleven o’clock, and soon the Elliotts and Mr. Gilmour would be descending the stairs in expectation of their dinner. Lewis needed to return home to check on Betsy, but he didn’t want to leave his sister to cook and serve at the same time.
    At last, the bell at the front door sounded and Lewis assumed it was the tardy Susannah. After a few moments, when she had not appeared in the kitchen, he went into the hall to discover that his sister had, indeed, returned, but not in a state he expected. She was being carried on a door by the baker and Mr. Scully, and her left leg was tied firmly down to it with a couple of belts.
    â€œSomeone’s gone for the doctor,” Scully reported. “We thought it best to get her in out of the cold.”
    â€œI’m so sorry, Thaddeus.” Susannah smiled weakly. “One of those icicles came crashing down from a roof and I jumped to avoid it. Unfortunately, I jumped right onto a stretch of half-melted ice, and I went down hard.”
    It was obvious from the strange angle of her boot that the leg was broken, and that the doctor would need to set it, for it was unlikely to be a simple fracture. Her lips were set in a taut line against the pain and her face had lost all colour.
    â€œSusannah!” Daniel had finally returned from wherever he had been and was standing in the kitchen doorway, aghast at the sight of his injured wife. “Bring her through here,” he said, directing the door carriers to the downstairs room at the back of the hotel.
    They set the door down on top of the bed and left Susannah strapped to it. If they tried to move her, they could well do more damage to the injured leg. Besides, there was no point in putting her to bed just yet, for who knew what the doctor would need to do — a wooden door was easier to wash if it proved to be a bloody affair. In the meantime, Lewis could hear footsteps on the stairs and he knew that Mrs. Elliott’s morning session was at an end. She and the boy would be heading for the dining room shortly.
    Daniel turned to Lewis. “Do you think you could finish dinner?” he asked.
    â€œProbably not. It’s only half-ready,”