Sam Oldson snatched the hat from his head, baring a wild nest of black hair. “Ma’am. I didn’t see you there at first.” He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up even more, and looked helplessly at the cottage. “My woman’s not home. Visiting her mum she is, otherwise she’d be out here offering you a drink and a bite to eat.”

“That’s quite all right, Mr. Oldson. We did arrive unexpectedly, I know.” She smiled at the man.

Harry cleared his throat. “This is Lady Georgina Maitland from Woldsly.” He thought it best not to introduce himself, though Sam was no fool. Already he was beginning to scowl. “We’ve come to ask you about the sheep you lost. The ones that were poisoned. Did you find them yourself?”

“Aye.” Sam spat into the dust at his feet, and the terrier cringed at his tone. “A little over a fortnight ago, it were. I’d sent my lad to bring them in and he come running back quick. Said I’d better come see myself. There they were, three of my best ewes, rolled on their sides with tongues sticking out and bits of green leaves still in their mouths.”

“Do you know what they’d eaten?” Harry asked.

“False parsley.” Sam’s face turned purple. “Some son of a bitch had cut down false parsley and fed it to my sheep. And I says to my lad, I says, when I get my hands on the villain that’s killed my sheep, he’ll wish he’d never been born, he will.”

Time to go. Harry grabbed Lady Georgina around the waist and threw her up onto the carriage seat. She squealed.

“Thank you.” He walked swiftly around the front of the carriage, keeping an eye on Sam Oldson. The dog had begun to growl again.

“Here now, why’re you asking questions?” Sam started toward them.

The dog lunged and Harry bound into the carriage and caught up the reins. “Good day, Sam.”

He turned the horse’s head and slapped it into a trot down the track. Behind them, Sam made a reply not fit for a lady’s ears. Harry winced and glanced at Lady Georgina, but she was looking thoughtful rather than outraged. Maybe she hadn’t understood the words?

“What is false parsley?” she asked.

“It’s a weed that grows in wet places, my lady. About the height of a man with little white flowers at the top. It looks something like parsley or wild carrots.”

“I’ve never heard of it before.” Lady Georgina’s brows were knit.

“You probably know it by its other name,” Harry said. “Hemlock.”

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

“Do you know that when I first met you I didn’t like you?” Lady Georgina asked idly as the old gig jolted over a hole in the road.