“How did you tumble to it being Mr. Earnshaw who killed Mr. Montgomery?” Juliette asked.

The door to the kitchen passage opened, and a footman came in with a laden breakfast tray. He set a plate before each of them before retiring. As he reached the door, Sir Bertrand said, “Please don’t disturb us until we ring. And thank Cook for us. This looks splendid.”

Daniel waited until they were alone before answering Juliette. “It was the entry in the journal that held several clues, all pointing to one man.” He dug out his notebook and consulted it.

“One day, Montgomery wrote, ‘Must look into the matter. Something is off. After all I’ve done, can this betrayal be true? I shall have to take care. I wouldn’t want to be wrong.’ And on the next day, the day before his murder, he entered this: ‘I cannot trust him. His perfidy is the ultimate betrayal. A trusted friend. How could he have done this to me? I made him the man he is, hiring him right out of his apprenticeship and giving him full access. I couldn’t believe it at first, and I still find it difficult to swallow. How many thousands has he stolen? I shall have to confront him tomorrow.’

“Montgomery had been betrayed by a trusted friend. The man had been employed by Montgomery for a considerable length of time. The man had been apprenticed in whatever capacity he now held a position in, and Montgomery planned to confront him on the day he died. Who had an appointment with Montgomery on the day he died? Not Carlisle, because he showed up unannounced. Only Earnshaw had a scheduled appointment.” Daniel bit into a triangle of toasted bread.

“You rescued him from the walkway over the waterwheel after the explosion.” Sir Bertrand poked at the soft-boiled egg on his plate, grimaced, and pushed the whole breakfast away.

Was his arm hurting too much, or had the surgeon given him something for the pain that made his stomach delicate?

“Yes. Earnshaw confessed this morning that he went to the mill, and Montgomery confronted him about stealing the profits not only from the mill but from several other businesses as well. Earnshaw had been keeping two separate sets of books for the Montgomery finances and skimming and dipping for years. Their argument took place while the mill was in full operation, and the noise was deafening. Earnshaw was certain no one could have overheard them, except perhaps Mr. Coombe, the mill manager. As unlikely as this was with all the noise, Earnshaw couldn’t take the chance.”

Juliette shook her head. “I still am unclear on the sequence of events that led up to and immediately followed Mr. Montgomery’s death.”