“Nellie mentioned Dominic Rivers,” I said, “and of course you know about St George. I don’t know if there was anyone else.”
“But there might have been?”
“I was with Constance in her room,” I said. “One floor down. Cecily could have entertained multitudes up here for what I know about it. Rivers and the Honorable Reggie shared the room across the hall. We know she spoke to Rivers, but there is no reason why Reggie couldn’t have stopped by her bedchamber, as well. I know Olivia said he didn’t, but she might be wrong.”
Aunt Roz nodded.
“Or Geoffrey might have done, for that matter. He might have walked Violet to her door, and then popped in next door. And of course Wolfgang was directly across the hall for all of it.”
“I’m sure you’re not suggesting that theGrafvon Natterdorff is involved, Pippa.”
I shook my head. “No, of course not. He doesn’t know any of these people. Of all the men here, he’s surely the least likely to be responsible for Cecily’s baby.”
Or perhaps not strictly the least likely. Christopher was at the top of that list. He doesn’t like women in general. Francis was in second place, because he wouldn’t cheat on Constance, and this must have happened in the time since he met her.
I supposed Bilge Fortescue might be in third place, seeing as he was married. Then again, marriage isn’t necessarily an impediment to dallying, so perhaps Crispin was in third place and Bilge in fourth. Dominic Rivers in fifth, seeing as he was dead. Although he hadn’t been dead when Cecily became with child, so perhaps I shouldn’t discount him…
“Tea should be ready soon,” Aunt Roz said, derailing my train of thought. “Shall we?”
She pushed to her feet and headed for the door. I slid off the edge of the bed and followed. “We might as well. I had no appetite for lunch—not after everything that happened this morning, and… Oh, hello, Nellie.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Darling.”
We had reached the landing, and Nellie was on her way across the carpet with a vase of peacock feathers between her hands, obviously a replacement for the one that had been broken over Dominic Rivers’s head.
“That looks nice,” I said, and Nellie bobbed.
“Thank you, Miss Darling.”
“It was good of you to replace the vase for the feathers. The alcove looked a bit bare without anything on the plinth.”
“Yes, Miss Darling.” She moved past us, and we both pivoted to keep her in sight.
“This is my aunt, Lady Herbert Astley,” I said. “This is Nellie, Aunt Roz. She might be the one to take care of your room.”
Nellie did a quick dip at the knees. “Lady Herbert.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Nellie,” Aunt Roz said kindly. “Lord Herbert—my husband—and the Duke of Sutherland have also arrived downstairs.”
“Yes, Lady Herbert.” Nellie ducked into the alcove, still clutching the new vase in both hands.
“A minute of your time, Nellie?” Constable Collins’s voice said from the other side of the hallway, and we all turned back in the other direction to look at him. He had opened the door to Dominic Rivers’s room soundlessly, and now he was standing in the open doorway watching as Nellie placed the vase carefully on the plinth, then reached out to adjust it minutely. Behind Collins, I could catch a glimpse of the sole of one of Dom’s shoes.
“Yes, Constable?” Nellie gave him a look from under her lashes. They were long and curled, and her face was lovely, and I didn’t blame Collins at all for the flush that stained his cheekbones.
He cleared his throat self-consciously. “Is it your job to take care of the rooms up here, Nellie?”
“The bedchambers,” Nellie said, “yes. The hallway is properly Jenny’s job—she’s the parlor maid—but I often end up doing it, since I’m the one who works up here. Edna takes care of the family’s bedchambers on the first floor.”
“That’s a lot of work for one maid,” I said, “isn’t it?”
Nellie flicked a look at me. “It’s only a problem when there are a lot of guests, Miss. Usually, when it’s only the family and perhaps Lord St George visiting, Edna does Lord Maurice’s and Lady Euphemia’s suite, along with Miss Laetitia’s bedchamber, and I take over the two gentlemen’s rooms. It makes it a bit easier. Up here, there’s just some light dusting to do when no one’s staying over.”
That made me feel a little bit better, at any rate. I will admit that I had to hide a smirk at the assertion that she took over the care of Geoffrey’s and Crispin’s rooms from the missing Edna, though. No doubt this pretty young girl enjoyed taking care of the titled young gentlemen, both of whom no doubt appreciated both her attention and her good looks.
“So you’re familiar with the vase that was in the alcove,” Collins said, breaking into my cogitation.
Nellie nodded. “Of course I am. Dust it every week, don’t I?”
