“Never mind, Pippa,” Aunt Roz said.I nodded and went back to my supper.
ChapterSeven
We hadto give Shreve the news, of course, which we did after supper, while the others were gathered in the drawing room again.
“You have no idea who would have wanted to do away with her, do you?”I asked after Constance had imparted the news.“Did she mention anything about being afraid of anyone when you spoke to her?”
Shreve shook her head.“No, Miss Darling.She seemed more upset about me being there than about anyone else.”
That tracked with Morrison having left the Dower House because she was afraid, anyway.
“Did she ask you any questions about what had happened at the Dower House after she’d left?”
“She had heard about what happened to Lady Peckham and the young miss,” Shreve said, “and she asked if it was true that Master Gilbert was the one who had done for them both.”
She gave Constance an apologetic look.My friend’s jaw was tight, but she didn’t say anything.
“Anything else?”I inquired.“Did you tell her about Lady Laetitia’s betrothal to the Viscount St George, perhaps?Or about Cecily Fletcher and Lord Geoffrey’s stint in jail while waiting for the Assizes?”
Someone at the table made a noise that might almost have been a smothered laugh.I didn’t look up to see who it was.It wasn’t Shreve.In fact, the maid seemed appalled that I had brought it up.
Although she answered straight-forwardly enough when I pinned her with a look.“Yes, Miss Darling.I told her about Lady Laetitia and Lord St George.Not about Lord Geoffrey.”
“That was perhaps just as well.I suppose she conveyed her felicitations to Lady Laetitia on the catch.Err… match?”
“No,” Shreve said succinctly.Behind me, someone made that same noise again.I ignored it again.If someone was misbehaving, it would be up to Tidwell or Mrs.Mason to deal with, not me.
“Truly?That’s a shame.”I turned to Mrs.Mason.“You didn’t know Morrison when she worked for Lady Charlotte, did you, Mrs.Mason?”
The housekeeper shook her head.“I’m afraid not, Miss Darling.That was before my time here.”
“Yes, that’s what Aunt Roz thought.You’ve been here longer, haven’t you, Tidwell?Do you remember Morrison from back then?”
“Not well,” Tidwell said, with a glance at Mrs.Mason.“It’s been a long time, and we had Hughes for many years after that.”
Yes, of course they had had.“I assume someone told you what happened to Hughes?”
“The young lord,” Tidwell said; meaning Crispin, I assumed.“He had learned of it from Master Christopher, he said.”
I nodded.“Well, now Morrison’s dead, too.You can’t think of anyone who would want them both gone, can you?”
“No, Miss Darling.”Tidwell’s tone was dry.“I’m not in the habit of killing unsatisfactory staff.Especially not after they’ve left the family’s employ.”
No, of course not.“I wasn’t insinuating that you would do such a thing, Tidwell.Although… you said ‘unsatisfactory’?”
“Lady Charlotte seemed happy enough with Hughes’s help,” Tidwell said blandly, and let the rest of the sentence hang temptingly.
“You mean you liked Morrison better?”
“Not to say liked,” Tidwell demurred, “but I thought her a better maid than Hughes.”
I exchanged a glance with Constance.If Aunt Charlotte had given up the superior maid to Lady Peckham, the need to get Morrison out of Sutherland Hall must have been great.And that did make it sound as if the swap had been Aunt Charlotte’s wish, not Constance’s mother’s.If Aunt Charlotte had been doing Lady P the favor, surely she wouldn’t have allowed herself to end up with the worse maid in the doing of it?
“You wouldn’t happen to know whether Morrison was enceinte when she left,” I asked, “would you, Tidwell?”
He looked at me blankly.“Enceinte, Miss Darling?”
“Pregnant,” I said.“Up the duff.In the family way.Expecting.”
