She frowned.“Why are you suddenly so reluctant?”
“I’m not.What I am is methodical.I cannot go out there and hurl cannonballs when the coroner, the magistrate, and even the newspaper reports all indicate the deaths were accidental.I am sorry we hit a dead end with those old newspapers.”
“Yes, me too.If only they had gone back more than fifteen years.”
He grunted.“We’ll figure out what happened to Elspeth eventually.Her death will not always remain a mystery.”
She took his arm as they walked downstairs to have their breakfast.“I like that we are spending so much time together, but I think you are purposely keeping me close and it has nothing to do with your being enamored of me.We’ll never draw the killer out if we are attached at the hip.”
He paused and held her back as they were about to enter the dining room.“I am trying to be a good husband and spend time with my wife, especially since I feel badly that we haven’t taken a proper honeymoon.”
“Oh, Alex.It wasn’t a proper courtship or wedding, either.But we are married now and I am rather enjoying being your wife.”
He chuckled.“I’m liking it, too.Are you meeting with Mrs.Granger this morning?”
She nodded.“Yes, as always.Right after breakfast.”
“I’ll join you.”
“Fine,” she said with a sigh, “but you ought to go away soon afterward and leave me to talk to her alone.She will never open up to me if you are always hovering close by.I can do this, Alex.Trust me.”
“Stop, Tulip.”She could see the worry in his eyes as he said, “I have every faith in you.It is Mrs.Granger that concerns me.I do not trust her.”
“I’ll be sitting with her in the ladies parlor and that is within earshot of the formal dining room where a half dozen maids and butlers will be working to polish the silver and set up the dinner table for tonight’s party.If your gut is telling you that she is somehow involved in the deaths of your predecessors, then let me see what information I can coax out of her.She won’t be on her guard around me.I expect she believes I am naive and stupid.”
He arched an eyebrow.“You?Yes, you are naive but never stupid.In fact, your mind is surprisingly sharp.I…”
She cast him a smug smile.“Yes, sharp enough to get her to reveal something about her past and possibly about her feelings for your immediate predecessors.”
Alex had been going around quietly questioning everyone who had served in the household during his grandfather’s day, but he could only get so far with them because they considered him a stranger and he wastheduke.
He was very smooth about asking his questions, but he could not dig as deeply as he wished without giving his purpose away.
She, on the other hand, was known in the area and her family was very well liked.If anyone was to open up and gossip or confess some secret, it would be to her.
For the past week, Alex had made a point of sitting with her and Mrs.Granger while they reviewed the household accounts, went over the weekly menu, and other matters related to the running of the household that traditionally were in the sole the domain of the mistress of the house.
Mrs.Granger found this quite irritating, although she never openly expressed her displeasure.It irritated Tulip, as well.She and Mrs.Granger had real work to do in preparation for this evening’s dinner party.But it was also clear that Mrs.Granger would never confide in her while her duke of a husband was lurking close by.
“Do you have any specific questions for me to ask Mrs.Granger?”Tulip asked before leaving her husband’s side after they’d finished their meal.
“No, I mean it, Tulip.She will immediately become suspicious if you mention Elspeth.”He sighed.“If you must, then pretend to be curious about my grandfather and the other Davenport dukes, but only because you wish to get a better sense of my life growing up as a child here.That ought to be safe enough.”
“I can do that.”Tulip would be working very closely with her housekeeper all morning long because this was to be the first party held by her and Alex, and Mrs.Granger knew that she wanted it to be perfect.
Alex had suggested inviting not only Tulip’s relatives but a few of her friends, as well.On the surface, it seemed a generous gesture to bring together friends and family in celebration of their marriage and settling in at Thornwycke.
But it was also a convenient and not so obvious way to pump information out of others who knew Elspeth and might have something new to reveal.
Although Alex refused to openly admit it, Tulip knew this was his primary purpose in hosting this party.
She also knew he considered Mrs.Granger his main suspect in the deaths of his predecessors and Mr.Carver’s daughter, Martha.
Well, she thought this was what Alex felt.
She could not know for certain because Alex kept his suspicions to himself.
At the very least, he had to feel their housekeeper was the key to solving these possible murders because of her connection to Elspeth, her access as housekeeper to everything in the house, and her cleverness.
