Goodness, she certainly did not look like a killer just now.
More like someone painfully shy about meeting strangers.
Actually, someone scared.
Alex had her at the top of his list of suspects, so Tulip could not allow her to avoid the party.“You will love them all, especially my Uncle William and Aunt Perty.They are the kindest people you will ever meet.I’m sure they will be eager to know you better.From what I hear, your family was well liked.Aren’t you the least bit curious to meet your mother’s old friends?”
“No,” she said, visibly shaking.“I have worked here for over five years and purposely made no effort to make their acquaintance.Why should I do so now?”
And wasn’t that odd?
Did this not sound guilty?Why come here if not to ingratiate herself among her mother’s old friends?
Tulip sighed.“You can confide in me, Mrs.Granger.Why are you so afraid to join our dinner party?”
“I am not frightened…it’s just…” Her eyes began to well with tears.“Being with them will bring up unhappy memories.”
Tulip kept her hand gently over her housekeeper’s clenched fist, patting it to calm her.“What unhappy memories?Please tell me.I am a good listener and will keep anything you tell me confidential.”
“I cannot.You will tell your husband and then he will pry into my private affairs.He was London’s top investigator, so I’ve been told by Mr.Carver.”
“Yes, he was.No one was better at the job.”So, their genteel housekeeper had been asking questions about Alex.
Tulip supposed this was to be expected.
Everyone had to be curious about the new duke.
Perhaps this also meant she was reassessing her vengeance tactics because Alex was too sharp to approach with her usual ploys.This explained why the entire week had passed without incident beyond her possibly being drugged that first night.
Despite finding no hint of any opiate traces or poisons in her cocoa, Alex remained convinced she had been given something to knock her out.
Tulip believed she must have been, too.
But how was it done?
She had not eaten or imbibed anything after supper, only the cocoa, and Alex had found nothing harmful in it.
“Discharge me, if you must,” Mrs.Granger insisted, surging to her feet, “but I will not sit at your table.”
Tulip rose, as well.“I thought our invitation would please you, but it has left you obviously distraught.Who is it in this seating chart that you dread seeing?You must tell me, Mrs.Granger.I am not going to dismiss you until I hear the truth.What you are saying is nonsensical.Why come here in the first place if you had no interest in finding out more about your family’s past?And if there is some secret you wish to uncover, then let us do it together.His Grace and I will help you.We are not your enemies.”
Mrs.Granger stared at her for a long moment.“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh, I think I would.In fact, I am already convinced some very bad things went on when my husband was just a child and lived here.This is why his mother took him away.”
Tulip had assured Alex that she would not specifically mention Elspeth, but she had to say something to evoke a response from her housekeeper.“Answer me truthfully, Mrs.Granger.Something tragic happened in the past…was it connected to your family?Is this why you came to Thornwycke?To discover the truth about your aunt, Elspeth?Please, let us do it together.”
Mrs.Granger at first appeared stunned, and then her shoulders sagged.“You will not like what I am about to tell you,” she said, releasing a long, defeated breath.
“Perhaps not, but I will not punish you for telling me the truth.So many strange things went on in the past.Is it not time to put them out in the open?”
There was a long pause, and then Mrs.Granger sank back into her chair, defeated.“I did come here to learn about my family.It was all innocent, at first.Well, I was innocently unaware of the horrible goings on here.I mean about the ladies the old duke had wandering about the place, and the debaucheries that went on nightly.All of the Davenport men were involved, all of them scoundrels and wastrels.Suddenly, I felt trapped.”
Tulip gasped.“Did anything happen against your will?”
“To me?No, nothing like that.Why would they bother with me when there were plenty of beautiful ladies sponging off the duke’s largesse and prancing around the grounds scantily clad?None of them were ever held against their will, as far as I am aware.They had no qualms about engaging in intimacies with the Davenport men in exchange for expensive gifts and the chance of living in luxury.”
“I see.”
