Mrs. Gardiner squared her shoulders. “Go, Betty.”
“But—”
“Get back to work.” Mrs. Gardiner waited until Betty’s footsteps had receded. “What do you want, Mr. Armitage?”
“I want to know where Lord Wrexham was on the afternoon of Monday thefifteenth.”
She crossed her arms beneath her considerable bosom. “That’s none of your business.”
Mr. Armitage pulled out some coins from his pocket.
“Put that away,” she growled. “Neither me nor my girls are willing to jeopardize their position for a few bob.” She thrust out her chin. “You’re not really from the theater, are you?”
Mr. Armitage pocketed the coins. “We’re private detectives, commissioned by a friend of Miss Westwood’s to make inquiries into her death.”
“What has that got to do with this house?”
“I think you already know.”
She stared at him, unblinking. “No,” she finally said.
“Miss Westwood was a particular friend of his lordship.”
The muscles in her jaw bunched and her glare sharpened. There was no surprise in her reaction, however.
“Miss Westwood might not have killed herself,” he went on. “If there’s a chance she was murdered, we should find out who did it. She deserves that, at least.”
“Does she?” she spat.
Mr. Armitage’s charm was working as well as mine had on the coachman. It wouldn’t hurt if I cut in. This encounter couldn’t deteriorate further than it already had.
“We know Lord Wrexham cared for her,” I said. “I saw him at the funeral. He was upset.”
She grabbed the edge of the door. “You people disgust me,” she hissed. “Raking up all this filth when it should be left in the gutter where it belongs. You should be ashamed of yourselves.” She slammed the door in our faces.
I stepped back. “I was about to commend you for your acting skills until the housekeeper came along.”
“As disappointing as it was, it’s nice to see loyalty still exists. Hopefully the footman can tell us something of use later.”
“We did learn something from that exchange,” I said as we headed back the way we’d come. “The housekeeper clearly knew about Pearl’s relationship with Wrexham but the maid didn’t.”
“So the relationship definitely ended more than eleven months ago, the length of time the maid has worked forWrexham,” he finished. “But why murder hernow? Surely if he was wracked by jealousy, he’d have acted when the relationship finished.”
“According to Mr. Culpepper from the theater, Pearl was with Rumford, and only Rumford, for two years, so her relationship with Wrexham must have ended before that.”
It must have been nostalgia that made Lord Wrexham attend Pearl’s funeral. Just because they hadn’t been together for some years didn’t mean he wouldn’t want to pay his respects.
We parted ways outside the hotel with a promise to meet again later. I greeted Frank as he opened the door for me, and I waved to Peter, handed the umbrella to Goliath, and headed for the lift. The door slid open the moment I pressed the button and Flossy and Aunt Lilian stepped out.
“There you are, Cleo,” Aunt Lilian said breezily. “I’m so glad we found you. You must join us for luncheon in the dining room. You won’t be needing your coat in there.” She signaled to Goliath who strode over.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Take Cleo’s coat.” She assisted me to remove it then handed it to Goliath.
He folded it over his arm and carried it to the luggage room.
“I’m delighted to have lunch with you both,” I said. “Isn’t it a little early?” According to the clock on the wall behind Peter, it wasn’t yet midday.
