Even after two months, emotion ties a knot in my throat. Tears are always close at hand for me these days. “I miss her, but I’m all right. ’Tis good to keep busy.”
“That’s true. Busy hands are good for the mind.” She tilts her head, observing me. “Tea?”
“That sounds grand. Thank you,” I say.
She gestures toward a chair, so I sit. I feel my bones settle onto it, taking their rest. As she coaxes the water to a boil, I stew over what needs saying. The kettle sings before I’m ready, and a steaming cup lands before me. Mrs. Evans sits back in her own chair, waiting for me to speak.
“I need to tell you a thing,” I say in a tiny voice, “and you’ll be vexed, I’ve no doubt of it. I’m awful sorry, but it weighs too heavy on me to keep it from you.”
“This sounds serious.”
“You know I do not gossip about our guests, and I never snoop.”
“I know that, yes.”
I take a deep breath. “The truth of it is, I have broken that rule, and more than once.”
A frown sharpens her expression. This can only get worse from here. The only way to go is forward, before my courage deserts me.
“?’Tis…’tis Mr. Carboni, ma’am. I’ve seen a thing or two I must tell you about.”
She covers her mouth.
I’ll tell you, my chest is so tight from holding in all these secrets, ’tis like I’m in a corset. I am afraid of what I’ve seen, and I’m awful disappointed in myself for letting Mrs. Evans down. I take a quick sip of tea, hoping it will help settle my stomach.
“Of all the guests, Miss Ryan, you should not be prying into Mr. Carboni’s things. I have warned you before to stay away from him.”
“Yes, ma’am, and I’ve been doing my best, so I have. ’Tis only he… seems unwilling to stay away from me. But you see, I need to tell you what I found in his room. In his nightstand.”
“Miss Ryan!”
I drop my chin. “I am aware I should not be opening drawers, but someone had spilled water into it the first time, so—”
“Thefirsttime? Good heavens!”
“Yes, ma’am. Then, well, I had to dry the spill, so I opened the drawer, and sure, I came on a gun. It frightened me terribly. I told Damien, and he told me, as you do, to keep my distance from Mr. Carboni.”
She frowns. “I hope he is avoiding him as well.”
I don’t answer, because I know Damien is still working for him. I stopped begging him to be careful. I must trust that he knows what he’s doing.
“I did not tell you about the gun because I feared you’d be cross with me, and also because a man’s pistol is his own affair, isn’t it? But today ’twas gone. Instead, there was a notebook. I, the fool that I am, well, I took it and had a read.”
Mrs. Evans has gone a little pale.
“I don’t know what came over me.”
“Go on.”
“I think it could be Mr. Carboni’s own diary. There’s lists of money, of things he must do, and there’s people’s names.” I swallow. “I’ll tell you, I was so frightened, half of the words blurred, but I did see you were on the list, Mrs. Evans. He wrote ‘interference’ by your name, and he said he would be filing a grievance against you. That’s why I’ve come to you.”
I don’t tell her my Damien’s on the list as well. And maybe Bianca soon enough.
“Is that right.” It’s not a question.
“Also, I found a key inside the back cover. A small brass one with no markings at all. I couldn’t see what it might fit. I put it back in the book, though.”
“And the book itself? What did you do with the book?”
