Page 35 of One Last Smile

She shrugs again. “After a lifetime of service, you develop the skill of being present but unseen.”

I control my excitement. We’re getting somewhere now. “You must have heard quite a bit of juicy gossip that way.”

She looks at me cautiously. “I’ve heard my share.”

“I can imagine. The lives these wealthy people lead.” I shake my head. “Well, I don’t want to sound envious, but to be able to run off to Madrid at the drop of a hat! If I had that sort of wealth, I’d surround myself with handsome men and have them wait on me hand and foot!”

“Really? You don’t strike me as that sort.”

“Well, I suppose not,” I admit, “but then, I’ve never had that chance. Perhaps if I had, I would be more adventurous.”

“Perhaps.”

I circle a little closer. “Although I suppose you lose the option of privacy in the case of wealth. It must have been horrible for the family when that girl disappeared and they were suspected of being involved.”

Hazel’s shoulders tense slightly. I’m getting closer, but I must be careful not to put her on her guard. “That was a trying time for all, yes.”

“It’s just awful what happened.” I shake my head. “That poor girl. To think she was walking home from a friend’s estate only to disappear. And don’t you think it’s odd that no sign of her was ever found?”

She chuckles, a touch of bitterness evident in her laugh. “I don’t find that odd at all.”

“But surely someone must know something.”

She scoffs again. “I’m sure that quite a few people know everything. But no one says anything.”

Time to make my move. “If only someone would. If I knew something, anything that could shed light on what happened to her, I would go to the police myself.”

She looks me directly in the eye, and I can see in her expression that I’ve triumphed. I brace myself for the revelation.

“You’re new to this life, Miss Mary. You haven’t yet learned your place. If you had, you would have politely declined these dinners and teas and walks and conversations and kept yourself separate from the vicissitudes of your employers. You’d have arrived to teach Lucas his schooling and disappeared the moment that schooling ended.”

I flinch slightly, taken aback by the vehemence of her speech. “I hope I haven’t offended you. I assure you, I don’t see myself as superior in any way.”

“That’s not what I mean. It’s not about being superior or inferior. It’s about having power or not having it. The Carltons have power. You don’t.”

I can’t quite stifle the reaction I have to that. “Well, that power shouldn’t give them the right to cover up a murder!”

“It shouldn’t,” she says, “but it does. I don’t know if Minnie was murdered. Probably she was, but if you were hoping that I stood in the shadows and heard one of the Carltons confess to the crime, then I’m afraid I must dash that hope.”

Heat climbs my cheeks. That was, in fact, exactly what I hoped.

“You are nothing to them, Mary. That’s not an insult, it’s a warning. If they so decide, you can disappear as surely as Minnie. You can be shipped overseas. You can be committed to a sanitarium on nothing more than the strength of their word.”

I shiver at that, and Hazel decides that she’s made her point. “It’s best to let them keep their secrets. I’ve learned to be where I’m needed without being seen. I’ve also learned not to listen for those secrets. If it makes you feel better at all, they’re far from the most evil of aristocrats. You know how the saying goes: ‘If these walls could talk…’ The walls of this manor would say far less than the walls of any number of other homes. But the world goes on in spite of it. You must let this go, Mary. Minerva Montclair’s death is tragic and offensive. It’s also not your problem.”

My disappointment with that statement must show in my face because she says, “I can see you’re not satisfied with that answer, and I don’t blame you. But don’t let your emotions fool you. You can’t help her. You can only hurt yourself.”

She stands and sets her empty cup on the service. “Thank you for the tea.”

She leaves me to ponder her warning, not the first I’ve received even this day. She’s right. Horace is right. Niall is right. They’re all right, but I can’t just let this go. Powerful or not, someone has to be brought to justice.

But I am a lone minnow in a sea of sharks. What can I possibly hope to do?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The house, it appears, is empty save for me and Hazel. I didn’t see Veronica leave with Horace, but I assume she’s gone to the charity. Oliver, Alistair, and Lucas aren’t home. I suppose Alistair has spirited them off to do something fun and irresponsible again. I really do need to get control of Lucas’s schooling. I’ve allowed myself to become distracted. That’s reasonable, of course, but if Lucas’s work starts to slip, it will make people wonder just what I’ve been up to.

I decide to take a walk outside on the grounds. I don’t admit to myself that I’m hoping to run into a certain someone, but deep down, I know exactly why I’m walking among the tall trees of the south woods.

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