Page 36 of Death at Fournier Downs
“Fetch Mrs. Banks,” her mother instructed the footman waiting by the door. No sooner had the servant disappeared on his task to find the housekeeper than Gregson, the butler, replaced him.
“My lord, my lady, Dr. Wilkes and Officer Marsden to see you.”
Audrey sighed lightly. They had arrived earlier than expected. Within moments the two men entered the drawing room. While the coroner eyed Audrey with mild surprise, Hugh only pursed his lips and fought the apparent urge to groan.
“Your Grace,” Dr. Wilkes said, directing a short bow toward her. Only then did he greet the baron and baroness, a propriety that undoubtedly pricked at both her uncle and mother. While they had schemed to have Millie and Audrey marry higher in society, and Millie’s marriage to a viscount was something to be lauded, Audrey’s ascension to duchess had seemed to have the adverse effect. Her standing in society was now much higher than theirs, and they acted as if it was an insult.
“I take it you are here to discuss the body my niece has just informed us about?” the baron said by way of greeting.
The coroner and Hugh remained standing. “Indeed, my lord. It is a possibility the deceased was a maid in your employ,” Dr. Wilkes said.
The baroness wrung her hands. “This is vexing. Very vexing. I’ve sent for my housekeeper. Mrs. Banks will tell us if a maid is missing.”
“Where was she found on Fournier’s land?” the baron asked.
“The woods,” Hugh answered, his vague answer seemingly deliberate. It was not a satisfactory answer for the baron.
“He’s got thousands of acres, my man. Where specifically? And how was she found?”
Uneasy silence descended. Neither the coroner nor Hugh seemed to want to announce Audrey’s involvement, and she was certain it was because of Hugh’s warning the evening before. Any gossip that she might have seen the killer would travel like flame on parched grass.
Thankfully, Mrs. Banks arrived just then, breathing heavily, her cheeks reddened from hastening to the drawing room.
“My lady?” she said with a bob. A maid bearing the tea service entered on the housekeeper’s heels.
“Are any staff missing this morning, Mrs. Banks?” the baroness asked as the maid attempted to deliver the tray. Audrey’s mother waved the maid aside, and the girl went still, tray in hand.
“Yes, my lady,” the housekeeper said, her heavy brow lifting in surprise. “Ida Smith. She was absent from her duties last night in the kitchen and is still missing this morn.” She looked askance at the coroner and Hugh. “Is Ida in some sort of trouble?”
Ida Smith.Audrey frowned. Having a name to associate with the poor woman gave her death a solemn finality.
Hugh addressed the housekeeper’s question. “We’ll need someone to come to Fournier House to confirm her identity, but I’m afraid Miss Smith has met a violent end.”
Mrs. Banks gasped and covered her lips. The tea tray in the maid’s hands shook and rattled, and the girl clumsily set the whole thing down onto the table with a clatter.
The baroness yelped. “Annie, my goodness!”
“I’m sorry, my lady.” The maid righted a few toppled cups and a spilled pitcher of milk.
“You should exert more self-control.”
“She was simply startled, Mother,” Audrey said, annoyed by her lack of care or understanding.
“I’ll ask you not to make excuses for my staff,” her mother snapped while brushing at her skirt, acting as though the pot of tea had spilled upon it. Audrey pursed her lips and refrained from shaking her head in exasperation.
The maid, Annie, met the duchess’s eyes. They flared in what might have been alarm before averting to the carpet. Audrey felt a pang of sympathy for her; her cheeks were bright red from embarrassment. She wore a long-sleeved flowered muslin dress paired with a brown scarf, which she had tucked into her bodice. A dark purple marking reached up her neck from under the tightly crossed panels of her scarf. A burn? Bruise?
“Go on to the kitchen, Annie,” Mrs. Banks said with a slightly more maternal tone. The girl swiftly fled.
“A violent end?” the baron repeated Hugh’s earlier words. “Are you saying this maid wasmurdered?”
“I am afraid so, my lord,” the coroner replied. “Officer Marsden and I will need to speak to your servants.”
The baron jerked his head back. “Whatever for?”
“Your servants will have more information about Miss Smith that might prove useful to the investigation,” Hugh answered, sounding as if that ought to have been evident. Audrey agreed it should have been. But then, the baron scoffed.
“Yes, yes, I know that. What I meant is why must Marsden be involved? He is here from London at the behest of Lady Prescott, not me. I will not have him badgering my servants.”
