Page 14 of Fatal By Design
Mrs. Larson stood and, visibly bracing herself, approached Audrey’s outstretched hand. She shuddered and took a kerchief from her pocket. Pressing it to the tip of her nose, she nodded. “Celine Woods, Your Grace.”
Celine. Attaching a name to the body she’d viewed gave the poor woman another layer of depth. What had she done to betray her mistress?
“How long has she been lady’s maid here?” she asked instead.
“Four and a half years,” Mrs. Larson answered with a certain dip of her head. “She came on just after his lordship passed. Her ladyship had never been fond of her first maid. Enid had been maid to his lordship’s first wife, and he had refused to let her go.”
So, once her husband died, Millie had hired Celine.
“Miss Woods was devoted to her ladyship,” Mrs. Larson continued, sniffling again. “She was raised in Kinsdale, just down the road. Proud to be a viscountess’s attendant.”
It was a coveted position, indeed. And yet, Millie had accused Celine of betrayal in her last moments.
“Does Miss Woods have family in Kinsdale?” Hugh asked. The housekeeper seemed to wilt.
“A father. Poor man. He’s not well. He’ll be crushed.” Her hand trembled as she again touched the kerchief to her nose.
“I will visit him tomorrow,” Grimes said somberly. Audrey did not envy his task of informing Mr. Woods.
“What was the purpose for Lady Redding’s visit to Haverfield?” Hugh asked.
“She didn’t say,” Mrs. Larson replied. “Though I do recall being surprised by the announcement that she was visiting again. She had just been at Haverfield last month.”
“I believe it might have had something to do with a letter she received,” Grimes said.
A stutter of interest slowed, then quickened, Audrey’s heartbeat. She looked to Hugh, who was already glancing at her.
“When was this letter delivered?” Hugh asked.
“A week ago, I’d say.”
“And only then did she decide upon a visit to Hertfordshire?”
Grimes nodded. Then, after a thoughtful frown, said, “It did seem to excite her. The letter, I mean.”
“Excite how?” Hugh asked just as Audrey asked, “Do you know who sent it?”
Grimes replied to Audrey’s question first. “I do not know the sender,” he said, then replied to Hugh. “Her ladyship suffers from episodes of nerves, but this was something altogether different. I would venture to say she was both pleasedandconcerned.”
Mrs. Larson bobbed her head and patted her skirt pocket. “Oh, yes, I always keep my smelling salts ready for her nervous fits, and just yesterday, she required them.”
That her sister had suffered from fainting spells and nervousness was not overly remarkable. Millie had always been a bit rigid and jittery, easy to upset and prone to overreact.
After her husband’s death, Audrey had expected Millie to marry again. She was a wealthy viscountess, and though she had four children under the age of thirteen, there were plenty of peers who would benefit greatly from pairing Lord Redding’s wealth with their own. But Millie had not remarried.
Four years ago, when she was newly widowed and entering half-mourning, Audrey had been engaged to marry Lord Bainbury. When Philip had swooped in and stolen her away from the earl, Millie had been indignant. Bitterly, their mother explained to Audrey that she had hoped for the Duke of Fournier to consider her. For a time, Audrey had thought Millie was avoiding her for that reason—however irrational Millie’s envy had been. Surely there had been offers since then? And yet, she had still not remarried. Estranged as she had been from her sister for so long, Audrey had never troubled herself to ponder why.
“Can you think of anyone who would wish Lady Redding any harm?” Hugh asked. “Anyone she quarreled with lately? Any servants she’d put out?”
They shook their heads, clearly flummoxed.
“Where are my nieces and nephews?” Audrey asked, recalling the darkened upstairs windows.
“The children stay with Mr. and Mrs. Stanwyck for most of the summer, near Brighton. They are great friends of her ladyship and have several children, you see,” Mrs. Larson replied, a glint of pleasure lifting her drawn features. Mrs. Stanwyck, Jane, was Millie’s stepdaughter—Lord Redding’s only living child from his first marriage. Millie and her stepdaughter were just about the same age, and from what Audrey had gleaned even from a distance, they liked each other immensely.
“I would like to see her rooms,” Hugh said. “As well as the rooms where Sammy and Miss Woods resided.” At the affronted looks of alarm he received, he explained, “Previous to being viscount, I was a Bow Street officer.” Only slightly appeased by that, Hugh continued with a bald-faced lie. “I am assisting the magistrate in this matter, and if I can see this letter you mentioned, it might tell us where her ladyship has been taken.”
He sounded convincing, and indeed, Millie’s two head servants assented, leaving Audrey and Hugh in the receiving room in order to have the fire in Millie’s bedchamber stoked, the lamps lit. They had not been gone a full breath when Hugh faced Audrey. “Tell me.”
