Page 40 of The Tart's Final Noel
“Sorry, sir.I lost my way.”He eased past the tutor in the direction of the staircase.
Lovely that he ignoredherexistence.
“Ask directions next time,” Mr.Birdwhistle advised in a stern tone of authority unlike his usual calm voice.“Quincy will send someone with you.Servants travel in pairs in this house, or you’re likely to become lost and never be found again.”
Was that a warning?Verity liked the sound of secret places where intruders might vanish and never be found again.
She’d grown bloodthirsty with age.
When the man clattered back down the stairs, far noisier than he’d come up, Mr.Birdwhistle shut the staircase door and examined the lock.“I’ve never had need to ask for a key.I suppose we should ask for one now.”
She breathed a sigh of relief that he understood and didn’t dismiss her fear.That intruder might just have been a thief, but they needed to take every precaution.“And the door from the tower into the schoolroom?”
“That leads to an outside door.I have a key for that.Arnaud insisted when we opened the attic into the tower.Apparently Miss Talbot believes the tower is haunted because pirates hid jewels in there.”
“And the good comte assumed thieves will go looking for ghosts?”she asked, seeking amusement that she didn’t feel.How did one hunt for a servant in a house full of them?
Mr.Birdwhistle shrugged.“The manor has seen worse.I haven’t locked it because I don’t wish to lock out the village students.I had foolish notions of this being a safe retreat.Balancing compassion with caution is fraught with complications.”
Verity understood too well.Bullies took advantage of weakness.So the compassionate had to be smarter than bullies and work with others to protect the weak.Nothing worth doing was easy.
“Will you be going home for Christmas?”she asked, not knowing how much protection she could rely on.
He shrugged worriedly.“I’d thought to do so, but I dislike leaving if there is any danger.”
She wanted to hug the poor forlorn boy.“If we don’t solve this problem soon, Rafe can close up the inn and move in here for the duration.You should visit your family.”
He didn’t seem reassured but nodded.
Leaving the tutor to lock up, she rushed back to the children, verified they slept soundly, then pushed her cot in front of her door before she undressed for bed.
She wanted Rafe here with her.
Because if someone related to the children’s father had killed for his small estate, that someone could very well be gentry with connection to the people in the manor.
FRIDAY
December 22, 1815
Twenty-one
Minerva
The next morning,Willa’s kitchen smelled as it should again.Minerva gratefully accepted the still-warm bread Brydie offered.“Bless you, Brydie.”
“For you have sinned?”she teased.She nodded at the front room.“Since Mr.Cooper is sleeping upstairs, Damien has set up an office in the parlor to keep an eye on us both.Rafe ordered me to stay out of the inn until the strangers leave.Poor man is torn between his desire to be the best host in the best inn in all England or grilling his guests until they admit guilt.So I might as well bake.”
“If his guests came here lying about the orphans...We don’t even know he’s the real Elton.”Minerva had pried the story out of her friend earlier.“How does one prove a liar is a killer?We need the children to identify him—except we can’t let a killer know we have them.”She slipped the bread into her basket and felt militant enough to lead armies—if she only knew the direction.
“You’ve met Mr.Dryden, so we must assume he legitimately works for Mr.Browning.The letter he brought from the solicitor’s office says there may be irregularities with the estate trust.And that this Mr.Elton is one of those irregularities.He was warning us.”Brydie took off her apron and reached for her cloak.“I think I should talk to Elton.Women are better at devious questioning.”
Minerva wrinkled her nose and shook her head.“Not yet.It’s much too early for anyone to be up and about.Put some more loaves in the oven, let me feed Paul, and then we should visit Mr.Jasper at the new hardware.He arrives early.After that, we can interrogate Rafe’s guests.”
“Jasper?Why?”Alarmed, Brydie stood with her cloak still in hand.“Arthur has been working with him!What has he done?”
“Arrived the morning we found Willa, and the nanny, who did, presumably, work for Mrs.Turner since the children called hernanny.”Although, now that Minerva thought about it, the neighbor hadn’t mentioned a nanny, just two servants.“Jasper was there when Verity found the children.He may have been the one who spread the word.”
Or the Stratford curate or the nosy neighbor...But they hadn’t known about the inn.Minerva had been making lists and connecting dots.None of them connected.Yet.She needed more information.
