Page 22 of Lies in Little Sutherland
That was rather sad, not the least for Johanna de Vos.But it was also in the past.All three of them—Morrison, Johanna, and Lady Peckham—were dead.
“I don’t suppose you have any idea who Edith Morrison is?”I inquired as the Crossley wound its way down the narrow country lane.“I assumed mother, sister, or daughter, but it could equally well be an aunt or cousin.Not a grandmother, surely.Not unless she’s past the century mark.”
“Not likely,” Constance agreed.“But no, I’m afraid I don’t know specifically.”
“She never mentioned going to visit family?”
She shook her head.“Not that I can recall.I don’t remember her being gone much, at least not in recent years.She had Sundays and Wednesday afternoons off, but she was usually there at the house.”
“Letters?”
Constance shrugged helplessly.“It wasn’t something I kept up with, was it?People are entitled to their privacy, even if they are staff.”
Yes, of course they were.And chances were someone on the staff would fetch the mail, at any rate, and distribute it.If something arrived for one of the servants, the family wasn’t likely to even see it.
“Why so curious, Pipsqueak?”Francis wanted to know.
“Edith’s name was in Morrison’s address book.If it’s a mother or sister or cousin or aunt, I don’t suppose it matters.But if it’s a daughter?—”
“Do you have a reason to think Morrison might have had a daughter?”
“I don’t have a reason not to,” I said.
“How about the fact that she was unmarried and that no one knows about a child?”
“Just becausewedon’t know about a child, doesn’t mean there wasn’t one.Unmarried servants have gotten in the family way before.”
Christopher shifted on the seat, and so did Constance.“If that’s a dig at Geoffrey, Pippa?—”
“It wasn’t,” I said.“It was actually a dig at Uncle Herbert.Not that it was his fault.Nobody told him.But he did get Maisie Moran up the duff before he married Aunt Roz.Hence why we ended up with that whole mess with Wilkins and Abigail Dole and little Bess.”
Francis winced.So did Christopher.Discovering a new half-brother who had ended up dead—by his own hand—before any of us realized he was even family, had done a number on all of us.Not the least on Uncle Herbert, of course, although Christopher had been a little strange since that weekend at Beckwith Place, too.
“Out of curiosity,” I said, “has Geoffrey actually impregnated any of the servants?I know Marsden Manor has seen rather a lot of turnover, but has any of it been because he got anyone in the family way?”
“If he has done,” Constance answered, “nobody’s mentioned it.Although he was only a few years old in 1903, Pippa.He couldn’t have had anything to do with Morrison having a child.He was a child himself.”
“I know that,” I said peevishly.“In fact, I thought perhaps Uncle Harold…”
Two pairs of blue eyes fastened on me with identical expressions of horror.
“Well, there had to be a reason why Aunt Charlotte got rid of her,” I said.Reasonably, I thought.
“Yes,” Francis said, “but Uncle Harold?I find it hard enough to believe that Aunt Charlotte let him in her bed, let alone that anyone else would have done.Especially someone who didn’t have to.”
We pondered that for a moment.
“Maybe she did have to,” I said.Geoffrey had been fairly handsy with me, and he was likely worse with the maids.When you’re paying someone’s salary, it’s easier to convince them—and I imagine yourself—that they owe you something.
“His Grace isn’t Geoffrey,” Francis said, proving that Christopher wasn’t the only Astley who could read my mind.“In fact, Uncle Harold has always struck me as the opposite of Geoffrey.A bloke who isn’t interested in women at all.”
“Men, then?”
I slanted a glance across at Christopher, who shook his head.“We’ve talked about this, Pippa.Uncle Harold isn’t queer.I agree with Francis: he simply doesn’t seem very interested in other people.Men or women, in general or romantically.”
I made a face.The words ‘Uncle Harold’ and ‘romantically’ made for an uncomfortable match.“You don’t think he might have been different twenty-odd years ago?I mean, it makes sense.If Aunt Charlotte was enceinte with Crispin and wouldn’t let him near her, he might have sought solace elsewhere.”
“I can’t imagine that he would have settled for Morrison in that case,” Francis said.When Constance shot him a look, he added, “No offense, Connie, but she wasn’t anything special to look at.Or at least the corpse wasn’t.She might have looked a bit fresher when she was young, but she wouldn’t have been any great beauty back then, either.And Uncle Harold was the Viscount St George.If he had wanted a woman, surely he could have done better than his wife’s lady’s maid.”
