Mulled Murder (Pennyfoot Holiday Mysteries) (9 page)

A surge of sympathy for her friend prompted Gertie to put an arm around Pansy’s thin shoulders. “Don’t worry, luv. We’re not going to let nothing spoil your wedding, and that’s a promise.”

Pansy turned soulful eyes up at her. “I hope you’re right. I’ve been waiting for this day all my life.”

“And it’s going to be the best day of your life, you wait and see.” Gertie forced a grin and tried not to listen to the voice in her head reminding her of the chaos the curse could create. She sent up a silent prayer instead, asking that Pansy’s wedding be everything her friend had dreamed about. Killer or not.

• • •

After receiving the bad news from a teary-eyed maid, Cecily had raced down the stairs fast enough to put herself in danger of falling. Now kneeling beside the still figure of Charlotte, she prayed the child wasn’t seriously hurt. At least she was still breathing, though her face was the color of Mrs. Chubb’s bleached sheets. “Ring for Dr. Prestwick,” she told Philip, who hovered above her like an anxious bee. “Tell him to come at once. He should be in his surgery at this hour.”

Charlotte moaned and to Cecily’s relief opened her eyes. She started to speak then cried out in pain, clutching her arm.

“She’s probably broken it,” Mrs. Chubb said, having just arrived. She sounded out of breath and held her hand at her throat. “Poor little lamb.”

Cecily laid a hand on Charlotte’s shoulder. “Lie still, child. I’m hoping the doctor will be here soon.” She looked up as Philip appeared at her side.

“Dr. Prestwick says he’ll be here just as soon as he can. He said not to move her, unless she can get up by herself.”

Cecily looked at the tears rolling down Charlotte’s cheeks. “I don’t think she’s getting up by herself.” She looked up at Mrs. Chubb. “We’ll have to make her as comfortable as possible here. A pillow, blanket, and fetch me a powder and a glass of water.”

“Right away, m’m.” The housekeeper frowned at the dark stains on the stair carpet and the remains of the smashed chamber pot scattered across the floor. “It looks like we’ve got some cleaning up to do, as well. I’ll get someone up here with hot water and vinegar. Thank heavens we’ve got water in the kitchen again.” She stared anxiously at the fallen maid. “I do hope she will be all right.”

“If it’s no more than a broken bone, that will mend.” Cecily smiled down at Charlotte. “The doctor will take care of you and you will soon be right as rain. Gertie’s son broke his arm one Christmas and by the spring he was doing handstands on the lawn.”

Charlotte managed a weak smile, making Cecily feel a good deal easier. Mrs. Chubb had vanished, no doubt on her way to fetch the items Cecily had requested. All that was left now was to try and keep Charlotte comfortable until Kevin Prestwick arrived.

A minute or so later Gertie appeared with the pillow and blanket under one arm and carrying a glass of water. Lilly trudged behind her hauling a bucket of water and rags. While she got to work on the carpet, Gertie helped Cecily prop the pillow behind Charlotte’s head and covered her with the blanket. The young maid seemed to be in a good deal of pain, and Cecily hurriedly shook the powder into the water and instructed Charlotte to drink it all down.

She had just swallowed the last drop when the door opened and Dr. Prestwick strode in carrying a large black bag.

“I’m so happy to see you,” Cecily declared as he crouched down beside the maid. “Charlotte fell a full flight of stairs. I think her arm may be broken.”

The doctor gently ran his fingers over Charlotte’s arm, causing another moan from her. “Bear with me just a moment,” he murmured, and ran his hands over her other arm and legs, all the while asking if that hurt and getting a shake of the head in answer. Finally he seemed satisfied and reached for his bag. “You’re right, Cecily. The arm is broken. I’ll strap it up here and then take her to my surgery, where I can put it in a cast.” He smiled at the tearful maid. “Looks like you’ll be out of action for a while, young lady. It could have been a lot worse.”

Cecily shivered. “That corner of the staircase is too shadowed on these dark winter days. The light from the gas lamps doesn’t reach there. We usually have an oil lamp sitting on the corner table. I don’t know why it isn’t there now, but I’ll make sure it’s there in future.”

“Good idea.” Prestwick took bandages from his bag and began carefully strapping the maid’s arm.

Cecily watched anxiously until the doctor was finished. She was relieved when he assured her that Charlotte’s injury was a simple break and would heal in a few weeks. She watched them leave, and was about to go upstairs to inform Baxter of the latest calamity when Alice appeared across the foyer at the top of the kitchen stairs.

She wore a hat and warm coat, no doubt given her by one of the staff. Cecily felt a glow of pride at the thought. She had the best people in the world working for her.

Walking toward the girl, she was impressed by the way Alice held herself, with a straight back and head held high. Obviously she had come from a good home, and some good people must be worrying themselves sick wondering what had happened to her.

If only Gerald Evans hadn’t died, he might have been able to find her parents. Then again, no one in the country club had known that he was a private investigator, so that would have been a moot point. Though Cecily liked to think she would have guessed as much, had she had the chance to talk to him.

Reaching Alice, she gave the young woman a warm smile. “Ready to go? I expect Charlie will be here any minute with the carriage.”

Alice didn’t return the smile. “I heard about the maid falling down the stairs,” she said, looking up at Cecily with sad eyes. “I hope she isn’t badly hurt?”

“A broken arm, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, I’m so very sorry. I suppose that means she won’t be able to work for a while.”

Cecily sighed. “Yes, that certainly seems to be the case.”

Alice took a small step toward her, hope creeping across her face. “I was wondering if you need someone to take her place? Just to get through the Christmas rush, I mean. I’ll be glad to help out if you like.”

Cecily hesitated. Alice didn’t look robust enough to take on the work of a maid in a place as busy as the Pennyfoot. Then again, she’d had young girls working for her before who had seemed just as frail. It was more the girl’s demeanor—
delicate
was the word. Alice didn’t look as if she’d lifted a finger her entire life.

“I’ll work really hard for you,” Alice said, practically going on her knees in her effort to convince Cecily. “Please, Mrs. Baxter. I really don’t want to spend Christmas in the orphanage.”

It was those last words that broke down Cecily’s reservations. “Very well, then. Someone will have to show you what to do, and that’s going to take time away from whoever does that, so I’ll expect you to put in an extra effort.”

Alice nodded the whole time Cecily was talking, her face glowing with relief. “Oh, I will, Mrs. Baxter. I promise.”

“Then go down to the kitchen and tell Mrs. Chubb that I hired you. Just until after the Christmas holidays. Is that clear?”

“Oh yes, Mrs. Baxter. Thanks ever so much!”

“And please tell Mrs. Chubb that I would like to speak to the plumber. I would like to know when he expects to get the upstairs lavatories working again.”

“Yes, Mrs. Baxter, I’ll tell her.”

Baxter’s voice spoke from behind Cecily, startling both women. “Is this the young lady who lost her memory?”

Alice’s expression changed so swiftly Cecily was shocked. With a look of terror on her face, she bent her knees in a curtsey and spun around so fast she almost lost her balance. Flinging one hand out to steady herself, she leapt down the stairs and disappeared.

Cecily turned to see astonishment on her husband’s face. “Good Lord, whatever did I say to cause that?”

“I have no idea, darling, but I’m sure it wasn’t anything you said.” She slipped her hand under his arm. “Come, let us go upstairs.”

“But I’ve just come down. I was going to take a stroll outside before the midday meal.”

Cecily gave his arm a tug. “I’m afraid I have some unsettling news and it’s best that I tell you all of it in the privacy of our suite.”

“All of it?” His eyes opened wider in alarm. “Not another dead body, I hope?”

“No, dear. At least it’s not that bad.” She led him to the stairs, nodding at a couple of guests as they passed by. He wasn’t going to be too happy with her news, she thought, as she climbed the stairs. It was bad enough that she had to tell him about Charlotte’s unfortunate accident. The news that Gerald Evans had been investigating a crime involving the Pennyfoot would really upset her husband. A promise was a promise, however, and if she intended to find out what was going on, she had no choice but to include him in her investigation. That was something she looked forward to with a certain amount of trepidation.

CHAPTER
9

Mrs. Chubb stood in the middle of the kitchen, arms folded and a fierce scowl on her face. “Are you telling me,” she said, “that Madam hired you as a maid to work here throughout Christmas?”

Alice meekly nodded. “Yes, Mrs. Chubb.”

“Have you done any maid’s work before?”

Alice stared up at her. “I don’t know,” she said at last.

Feeling sorry for the girl, Gertie spoke up. “How could she know that?” she demanded. “She ain’t got no bloody memory, remember?”

Mrs. Chubb pinched her lips together. “Well,” she said at last, “I don’t know how much good you’ll be. You’ll just have to do your best and not get in anybody’s way. We don’t have the time to teach you anything. Not in the middle of the Christmas season and with a wedding and all. We’re rushed off our feet as it is.”

“I’ll teach her,” Gertie said, drying her hands on her apron. “Lilly’s doing all right now. She can help. Between us we’ll get through Christmas. As well as the wedding.”

“All right, then.” Mrs. Chubb rubbed a floury hand across her forehead, leaving a white streak behind. “I just keep wondering what else can happen to make things more difficult for us.”

“Oh, and Mrs. Baxter said to tell you she wants to speak with the plumber,” Alice said, after giving Gertie a grateful smile. “She wants to know when the lavatories will be working again.”

“So do I,” the housekeeper said, looking grim. “Gawd knows what he’s doing up there. George would have had it all done by now.”

The door swung open as she spoke and Michel barged into the kitchen, his white chef’s hat bobbing on his head. “Why eez everyone standing around twiddling their thumbs, eh?” He pointed a bony finger at Alice. “You again? Why does she keep coming in my kitchen?”

To everyone’s surprise, Alice shrieked and dived behind Mrs. Chubb’s plump body.

Michel took a step back. “
Sacre bleu!
What is the matter with the child?”

“She’s not a child,” Mrs. Chubb said, putting a hand behind her to hold Alice’s arm. “Gertie, take Alice up to the dining room and show her how to lay a table.” She glanced at the clock that hung over the stove. “You’ll have to get a move on. It’s almost time for the midday meal.”

“Yes, Mrs. Chubb.” Gertie headed for the door. “Come on, Alice. Let’s get started on the blinking tables before the hungry mob gets there.” She waited for Alice to dart into the hallway ahead of her, and exchanged a mystified look with the housekeeper before letting the door swing shut behind her.

Alice was already halfway up the stairs when Gertie caught up with her. “What’s your bloomin’ hurry?” she muttered as she reached Alice’s side.

“I thought we were in a hurry to get the tables laid.”

Gertie rolled her eyes as Alice sped across the foyer and into the hallway. It was almost as if the girl was afraid to be seen. She followed more slowly, determined not to be rushed more than she had to be. Alice would just have to learn to take the proper time to do things. Shaking her head, she headed for the dining room.

• • •

“Charlotte
what
?”

Cecily winced at the desperation in her husband’s voice. “She broke her arm. Kevin assured me she will be just fine in a few weeks. Meanwhile I—”

“A few weeks?” Baxter sank onto a chair, rubbing at his brow with two fingers. “We shall have to find someone to replace her.”

“I already have, darling.” Cecily seated herself on the other side of the fireplace. “Alice asked if she could fill in for the Christmas season. It was fortunate she was here. She might not know much about working in a hotel—country club . . . but I’m sure she’ll work out just fine. She seems quite bright.”

“That’s apart from the fact that she has no idea who she is or where she came from.”

“Yes, there’s that.” Cecily stared into the embers smoldering in the fireplace. “I have to admit, I did have reservations, but Alice seemed confident she could manage the work, so I suppose we shall just have to wait and see.”

Baxter leaned back in his chair. “I wish Pansy had waited to get married until after Christmas.”

“But Christmas is such a lovely time to have a wedding, with all the decorations and excitement of the season. The reception should be lovely. I’m looking forward to it.”

Baxter glanced at the window. “Well, let’s hope we don’t have a snowstorm to complicate matters. Things get so messy when it’s snowing out there.”

Cecily drew a deep breath. “There’s something else you should know.” She told him about her visit to the post office. “It would appear that the crime Gerald Evans was investigating somehow involves the Pennyfoot.”

She saw his expression change and quickly added, “I know I should have told you last night, but I was so tired, I just couldn’t face discussing it all.”

She expected an outburst from her husband, and was surprised when, after a short pause, he murmured, “You didn’t really expect anything else, did you?”

Flustered, she locked her fingers in her lap. “I suppose I was hoping it had nothing to do with us, though I have to admit, I’ve had an uneasy feeling about the whole thing since Mr. Evans’s body was found.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be Christmas at the Pennyfoot if we didn’t have at least one dead body turning up.” Baxter stretched out his legs and stared gloomily at his feet. “I suppose you’ll have to inform Northcott, and then we’ll have him poking around all over the place.”

“As a matter of fact,” Cecily said carefully, “I do believe he’s due to leave for his annual visit to his wife’s relatives in London.”

Baxter eyed her with a furrowed brow. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

Cecily fidgeted with her feet. “It means I shall have to look into this myself.”

She waited for an explosion that never came.

Baxter stared at her for several long seconds, then uttered a lengthy sigh. “All right then. Where do we start?”

She leaned forward. “You really want to help?”

“Of course I do. I’ve told you that already.”

She reached out for his hand. “Thank you, dear. Though right at this moment, I really don’t have much to go on.” Something clicked in her memory, and she got up from her chair. “Just a moment. I do have something.”

Hurrying into the boudoir, she tried to decide if she was happy or apprehensive about her husband’s assistance with the investigation. Not that it made much difference at this point, she reminded herself. The deal was already struck and she was stuck with it—good or bad.

She opened the wardrobe and dived into the pocket of her blue serge skirt. Her fingers found the slab of cardboard she’d found in Gerald Evans’s room. Carrying it back to the fireplace, she handed it to Baxter. “What do you make of that?”

Baxter turned it over in his hands. “It looks like some kind of protective packaging.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“Where did you get it?”

“I found it in a dresser drawer when Sam and I searched Mr. Evans’s room.” She sat down again. “I was going to throw it away, but forgot about it until now. I can’t imagine why it would be important, yet now that I think about it, since it was carefully tucked into the drawer, it must be significant in some way. I think Mr. Evans was keeping it for a reason.”

“It doesn’t look like anything we’d use here at the club.”

“I know. I just wish I could tell where it came from.”

Baxter held the cardboard up to the light from the gas lamp on the wall. “I can’t see any lettering anywhere.”

“There is none.”

“So how is this going to help us?”

“I don’t know.” She paused, then added slowly, “I just know somewhere in the back of my mind there’s a connection between this and something else I’ve seen. Or maybe heard. I’m not sure. I just have to remember what that is.”

Baxter looked intrigued. “I never could understand how you do that.”

She smiled. “I haven’t done anything yet. But it’s there, and sooner or later I’ll make that connection. Whether or not it will tell us what Gerald Evans was doing here remains to be seen.”

Baxter nodded. “I have not a single doubt, my dear wife, that you will untangle all the knots and solve this puzzle as you have done so often in the past. And this time, I will be here to help you.”

He got up and walked over to a cabinet, where he took out a bottle of sherry and two glasses. “It’s a little early in the day, but this calls for a toast.” He walked back to her and stood the glasses on the table at her side.

She watched him pour the dark brown liquid into the glasses and took the one he handed her.

“To a new partnership,” he said, and touched her glass with his. “May we be successful in finding out what the late private detective was doing in Badgers End, and who killed him.”

“Amen to that.” She sipped the sweet cream sherry, and prayed that no matter what awaited her and her new partner in crime, they would both emerge unscathed.

• • •

Pansy slipped the large bone into her apron pocket, hoping it wouldn’t stain too much. The laundry maids were always complaining about her greasy pockets, thanks to her habit of smuggling treats for Tess out of the kitchen.

Glancing at the clock above the stove she decided she had maybe fifteen minutes before Mrs. Chubb would be hollering for her. Lilly was up in the dining room laying tables with Gertie and the new maid, giving Pansy a few minutes’ respite before the midday meal was served.

She waited until Mrs. Chubb went into the pantry. A quick glance at Michel assured her he was too busy with his boiling, bubbling pans to worry about what she was doing. Quietly, she opened the kitchen door and stepped outside.

The icy contrast from the heat in the kitchen took her breath away, and she wished she’d grabbed her shawl before venturing outside in the gale blowing off the sea. She’d taken no more than a few steps across the yard before she heard her name called.

Turning, she was surprised to see the plumber heading toward her, the collar of his jacket turned up against the wind. Anxiously she waited for him to reach her. “Is something wrong?” she called out, when he was close enough to hear her.

Laughing, he shook his head. “You women are always expecting trouble. I just wanted to say good morning, that’s all.”

“Oh.” Now she felt foolish. “Well, good morning, then.”

She started to pass him, but he held out his arm. “Wait a minute. What’s yer hurry? Haven’t you got a minute to chat with a friend?”

She felt her cheeks burning as she backed away from him. He was entirely too cheeky, though she could see why some women might like him. He wasn’t bad looking, and his cheerful grin made her want to grin back at him. Maybe if she wasn’t so in love with Samuel, she might have welcomed his attention, but right now, all she wanted was to give Tess her bone and get a hug in return.

“Sorry,” she called out as she sped by him. “Gotta run.” She could almost feel his gaze on her back all the way across the courtyard.

As she rounded the corner she saw a sight that halted her in surprise. Tess stood outside the stables, with Henry kneeling beside her, his hands ruffling the fur on her neck.

Pansy watched in amazement for several seconds, intrigued that the young lad had won the dog over. Tess usually avoided all men, and even with Samuel she was skittish at times, though she was a different dog when she was around women. She adored Pansy, who loved her just as much in return.

Samuel had found Tess wandering in the woods. He’d told Pansy later that he thought Tess had been ill-treated by a man, and that’s why she wouldn’t have anything to do with any of them. She was afraid of them.

Watching Henry playing with the dog, Pansy was struck by another thought. Maybe that was why Alice was so afraid of men. She’d been hurt by a man. Someone who’d ill-treated her. She wouldn’t remember that, of course, since she didn’t have any memory, but her instincts would warn her not to get close to a man again.

Excited at the revelation, Pansy couldn’t wait until she got back to the kitchen to share her thoughts with Gertie and Mrs. Chubb. Right now, though, there was a little matter of a bone and a big, lanky, adorable dog.

Approaching the two of them, Pansy was startled when Henry jumped to his feet, shooting her a guilty look as if he’d been doing something wrong. At the sight of Pansy, Tess trotted over her to and pushed her cold, wet nose into Pansy’s hand.