part0015

T he next morning, Caro strode into Evie’s room carrying a tray. Evie scrambled to sit up. When Caro set the tray down, she turned her attention to drawing the curtains open.

“I’m almost tempted to stop you, Caro.” Evie had slept poorly, tossing and turning as the images of the day before swirled around her mind.

Closing her eyes, she took a long sip of tea. “How is everyone this morning?”

“Busy as always and somehow still managing to chat about yesterday. I haven’t heard anything new.” Caro brought out a couple of blouses and selected one. “By the way, the delivery boy brought a package for you yesterday.”

“Oh, wonderful. My soap. To think, I should have headed into the village today for my beauty treatment but I gave away my time slot to Miss Wainscot. I hope she appreciates it.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you do that, milady?”

Evie tipped her head back. “Oh, I suppose we were trying to sweeten Miss Wainscot up so she wouldn’t delve too deeply. In the end, I think she ended up finding out more than we wanted.”

Belatedly, Evie wondered if that might actually be a good thing. If Miss Wainscot decided to put two and two together, she might have told her mama there had been a Mr. Winchester asking to see Evie and, in her opinion, the two were sweet on each other. That would certainly divert Lady Wainscot’s attention. Perhaps even pacify her. If Evie had her sights on an untitled gentleman then her attention wouldn’t stray to a titled bachelor. Then again, Lady Wainscot might decide Mr. Winchester could be a good catch for one of her daughters…

“Well, at least you’re smiling now, milady. Things can’t be so bad, after all.” Caro held up an ensemble for Evie’s approval. The silk blouse with tiny white daisies had a scooped collar and short sleeves. Perfect for a pleasant spring day. Caro then brought out a selection of hats and settled on a straw one with a dainty black cat curled up beside the light green band.

“How did Tom do last night?” Caro asked. “Was his performance to your satisfaction?”

Evie’s eyes brightened. “He carried himself extremely well. At no point did I think of him as my chauffeur.”

Caro stared at her, her eyes not blinking.

Evie shrugged. “Who would have thought? Tom turned out to be quite a conversationalist. He never once stumbled.”

“So, no one suspected.”

“No, at least, I don’t think they did.”

“And did you find out anything worthwhile?”

“Perhaps.” Evie drank her tea. She always preferred to have a beverage in bed and then join the rest downstairs for a proper breakfast. When she attended house parties, she always found this to be the best way to set the pace for the day.

“I hate to ask this, but I feel I must.” Evie counted to three and drew in a fortifying breath. “Did you happen to mention my early arrival to anyone?”

“Of course not, milady. As far as anyone knew, you were arriving today.”

Shame on her for feeling the need to ask, Evie thought. Of course, she could always trust Caro. “Poor Mrs. Saunders,” Evie remarked. “I know she runs the household like a well-oiled machine, but it can’t be easy to have people arriving early without first letting her know. Had she been informed about the early arrival of the others?”

“She knew, milady. Cook didn’t seem to mind. It only meant preparing an extra meal and she loves the challenge.”

Evie cringed. “Now I feel awkward for not having informed anyone.” In reality, she felt relieved because it meant none of the household staff had known she would be here a day ahead of schedule. It would only take a slip of the tongue to alert the entire village of something unexpected happening at the big house.

“The bath should be ready in a moment, milady.” Caro disappeared into the adjoining room.

Evie finished her tea and as she put her cup down, a thought settled in her mind.

If no one had known about her change of plans, then how had the shooter known to wait for her along the road?

“Bicky. Has Tom come down?”

“About half an hour ago,” Bicky said. “He had a nibble of something or other and then he said he wanted to have a wander around the estate.” Bicky set his cup down. “I say, he was very good last night. I hope you bring him back for another stay.”

Glancing over at Larkin who stood at attention several steps behind Bicky, Evie leaned in and whispered, “You seem to forget he is my chauffeur.”

“Oh… Yes… Of course. Well, there you go. I still wouldn’t mind having him stay. Isn’t that odd? I think the war changed us all. As mama says, war tends to bring down barriers.”

“Not to that extent, I’m sure.”

Bicky shrugged. “You never know. Last night, he told us a cracking good tale about his days in the oil fields in Oklahoma. Very amusing. I think he would be a great addition…”

“Is that what you talked about while you were puffing on your cigars?”

“That and other things.”

“Did the others prod him for information?” Evie asked.

Bicky shook his head. “I think you’ll find men are a different breed. Not as inquisitive as the ladies appear to be.” He held his cup up and gestured to Larkin who promptly filled it with coffee.

“Would you care for some more coffee, my lady?” Larkin offered .

“Thank you, Larkin.” Feeling revitalized, she got up and helped herself to some bacon and eggs. “So, what time do you expect Clara to arrive today?”

“Afternoon.” Bicky set his knife and fork down. “She said she had a few more errands to run. Although, what they might be I have no idea.”

The others began to trickle in, each one expressing their delight over a night well spent.

“It’s just occurred to me,” Charlotte exclaimed as she sat next to Evie. “We’re in the midst of a mystery.” Glancing over at Larkin, she lowered her tone. “I wonder if the butler did it…”