“Thomas, were you here during my uncle’s last days?” Mona asked, catching him in the butler’s pantry.
Thomas jumped a bit, as he was not used to his employer sneaking up on him in the servants’ domain. “Yes’am. I’m always here,” he replied, looking a bit confused. Where else would he be?
“Can you tell me a little bit about his death?”
He thought for a moment and looked around to see if anyone was listening. “Well, he was getting on in years, and was not as spry as he used to be, but it seemed like he went downhill sudden like. There was a vicious cold snap in January, and he caught the flu, but he was getting better. Even came downstairs for dinner now and then. He was on the mend, and then he came down with pneumonia. You know how that takes down folks quickly. His lungs kept filling up, and that was that.”
“The death certificate said heart stoppage exacerbated by pneumonia.”
“I was in the room when Mr. Moon was pronounced dead. That’s what the doctor said to Mr. Deatherage as cause of death.”
“Mr. Deatherage was present when my uncle died?”
“Yes’am. Mr. Deatherage was here quite often during those last months. Mr. Moon was having him do lots of changes.”
“What kind of changes?”
“I wouldn’t know, but I would guess one of them was making you the new heir.”
“You mean I wasn’t intended to be the heir originally?”
“Miss, I’m just guessing, but I do know when Mr. Deatherage told Miss Melanie she was no longer the heir, all hell broke loose, if you don’t mind my saying so.” Thomas looked at the silver on the shelves. “Miss, these are matters better taken up with Mr. Deatherage. This is polishing day, and I’ve got to start now or we won’t get done in time for dinner.”
Mona could tell the butler was uncomfortable speaking about her uncle’s death. “One more thing. There were notes on the certificate, which stated Uncle Manfred had broken and cracked ribs. How could a bedridden man get broken ribs?”
“He fell down the stairs, Miss. A terrible accident, it was.”
“How did it happen?”
“I guess he got confused and fell.”
“Wasn’t there a nurse with him?”
“She said she fell asleep.”
“Who found him?”
“Samuel and I found Archer standing over Mr. Moon. I guess he had been up as he was dressed. We helped carry Mr. Moon to his room, and the nurse called the doctor.”
“If my uncle had wanted something, why didn’t he ring for someone? Didn’t Archer sleep in the small room off the master suite?”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Anything else different that night?”
“Mr. Moon mentioned he hoped dinner wouldn’t give him heartburn. He felt it too spicy and ordered beef broth for the next day. Another thing, the lights in the hallways and staircase were turned off. We had been keeping them on for the nurse in case she had to make a trip to the kitchen.”
“Was it usual for the nurse to fall asleep?”
“She was the night nurse. I always found her to be conscientious and was surprised to find her sleeping on the job. When I tried to wake her, she seemed groggy.”
“If your quarters are in the basement, how do you know things, Thomas? How did you hear the commotion at my bedroom door the other evening? How did you know Uncle Manfred fell?”
Thomas grinned. “The heat registers. Sound gets sucked through the ducts to the basement, and if someone uses the bathrooms on the second and third floors, the pipes rattle. Like listening to the radio. Is that all, Miss Mona?”
Mona felt her cheeks grow hot. The male servants, who had their quarters in the basement, knew her every move, especially at night. She wondered if the female servants on the third floor heard the same. There was no privacy in this huge mansion. “Thank you, Thomas.”
“Yes’am.”
Mrs. Haggin strode into the pantry and stopped abruptly at the sight of seeing Mona speaking with Thomas.
Thomas quickly lifted a tray filled with silverware and scurried into the kitchen.
“May I help you, Miss Mona?”
“Can you get me a torch please?”
“A torch?”
Mona chuckled. “I’m sorry. I lived in London for a year. They call it a torch.”
Mrs. Haggin still looked confused.
“I need a flashlight.”
Mrs. Haggin opened a drawer and pulled one out. “Will that be all?”
“Would you put a dozen flashlights on the shopping list, Mrs. Haggin?”
“If you wish.”
“Then give them to me.”
“All twelve?”
“Yes, and buy plenty of batteries for them, too.”
“I shall make sure we procure them today.”
“Thank you. That is all, Mrs. Haggin.”
“Very good, Miss,” she said before she turned to venture into the kitchen. She knew Mona was watching her. Mrs. Haggin didn’t mind being dismissed, as she wanted to ask Thomas what he and the mistress had been whispering about in the butler’s pantry. She thought she had heard something about Manfred Moon’s death.
Mrs. Haggin was concerned about the new mistress of Moon Manor. In many ways, Miss Mona was a most attentive employer. She didn’t make outrageous demands like some masters on surrounding farms. She never fussed about the menus and ate whatever was placed in front of her. She even hired extra workers to clean Moon Mansion for the ball, which lessened Mrs. Haggin’s workload considerably, not to mention that of Dora and Mabelle. And best of all, employees who worked on the estate received a raise of fifty-cents up to a dollar per week, depending on their status. All the servants had been taken by surprise by Mona’s generosity.
Manfred Moon never believed in spoiling the house servants and farm workers, and of course, very few employers even considered giving a raise during the Depression, so Miss Mona was looked upon with favor by the staff—at least for now.
Mrs. Haggin thought she had been too critical of Mona when she first alighted from the Daimler. She was a Yankee, and her father had been disowned by the family, but Miss Mona was proving to be a good mistress.
So, perhaps she would give Mona Moon the benefit of doubt. Maybe. She was still stewing on it.