Read Online 02 - Murder at Dareswick Hall by Margaret Addison - Free Book Online Page A

disagree with you morally speaking. But
while we’re in the employ of the master we must attend to his guests as best we
can and that means not trying to maim or kill them!’ He turned to Robert and
took in his tearstained face and red, swollen eyes. Despite his fine words, he
felt a great deal of sympathy for the young man. ‘I daresay his lordship spoke
rather hasty. Who’s to say that, when he’s had a chance to calm down and think
it over, he might not be encouraged to change his mind, particularly if we can
persuade him that it was a genuine accident? In the meantime, Robert, keep to
the kitchen and servants’ quarters. I’m sure that Mrs Gooden and I can find you
some jobs to keep you busy and out of mischief. But don’t you go causing Lord
Sneddon any more harm, mind, otherwise you’ll be out on your ear.’
    ‘Yes,
Mr Crabtree, thank you Mr Crabtree.’
    While
the other servants went their various ways to complete chores before they
called it a night, the young footman remained seated at the table, looking at
the dregs of tea in his teacup. He had given the butler his word but he had no
qualms about breaking it. His eyes took on a steely glare and his hands gripped
his cup so tightly that he almost broke the china. He wondered whether or not he
had the nerve to carry it through; he wondered if he had the nerve to kill Lord
Sneddon.

Chapter Six
     
    ‘Come
in.’
    ‘Oh,
Josephine, it’s you,’ said Isabella in a resigned voice, glancing over her
shoulder as her sister came into her room. She had been studying her face
critically in her dressing table mirror.
    ‘Who
were you expecting?’ asked Josephine coldly, hovering by the door for a moment
before she closed it quietly behind her. ‘Hugh?’
    ‘Oh,
you, I suppose,’ replied her sister in a bored sort of voice. ‘I might have
known you’d take the first available opportunity to come and berate me. Well,
let’s get it over with then; it’s late, I’m very tired and I want to go to
bed.’
    ‘What
on earth were you thinking of, Isabella, bringing Hugh here?’ Josephine
enquired flopping herself down on the bed and glaring at her sister’s
reflection in the mirror.
    Isabella
swung around in her seat, angrily.  ‘It’s not all about you, you know. This is
my home too. I can bring whoever I want here. I don’t have to ask your
permission even if you do pretend to be the mistress of the house. Father
doesn’t mind I brought Hugh, he’s delighted, you saw him tonight.’
    ‘Yes, I
did. That was a clever move on your part. Was it your idea or Hugh’s to send
him in to Father’s study to announce your engagement? You knew you’d get short
shrift from us all otherwise.’
    ‘Well,
I still did, didn’t I? Hallam made a complete fool of himself, and in front of
Cedric and his shop girl too.’
    ‘Her
name’s Rose, not that you’d bother to find out. Is she beneath you?’ Josephine
put a hand to her forehead, as if she had the beginnings of a headache. She
suddenly looked very tired. ‘Let’s not argue, Issy. I just want to understand
why you’re doing what you’re doing.  And anyway, I wasn’t thinking about me, I
was thinking about Hallam.’ Not that you’d care about my feelings anyway, she
was tempted to add, but didn’t. It would only lead to a row and it just wasn’t
worth it. ‘Didn’t you think how he’d feel at you bringing that man down here
after everything that’s happened?’
    ‘It was
just idle gossip, that’s all.’
    ‘It was
a lot more than that, Isabella,’ snapped Josephine, becoming angry despite her
good intentions. ‘What about the girl? He as good as murdered her!’
    ‘Don’t
say that, don’t you dare!’ snapped Isabella rising angrily from her seat and
looking furious. Josephine put her hand to her face and looked alarmed. The
gesture seemed to calm her sister for she sat back down again, slowly. ‘Don’t
say that, Jo. He didn’t mean to, you know it was…’
    ‘Oh, my
goodness, he