Read Online Berried Alive (Manor House Mystery) by Kate Kingsbury - Free Book Online Page A

blame him."
    "I can promise you, my father will not see me," Elizabeth assured him.
    "Not unless he can see you from the grave," Violet muttered. She waited until Martin had shuffled slowly from the room before adding, "Did Rita say what her members would be looking for?"
    "Not specifically, no." Elizabeth got to her feet. "Just common everyday knick-knacks I assume. The sort ofthings one has lying about. I suspect that none of them know what they will be asking for until they actually get the list. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair, would it."
    "I don't know what we'd have lying about that they could want." Violet carried the empty porridge pot over to the sink. "If you ask me, they could find more useful things to do than waste our day with their silly games. I don't have time to hunt for what they want, and neither does Sadie."
    "I wouldn't waste much time on it." Elizabeth headed for the door. "If you can't lay your hands on an item then simply tell them we don't have it."
    She left Violet still grumbling to herself and closed the door on her housekeeper. Sometimes Violet could have quite a dampening effect on the day.
    On the way to the stables, where she housed her motorcycle, Elizabeth spotted Desmond, the gardener, pruning the rosebushes behind the fountain. She hailed him, and waited for him to amble over to her. Like most of the men left in Sitting Marsh, Desmond was elderly and somewhat ineffective, but he kept the grounds under control, and was willing to accept a mere pittance for doing so, and for that Elizabeth forgave him a lot.
    He came trudging up to her, pulling a shabby cap from his head as he reached her. "Morning, m'm. Looks like it be a nice day, today."
    Glancing at the sparse clouds scudding across the sky on the wings of a fresh sea breeze, Elizabeth murmured, "I certainly hope so, Desmond."
    "Going out are we, m'm?"
    "Yes, Desmond. I'm going into the village, but I wanted to ask you something before I left."
    Desmond's heavily wrinkled face took on a look ofdismay. "Not going to ask me to tinker with your motorcycle, are you, m'm? Don't know much about engines, I don't. Grew up with horses, you see. Now I could tell you anything you wanted to know about cart horses—"
    "No, thank you, Desmond, it's not about my motorcycle." Elizabeth glanced over at the bushes growing on either side of the stone steps that led to the front door. "What do you know about daphne?"
    Desmond's brow wrinkled even deeper. "Daphne? Don't know as I'm acquainted with anyone of that name, m'm."
    "No, it's not a person," Elizabeth said patiently. "I'm talking about those bushes over there." She pointed to the dark green leaves sprinkled with delicate pink flowers. "Isn't that daphne?"
    "Oh, is it, m'm?" Desmond stared at it for a moment or two. "Wouldn't know the name of it, m'm, but I do know you can't eat them orange berries on it. Got some juice from them on me fingers once, and wiped me mouth without thinking. Burned me lips like acid it did. Never go near them bushes now without me gloves."
    "So it doesn't seem likely than anyone would actually eat the berries, then?"
    "Not unless they want to burn their guts out. Begging your pardon, m'm, but I can't see anyone actually swallowing them things. Bitter as drain cleaner they be."
    Elizabeth frowned. "More so than bitter ale or stout, would you say?"
    Desmond gave her a wide display of uneven yellowed teeth. "Depends how much you have of it, m'm, if you get my meaning."
    "Yes, I suppose so." Elizabeth pulled a rose-pink silk scarf from the pocket of her cardigan and arranged it overher hat, tying both ends securely under her chin. "Well, I'm off. Thank you, Desmond. I must say, you are doing an excellent job with the roses."
    "Thank you, m'm." Desmond gave her a quaint, old-fashioned bow from the waist, then hobbled back to his task.
    Elizabeth sighed. How she missed the skilled gardeners and maintenance men that once kept the manor and its grounds in sparkling order. Most of