03 - Murder at Sedgwick Court Read Free Page A

although her
feeling of uneasiness had grown, spreading over her like a veil and making her
feel a little sick.
    ‘I must
look a fright,’ Lavinia was saying to Cedric. ‘I’ve been travelling all day. I
simply haven’t stopped for a moment, I was far too anxious to see you and be
back here. You know what I’m like once I’ve set my mind to something, impatient
and all that. Why, I think Torridge was even shocked by my appearance when he
first saw me, weren’t you?’ She flung a somewhat affectionate look at the head-butler,
who was doing his best to protest while at the same time not wishing to appear
to contradict his mistress. An impossible task by anyone’s standards.
    ‘Now, I
really must wash and have a little lie down, or I’ll be fit for absolutely
nothing. You wouldn’t believe how tiring travelling is, it absolutely drains
one. Torridge, tell me, is my room ready for me, say it is?’
    The
butler nodded in a rather hesitant fashion, Rose thought. No doubt there had
been a great deal of activity going on among the servants in the time between
Lavinia’s unexpected arrival and her journey towards them through the gardens
and parkland. In her mind’s eye, Rose saw the housekeeper and housemaids
scurrying around busily in Lavinia’s room like ants, polishing and dusting,
putting out fresh linen, using an Electrolux suction cleaner on the carpet, sweeping
the grate and laying the fire.
    ‘Do come
with me, Rose,’ Lavinia said carelessly over her shoulder as if it were some
throw away remark. Rose did her best to hide her surprise. ‘It would be so nice
to have a little chat after all this time,’ Lavinia continued. ‘And you can
fill me in on all the gossip. You can tell me all about Madame Renard and her dreadful
little dress shop.’ She stopped and turned, addressing Rose sharply as if a
sudden and far from pleasing thought had suddenly occurred to her. ‘I take it
you are still working in Madame Renard’s shop?’
    ‘Yes, I am,’
said Rose casting a last look at Cedric before setting off in Lavinia’s wake.
She noticed that, while he was apparently grinning, there was a slight look of
apprehension on his face which he was doing his best to conceal. Perhaps, Rose
thought, he is as unsettled as I am by his sister’s sudden reappearance.
    Meanwhile
Lavinia had set off back to the house at quite a pace and Rose had to hurry to
catch her up. She noticed that Manning was undecided as to whether he should
follow them or not, while old Torridge had remained behind with his master, no
doubt to discuss the revised arrangements for dinner, which Lavinia’s sudden
arrival had brought about. It seemed to Rose that in those few minutes since
Lavinia’s appearance everything had changed, and probably not for the better.
The crisp December air which a few moments ago had been bright and embracing,
now felt chilly. It was as if the very weather was waiting for something to
happen. Quite ridiculous of course, Rose admonished herself for letting her fancy
run away with her. Lavinia had been nothing but charming towards her, even if
she had clearly hoped that only Cedric would be there at Sedgwick to greet her
on her return. But one thing was certain, Rose thought, no matter how one
looked at it, it certainly wasn’t going to be the quiet few days that she had envisaged.
     
    ‘Miss Denning,
I can’t tell you how good it is to have you back,’ said Mrs Broughton, the cook
at Sedgwick Court, as the lady’s maid bustled into the servants’ hall.
    ‘And good
to be back it is too,’ said Eliza Denning with feeling, sinking onto one of the
chairs drawn up to the table. ‘My throat’s that parched for a good, proper,
English cup of tea, I can tell you, Mrs Broughton. Mustn’t complain as I know
there’s many a woman in my position who’d give their right arm to travel as
I’ve done these past few months. But I tell you, Mrs Broughton, those
foreigners don’t know how to make a proper cup of tea, so