Leximandra Reports, and other tales Read Free Page A

and on
seeing her missing arm the woman - undoubtedly a kitchen maid -
sucked in a shocked breath.
    Lexi felt
herself becoming stubborn. At least the butler had had the decency
to pretend he hadn’t noticed.
    ‘ I’ve
a delivery for her ladyship.’
    ‘ Hand
it over.’
    Lexi stepped
back a little, snatching her parcel out of reach. ‘Boss says I’m to
deliver it into her ladyship’s own hands.’
    ‘ He
does, does he?’ The woman’s eyes narrowed. ‘Which delivery company
are you from?’
    ‘ Er...’ Lexi thought fast. ‘BPS. Brysold Parcel
Service.’
    ‘ Haven’t heard of it.’
    ‘ That’s because it’s new.’
    The woman shook
her head. ‘I ‘aven’t got time for this, all right? Just hand it
over and be on your way.’
    Lexi sucked in a
breath. She hated to do this, but... desperate measures were called
for.
    She adopted her
pathetic face.
    ‘ Please ma’am,’ she said in a pitiful voice. ‘I’m new on the
job and Boss says if I get this one wrong I’m out. If that happens
I’m on the street. Boss says to follow his instructions to the
letter, or else.’
    She was quite
good at looking pathetic, all told. It wasn’t a tall order. She
watched as the woman’s eyes travelled to her stump of an arm and
back to her face.
    ‘ Fine,’ she growled. ‘But make it quick. Stayne will conduct
you upstairs.’
    Stayne? Who was
Stayne? She hoped it wasn’t the butler who had answered the front
door to her, or she was in trouble. She waited nervously as the
kitchen maid went out of the room. When the woman returned, she was
followed by a different man - younger, though wearing a similar
uniform to the butler’s. Probably a footman. Sighing inwardly in
relief, she tried to smile as Stayne approached, hoping to reassure
him that she wasn’t a threat.
    Except I am, in a way.
    Stayne merely
eyed her, then turned and beckoned to her. Lexi followed him
through the house and up an imposing staircase, trying to swallow
away her nerves.
    ‘ Are
you sure you can’t entrust it to me?’ said Stayne, sounding
bored.
    Lexi shook her
head vehemently. ‘Can’t. Boss’d kill me if he found
out.’
    ‘ Fine. Make it quick, though. I’m on door duty for the next
half hour.’ He led her across the landing and stopped at a door
which stood slightly ajar. Lexi could hear the sound of voices
talking softly from the room beyond.
    Stayne knocked
and waited. No reply came. He was about to knock a second time when
the front door bell rang.
    Lexi hoped
Stayne would leave immediately, but he didn’t. ‘Hurry up,’ he said
coldly.
    The bell rang
again, long and loudly.
    ‘ Someone’s in a hurry,’ she observed.
    Stayne hovered
for a moment, frozen with indecision. When the bell rang a third
time, he made up his mind.
    ‘ Wait
here.’ He disappeared back downstairs, stepping smartly.
    Lexi suffered a
moment’s indecision herself. How to proceed? Should she look around
the house, try to discover something interesting that way? Or
should she appeal to her ladyship’s kindness and ask for an
interview?
    In the end she
settled for something of both. Hastily unwrapping her “parcel” she
extracted the Depictioner and slipped the strap around her neck.
Grasping the thing like a shield, she tapped lightly on the
door.
    Still no answer
came.
    Lexi hovered,
tapped again, waited. Nothing.
    Stayne’s smart
footsteps reached her ears. He was on the stairs. What should she
do? Accept defeat and return another time?
    No: not when her
job was at stake. Lexi peeked inside.
    The handsome and
expensively-furnished drawing-room was empty, but set into the far
wall was another door. She slipped silently across the room, took a
breath to raise her courage, and opened this new door.
    A short corridor
lay behind, windowless and dark. Lexi stepped in and closed the
drawing-room door behind her before Stayne could determine where
she had gone. Pausing a moment to adjust to the nearly full
darkness in the passageway, she cautiously