A Gilded Grave by Shelley Freydont Read Free Book Online Page B

Elspeth. “You may go.”
    Elspeth made a quick curtsey and fled to the dressing room.
    Deanna stood to face her mother.
    “Well?” Mrs. Randolph asked.
    “Elspeth was upset. Daisy, the girl who died, was engaged to her brother.”
    “I’ve warned you about this before. Once you let servants become too familiar, you’ve ruined them. I’ll have to let her go.”
    Deanna stared at her mother. She was strict, especially when it came to advancing her daughters in society, always talking about missteps and the importance of propriety. But she wasn’t heartless.
    “Mama, she’s grieving.”
    “We all grieve at one time or another. We carry on.”
    Like when Bob died. Her mother had been stoical, and Deanna had been too bereft herself to wonder what her mother was feeling beneath her calm façade.
    “Well, she’s carrying on the best she can.” Deanna noticed her ruined dancing pumps still sitting on the floor; she moved in front of them. “I’m going to ask Father to give her tomorrow afternoon off for family reasons.”
    “Are you indeed? I hardly see why that is necessary. That girl had no business being out at night by herself. I’m sorry for her, but really, if she hadn’t been where she shouldn’t, she wouldn’t be dead, now, would she?”
    “Mama!” Why was everyone so ready to accuse Daisy of wrongdoing?
    “Learn proper behavior, or the girl goes.”
    “She’s the only maid I’ll have.” Deanna heard the wordsas they came out of her mouth, appalled that she couldn’t stop them.
    Instead of anger, her mother laughed. “Oh, really, Deanna, you should show as much gumption toward your inferiors.”
    Deanna managed not to snap, “Elspeth is not my inferior”—she could imagine how her mother would react to that statement. So she just stood silently while her mother gave her a final stern look and left the room. Now Deanna was in disgrace. Her mother would complain to her father, and he would tell Deanna that her mother was disappointed in her, and then she would feel terrible because it would sound like he was disappointed in her, too.
    Elspeth’s head appeared around the doorframe.
    Deanna motioned her into the room. “Don’t worry, Elspeth. If you go, I’ll go, too.”
    “Don’t say such things. If I lose my job, I’ll go back to the Fifth and you’ll forget me.”
    “Never.”
    “Get into bed, miss. You must be tired.”
    Deanna nodded. “I think no story tonight.”
    Elspeth shook her head. “Stupid stories. Good doesn’t win over evil. If it did, Daisy wouldn’t be dead.”
    Deanna wanted to tell her she was wrong. But tonight, Deanna was afraid that evil
was
among them. And she wasn’t sure if good would have a chance.

Chapter
4
    J oe was up before daybreak the next morning. He hadn’t slept well. Seeing Deanna had been one thing, but Grandmère was right. The way he’d treated her had been infamous. And his conscience was bothering him.
    Nor was he looking forward to the talk he would have to have with his apprentice later that morning. Hopefully, whatever had upset Daisy was merely a lover’s quarrel and not an unexpected addition to the family.
    He carried a steaming mug of coffee to his drafting room and office in the front part of the warehouse he was calling home. He’d converted the space from former offices and closed it off from the larger workspace, where he and Orrin spent hours a day perfecting and troubleshooting the various machines Joe had designed. He’d nearly finished a prototype for a bagging machine that would fill paper bags with granules of sugar, then fold and seal the tops, but there were still a few kinks to work out.
    He’d rolled up his sleeves, sat down at the table, and reached for a pencil and protractor when there was a knock at the door. Too early for Orrin. Too early for anyone.
    He went to the door, looked out the dirty window.
A uniform?
He opened the door.
    Will Hennessey stood in the cobbled street. A large man, Will was stooped