Manor House 03 - For Whom Death Tolls by Kate Kingsbury Read Free Book Online Page A

covers, she thought ruefully.
    Henrietta didn't answer, but went on rattling cups in the kitchen.
    Elizabeth went to the door and peered in. The old lady was carefully placing biscuits on a plate and seemed unaware that her visitor was right behind her. Deciding that the rheumatism wasn't preventing her hostess from managing the refreshments, Elizabeth returned to the living room and seated herself on a shabby settee in front of the fireplace.
    A moment or two later Henrietta emerged from the kitchen awkwardly balancing a tray, which she set down on a footstool near Elizabeth's feet. The effort must have caused her pain after all, since she winced again.
    "Oh, do let me pour," Elizabeth offered quickly, but Henrietta ignored her, and lifted the jug of milk to pour a small amount into the china cups.
    Felling somewhat slighted, Elizabeth took the steaming cup and saucer from the old lady's shaking hand. "Thank you so much. How are you enjoying our little village? It must seem so quiet after living in London, though I suppose nowadays that's a good thing."
    Henrietta looked up. "One lump or two, Lady Elizabeth?"
    Elizabeth felt decidedly foolish. She had totally forgotten until that moment that Violet had told her Henrietta Jones was stone deaf. No wonder the poor woman hadn't answered her. She held up two fingers to indicate two lumps, then took a biscuit from the plate Henrietta offered her.
    "Thank you," she said loudly, mouthing the wordswith exaggeration so that Henrietta could understand. "This is very nice."
    The old lady looked pleased. "I hope you like the biscuits, your ladyship."
    Elizabeth took a small bite out of the biscuit, then exclaimed in surprise, "These are wonderful! What are these little round things imbedded in them? They taste like chocolate." She examined the biscuit closely before taking another bite, this time savoring the morsel before swallowing it. "It
is
chocolate. How divine! I've never seen anything like this before. Little chunks of chocolate inside a biscuit. Where did you get them? I must tell Violet about them. These are absolutely delicious."
    Henrietta stared at her in confusion, and impatient with herself, Elizabeth tried again. She pointed at the biscuit, and rubbed her stomach with a rapturous look on her face.
    Henrietta nodded, her face wreathed in smiles.
    Elizabeth tried mouthing and using gestures, but she couldn't seem to make Henrietta understand that she wanted to know where she could buy the biscuits, and in the end she gave up. She thought about writing the question down for her, but Henrietta started talking about how much she appreciated the provisions and how difficult it was to get into town to shop, what with the bus stop being so far to walk and she didn't have a car, and even if she did, she couldn't drive it.
    Elizabeth soon forgot about the biscuits in her efforts to make Henrietta understand that she would arrange for someone to take her into town once a week in order to get her shopping done.
    In spite of her handicaps, Henrietta was a lively companion, and amazingly cheerful under the circumstances. Although she understood little of what Elizabeth tried to tell her, she rattled on about her experiences in the Blitz, during which she'd apparently lost her hearing when a bomb exploded just yards from her house.
    By the time Elizabeth was ready to leave, she was full of admiration for the feisty old lady, and made up her mind that she would personally see that Henrietta got into town at least once a week.
    As she stood to leave a flash of light from the mantelpiece caught her eye. Moving closer, she saw a pair of gold cufflinks, each with a tiny diamond in the corner. She picked one up to examine it, then put it down again when she realized Henrietta was watching her.
    "Those are my grandson's," Henrietta explained in her raspy voice. "Charlie's been ever so good to me since my Albert died. Not many young men like him would bother with an old lady the way he does. Our