Old Lover's Ghost by Joan Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

satisfied smile.
    “There we are then,” the companion said. “Now you must not weary yourself, milady. Perhaps you should leave her now, Miss Wainwright. You can see Her Ladyship is in no condition to talk at the moment.”
    “We shall have a longer chat another time,” Charity said.
    Lady Merton smiled. “You will send for the vicar now, Miss Monteith,” she said.
    “That I will. And perhaps you could convince His Lordship to leave the room next door, Miss Wainwright. The noise is bothering Her Ladyship.”
    “What is John doing in the gold guest room?” Lady Merton asked.
    “He has been giving me a little tour of the house, ma’am. I shall ask him to show me the downstairs, as you are trying to rest.”
    “It is a fine old house,” Lady Merton said, “but not a happy one, I fear. The watercolor of the cloisters in the gold room next door was done by my sister, Lady Holcroft, when she visited me in the last century. That little shadow in the fifth archway is the singing nun. Beth, my sister, saw her.”
    “How interesting. I shall take a good look at it another time. Now I shall leave you.”
    They parted amicably. Charity was convinced Miss Monteith was up to no good. She hastened back to the gold room to tell Lord Merton what had transpired.
    He beckoned her to the clothespress. She went on tiptoe, to hide her actions from prying ears in the next room. “Speak softly. Miss Monteith is listening next door,” she whispered. The clothespress held Lady Merton’s winter gowns, moved here for convenience for the coming summer.
    “Feel this,” Merton whispered.
    Charity felt a gray merino gown. “It is damp!” she said in a low voice.
    “There’re traces of a fire in the grate,” Lewis told her. “We think someone was boiling water there. There is a knothole in the back of the clothespress, with a hole in the wall behind it, and another little hole leading right into Mama’s clothespress. With a hose stuck in the kettle spout to direct—”
    “Her ghost was steam!” Charity said. “She had another visitation last night. Let us go belowstairs to discuss this.”
    They walked as silently as they could to the staircase and down to the Blue Saloon.
    “Lady Merton asked me to try to remove her ghost,” Charity said. “She admitted to some wrongdoing in her past, but with Miss Monteith listening in, I could not press for details. I hope to have a private talk with her soon.”
    “I wish you luck,” Lewis said. “I have been trying to get her alone to ask for an advance on my allowance for a week. Monteith sticks like a barnacle. She don’t let Mama stir an inch without her.”
    “I shall arrange it,” Merton said. “Perhaps this evening. I wonder when those holes were poked in the clothespresses and in the wall between them.”
    “You cannot blame old Monteith for that,” Lewis said. “That peephole has been there forever. I used to spy through it to see where Mama was hiding my birthday present when I was a lad. She usually hid it under the bed.”
    “As Miss Monteith was an upstairs maid, no doubt she was aware of it and decided to put it to use,” Merton said. “I shall have the holes plugged up this very day. And I shall have the attic window nailed shut while I am about it.” He went to the hallway and spoke to Bagot, the butler.
    When he returned, he said, “Mama has asked the vicar to call this afternoon. Bagot will take care of the holes and the window while she is belowstairs for the visit. Monteith usually accompanies her.”
    “What, St. John coming again?” Lewis scowled. “He will be moving in bag and baggage next thing we know. I say, John, you don’t think he could be working with Monteith?”
    Lord Merton rolled his eyes ceilingward. “I think we can assume the vicar is innocent, Lewis. Mama’s fit of vapors is more troublesome to him than to anyone else. She quite relies on his support. We have never had any trouble with St. John. An excellent chap.”
    Lewis said