The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart Read Free Book Online Page A

impressed by the charity work he undertook for his fellow Indians,” Mrs. Bagshot continued. “Unfortunately that aspect of him has been quite overlooked.”
    “That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Bagshot,” said Mink. “I hope you enjoy your time in Egypt. Will you be staying at Shepheard’s Hotel? I could sit on their terrace all day watching the passing dragomans, hawkers of sham antiques, and donkey-boys who name their beasts after English celebrities.”
    Mrs. Bagshot shook her head. “I won’t be in Cairo. I’m going to Hélouan-Les-Bains for a little tonic. The sulphur water is as strong as that of Harrogate and contains almost three times as many salts as the waters in Bath. And the tennis never gets rained off.”
    “Perhaps we could play when you return,” Mink suggested.
    “I should be delighted. You must join the palace’s Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. I’m the Secretary. I shall return in a month and we’ll arrange a game of doubles. If you should require anything in the meantime, please ask one of my servants.” She then knocked on the roof. As the chairman resumed his ungainly trot, Mrs. Bagshot turned back and raised her voice. “I hope you’ve learnt to live with your loss. It’s really all we can do.”
    Passing the resident gas lamplighter, a hare poached from Bushy Park in his pocket, they entered Fountain Court. The square garden was surrounded by a cloistered walkway with numerous doors, each bearing a brass nameplate and a bell. Hanging in the gloomy stairwells were baskets used by residents on the upper floors to winch up their provisions. “Glad I don’t live here. The noise from that fountain would send my waterworks funny,” muttered Mrs. Boots, their footsteps echoing on the cold flagstones. “And there’s nothing Dr. Henderson likes better than peering at the contents of a chamber pot. Me, I’d rather he didn’t take quite an interest. It’s no wonder some round here call him the Piss Doctor.”
    Mink glanced at the darkened corners. “Have you ever seen a ghost?” she asked brightly.
    The housekeeper stopped again, leant towards the Princess, and lowered her voice. “I’ve seen none myself, but they’re here all right. The residents don’t like talking about the spirits, as they make it difficult to keep servants. Eight have just walked out and two more are threatening to go after seeing two new ghosts that spooked them rotten. Horrible moaning. I’d ask you not to talk too liberally about them spectral sightings, if you don’t mind. The Society for Psychical Research keeps asking if it can carry out an investigation. They’re gentlemen all right, but I wouldn’t want them roaming around the palace at night with all that science in their heads.”
    She suddenly bolted, and the Princess and the maid ran to catch her up again, the two delivery boys lagging behind with their load. “I’ve worked here for over thirty years, and while I hadn’t seen a ghost, I’ve seen pretty much everything else,” she called over her shoulder. “And if I haven’t seen it, then my mother certainly did, having been a maid at the palace all her life. You’d be amazed by what the residents try and get away with, and it’s me who has to sort it out.” By now Mrs. Boots’s cage was well and truly rattled, and out flew her grievances like escaping birds. The most tiresome aspect of her duties was her additional role as Keeper of theChapel Royal, she moaned. “The ladies are very particular about where they sit, which causes no end of rows. But I won’t be having any problems with you. You’ll be one of those …” She stopped, her eyes flicking briefly to Pooki for inspiration. “What do you call them?” she asked.
    “I’m a Christian, Mrs. Boots,” Mink replied. “I shall certainly be attending divine service on Sunday, as will my maid.”
    Nothing of the housekeeper’s previous speed matched the sprint that followed, and they came out onto the East Front, where the