The Rest is Silence (Billy Boyle World War II Mystery) by James R. Benn Read Free Book Online Page B

Office business.”
    “You are with the Foreign Office, Sir Rupert?” Kaz asked.
    “They bring me in now and then,” he said, accepting his whiskey and soda from Edgar with the kind of nod you might give a decent bartender. “After two decades in India, I do have some knowledge of the area, Burma and China included. I have retired from the Indian Civil Service, but it is rewarding to continue to be useful.”
    “Edgar was telling me he’s back from India as well,” I said.
    “Yes, he is,” Sir Rupert said, turning away and addressing the ladies. It was time for dinner—not to mention a new topic of conversation.

CHAPTER SIX
    D ISTRACTED SOMEWHAT BY the mussels in white-wine sauce, I watched my fellow diners. I had been expecting decent enough food by wartime standards, but it was clear rationing hadn’t put a dent in the Ashcroft kitchens.
    “Not bad, eh?” Sir Rupert said as he tucked into his own bowl. “We have a fellow on the staff who used to fish for a living. Gave it up to manage the grounds here when the war began. He still keeps a small boat. Brings in a good catch when it’s safe to go out into the Channel.”
    “Safe from Germans?” I asked.
    “No, safe from the weather and the American navy, Captain!” Sir Rupert said with a grin. “Crawford’s boat’s only little, no match for gale-force winds or those big wallowing landing craft. But if it’s a calm day and he can avoid the larger vessels, he’ll go out just beyond the mouth of the River Dart. Dartmouth, if you understand. We all benefit, so I don’t begrudge him the time.”
    “We spoke to some fishermen in Kingsbridge today,” I said. “It seems as if the war has taken its toll on them.”
    “Along the Channel coast, certainly,” Sir Rupert said. “Crawford says the fish are plentiful, so perhaps it will be better than ever once the war is over.”
    As the first course was cleared, I leaned back and surveyed the table. Sir Rupert at the head, of course. I was on his left and Kaz across from me. Meredith and Edgar sat next to Kaz, while to my left wereHelen and then David. Great Aunt Sylvia faced Sir Rupert at the other end of the table. The arrangement allowed David’s ruined face to be hidden from his wife, who spent most of her time talking across the table to her sister.
    Edgar offered to pour more wine for Great Aunt Sylvia, but his was the only empty glass. David looked uncomfortable, and I wondered whether Helen had made the seating arrangements. The conversation was animated, but I noticed that Meredith and her father had not exchanged a single word, or even looked at each other. I caught Kaz’s eye, and he gave the tiniest of shrugs, telling me he sensed the strangeness as well.
    Lamb cutlets were served, and my surveillance was interrupted.
    “Baron Kazimierz,” Great Aunt Sylvia said, raising her voice to be heard. “I hope you are not disappointed in the state of the household. We live a simple life in Devon, much simpler than that in many smaller country homes. No footmen, no useless frills. I hope you do not disapprove.”
    “On the contrary, Lady Pemberton. I would not trade these fresh peas for a dozen footmen,” Kaz said. I hadn’t thought about it, since at the Boyle kitchen table it was strictly pass the potatoes and every man for himself, but there was only one young girl bringing out the plates. Williams, the butler, was nowhere to be seen.
    “The early peas were picked from the greenhouse just today,” Helen said. “Crawford again. Where would we be without him?”
    “Are footmen hard to come by these days?” I asked.
    “I would think so,” Sir Rupert said. “But it’s never been our style. Even though the family has had its share of earls and lords, we’ve always worked for a living. The upper classes tend to forget that they got where they are today by dint of some distant ancestor who fought and clawed his way to the top of the heap.”
    “My grandfather helped to build the mill on Bow