A Merry Murder by Kate Kingsbury

Author:Kate Kingsbury
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2019-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

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Kneeling in front of the massive fireplace in the ballroom, Gertie sat back on her heels. She held a can of blacklead in one hand and a cloth in the other as she inspected the grate for any smudges that might mar its shiny surface.

This wasn’t normally her job, but with Mazie gone, it had left the housekeeper shorthanded, and she had asked her chief housemaid to fill in where she could.

Behind her, Gertie could hear Charlotte humming a tune she didn’t recognize. Probably something the girl had heard down the pub, since that’s where she seemed to spend a lot of her spare time.

Not that they had much spare time. One afternoon off a week and a rare whole day off for something really special. Still, it was enough. There wasn’t much to do in Badgers End, especially in the winter. Nothing that she could afford anyway.

She flicked a glance over her shoulder at Charlotte, who stood at a table close by vigorously polishing a silver candlestick. “What’s that you’re humming?”

Charlotte grinned at her. “It’s called ‘Daisy Bell.’ They sing it down the pub.”

Gertie wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know why you go down there. How’d you get in there anyway? They won’t let women in the public bar, where all the fun is, and you have to have a man with you in the lounge bar.”

Charlotte giggled. “I can usually find a gentleman to take me in. I just wait outside until I see one on his own, and ask him if I can join him.”

Gertie almost choked. “Wot! You lost your mind or something? That’s bleeding dangerous.”

“I’m a big girl.” Charlotte tossed her head. “I can look after myself. There’s always people all around me and it’s not rough in there like in the public bar.”

“What about when you leave? How do you get home?”

“On my bicycle, of course. Same way as how I got down there.”

Numb with disbelief, Gertie sat back on her heels. “You are playing with bloody fire, my girl. One of these days one of those blokes is going to be wanting more than a drink, and you won’t be able to stop him.”

“Then he’ll get what’s coming to him.” Charlotte leaned forward. “I carry a knife in my pocket. Just in case.”

Gertie groaned. “That’s even worse. The bobbies will lock you up if you knife someone.”

“Then I’ll just have to make sure no one bothers me. They haven’t so far.”

“There’s always a bleeding first time.” Shaking her head, Gertie went back to polishing the grate. Charlotte was a grown woman, and there wasn’t much Gertie could do to save her, but she was very much afraid that her friend would get herself into some serious trouble before too long.

“I’m taking the knife when we go to the Christmas parade in Wellercombe,” Charlotte announced. “I’m not going to let no cop take us in.”

Clutching the cloth to her chest, Gertie twisted around on her knees to face her. “Now, wait a blinking minute.

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