Arsenic For Tea by Robin Stevens

Author:Robin Stevens [Stevens, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781448193165
Publisher: RHCP
Published: 2015-01-29T05:00:00+00:00

13

When we got to the study, Lord Hastings was alone; he was sitting in a worn leather armchair facing the fire, his slippered feet propped up on Toast Dog, who was curled up in a fat snoring ball. Millie was draped across his lap like a rug. There were paintings and knick-knacks of all sorts – feathers and bits of paper – hanging on the walls.

At first I was glad that Miss Alston wasn’t there, considering our purpose, but the more I thought about it, the odder it seemed. If Miss Alston was not with us, and not with Lord Hastings, where was she? She was supposed to have a job to do – what was she here for, after all?

‘Hello, Daughter, Daughter’s friends,’ said Lord Hastings in a slightly mournful voice. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘We’re bored,’ said Daisy. ‘It’s raining. We thought we’d come and say hello.’ Then she turned to me and, quiet as a breath, said, ‘Desk. Quick. I’ll distract him.’ Then she pushed Millie aside and perched herself on the arm of her father’s chair.

‘Daddy,’ she said, ‘what shall we do? And don’t say teach Toast Dog circus tricks, the way you did last time. I know perfectly well that won’t work, and besides, I’m not eight.’

‘Let’s see,’ said Lord Hastings. ‘Are you too old for treasure hunts?’

‘All but the very good ones.’ Daisy turned and widened her eyes at me. Using Kitty and Beanie as a shield, I crept towards Lord Hastings’ desk. It was simply littered with papers – piles and piles of them. I had no idea how I would ever find a particular one. I began to shift through them, as carefully as I could. Receipts, land deeds, family trees – it seemed as if every document the Wells family owned was here. Kitty and Beanie hovered in front of me, Beanie chewing at her plait and wriggling with nerves. I was quite sure that my search would come to nothing. Lord Hastings was looking away, at Daisy, but surely he would notice what I was doing before long? Then I heard Daisy.

‘I do admit that Miss Alston is quite good at treasure hunts, but her lessons are terribly boring,’ she said. Daisy can be an excellent liar when she wants to be. ‘She’s such a dull old thing! Really, where ever did you find her?’

‘Odd story, that,’ said Lord Hastings, shifting his feet on Toast Dog, who grumbled in his sleep. ‘She wrote to us. Said she’d heard we were looking. But she came from an agency – the . . . Oh, it began with an H, or an R – and she had all her references.’

‘In March?’ asked Daisy.

‘No, it began with an R, Daisy, not an M— Oh, I see. Yes, March or thereabouts. It was terribly convenient. We hadn’t even got round to advertising.’

‘So not long ago,’ said Daisy. ‘It can’t be too far down. I’m sure if you think logically, you’ll remember.’ Her voice had become louder for a moment, and I knew she was giving me a message.

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