Auntie Mayhem by Mary Daheim

Author:Mary Daheim [Daheim, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mary Daheim, Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2010-03-22T04:00:00+00:00

The police had gone about their business, including a thorough search of the entire house and grounds. Given the size of the property, Judith assumed they’d be combing through storerooms, pastureland, and cellars for days.

Nor did she know what they expected to find. More chocolates, perhaps, or the source of the poison. After the family group had partially dispersed, Judith put the question to Mrs. Tichborne.

“How should I know?” the housekeeper asked in a testy tone. “It’s just as well that Miss Ravenscroft is dead. If she were alive, she’d hear all about how I haven’t kept up every nook and cranny of this big old place. How can I, with only daily help?”

Judith nodded in sympathy. “I’ve been meaning to clean our basement ever since the remodeling seven years ago. If I ever get around to it, I’m sure I’ll find stuff that’s been there since the house was built in 1907.”

Mrs. Tichborne huffed. “Think 1597. Your home is comparatively new.” She wrestled a large ham on the kitchen counter. Supper preparations were under way, and the cousins had volunteered to help. Mrs. Tichborne didn’t reject the offer this time. Officially, it was her day off, and she wasn’t inclined to prepare a hot meal. Instead, the family would be served a cold collation. “Maybe,” the housekeeper went on, her ire cooling, “they’ll turn up the jewels Mrs. Ravenscroft swore were stolen.”

Momentarily, Judith was puzzled. “Mrs. Ravenscroft? Now which one would that be?”

With a scowl at Renie who had already filched a slice of ham, Mrs. Tichborne brandished the kitchen knife. “Genevieve Ravenscroft, the Frenchwoman. Even in her dotage, she ranted about how she’d had her diamond choker and ruby earrings stolen. Miss Ravenscroft—her sister-in-law—didn’t believe it for a minute. She said Mrs. Ravenscroft was careless. She’d put them somewhere, and couldn’t remember.”

Renie was licking her lips over the last morsel of ham. “Diamonds and rubies, huh? That sounds like pretty expensive forgetfulness.”

The housekeeper shrugged. “Lady Cordelia had plenty of other pieces that were handed down to the next generation. I’m told that Sir Henry Ravenscroft doted on his wife. The French daughter-in-law got most of them. Chauncey Ravenscroft’s wife, Hyacinth, was too godly to wear gems, and Miss Petulia didn’t care for anything showy. Anyway, I don’t think the missing pieces ever turned up. I would like to see them find Bothwell, though.”

Judith paused in putting sweet pickles on a three-tiered server. “Bothwell? What was it, a family pet?”

“No, no,” Mrs. Tichborne replied. “It was a costume for the All Fools Revels. Participants dress up as actual characters from the Elizabethan period. Sir Walter Raleigh. The Earl of Essex. Bess of Hardwicke. And of course Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Earl of Bothwell. The costumes have all been copied from portraits and are very authentic. The Ravenscrofts always store them here.” Suddenly, her face sagged. “My Janet got the blame for Bothwell’s disappearance. She wore the costume that year. And didn’t it suit her, with those long, lovely legs! How she and her partner danced! The galliard, I think it’s called.

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