Death at Daisy's Folly by Robin Paige

Author:Robin Paige [Paige, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf

17

Love, pain, and money cannot be kept secret. They soon betray tkemselves.

—Spanish proverb

To know that one has a secret is to know half the secret itself.

—Henry Ward Beecher

It was already lunchtime, and Winnie Wospottle had not yet recovered her customary good humor, so sharp had been her disappointment of the evening before. Remembering Lawrence with pleasure from the dear old days in Brighton, she had fully expected him to accept her invitation to join her in the laundry room. With that expectation, she had arranged the cozy corner behind the hot water boiler with all the care which a lady, anticipating a clandestine visit from her lover, might lavish on her boudoir.

Winnie was a resourceful woman. When she first arrived at Easton, she had made it her business to learn what was available in the kitchens, pantries, closets, cupboards, still-rooms, butteries, game larder, and wine cellar. In Winnie's considered opinion, this plenty was free for the taking, as long as she kept a vigilant eye out for Buffle, the house steward, who was reputed to glue pieces of felt on the soles of his shoes so that he might step noiselessly in the halls. Even when she had nothing special to celebrate, she regularly availed herself of the abundance, just to keep in practice. On this occasion, Winnie had already filched a dozen sprigs of hothouse stephanotis and some stems of fern from the fragrant vases in the pantry, standing ready to be distributed to the bedrooms upstairs. While Buffle was counting the plate, she purloined two crystal goblets from the sparkling rows arrayed on the shelves, reasoning (rightly) that with so many goblets displayed, two would not be missed. And while the undercook was scolding the scullery maid for inattention to the floor, she made off with half a baked chicken, a plate of cucumber sandwiches, and a dish of crystallized fruits. A bottle of fine French wine from the cellar completed her acquisitions.

The plunder safely transported to the ironing room, Winnie hung a sheet behind the boiler to screen off the corner, draped a board with a lace tablecloth and centered it with the flowers and a pair of candles, and fluffed up the down pillows that made a soft, warm bed behind the hot water boiler. Surveying her seraglio, she was entirely pleased. Full of warm anticipation, she went off to her attic bedroom to ready herself for an evening of revel in the servants' hall.

The festive evening, however, had come to a fruidess and bitter conclusion. The fickle Lawrence danced but once with her and was then lured away by a brazen young girl named Amelia, lady's maid to the red-haired American woman, who seemed to think she had some sort of claim on his affections. And even though Winnie went alone to the ironing room and comforted herself with wine, baked chicken, cucumber sandwiches, and candied fruits, all she earned thereby was a headache and a bellyache, causing her to miss breakfast and further adding to her surliness.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.