Double, Double, Toil and Truffle (BEWITCHED BY CHOCOLATE Mysteries Book 6) by H.Y. Hanna

Author:H.Y. Hanna [Hanna, H.Y.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wisheart Press
Published: 2019-09-14T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

It felt to Caitlyn like her head had barely touched the pillow before she was struggling to rise again and heading back to the Manor—this time to pick up Nibs and catch a lift with James to the veterinary clinic.

Huntingdon Manor was already a hive of activity, even this early in the morning. Although the immediate vicinity of the icehouse was still roped off as a crime scene, the police had released most of the area around the other outbuildings. Work had already resumed and the place was crawling with builders, carpenters, interior decorators, and catering staff, all busily assembling furniture, installing fittings, carrying equipment into the large converted kitchen, and generally preparing for the coach house restaurant’s grand opening.

Caitlyn paused and looked around, searching for James, but she couldn't see his tall figure anywhere. She couldn’t see Nibs or Bran either. She did, however, see someone she recognised: the new maid Hattie. The girl had a pile of linen in her arms and was hurrying past when she spotted Caitlyn. She paused, a smile lighting up her face.

“Hello, miss—how nice to see you!”

“Oh please—do call me Caitlyn.” Caitlyn returned her smile. “That’s a pretty dress.”

Hattie glanced down at the simple black dress with the wide sleeves and lace-up collar she was wearing. “Oh yeah, it’s the new uniform for the coach house restaurant. It’s so much nicer than the usual waitress uniforms, isn’t it?” She indicated the lace-up collar, with the long leather ties, at her throat. “It’s got all these cute little medieval details…” She looked up again. “Anyway, was there something I could help you with?”

“I was just wondering if you knew where James—I mean, Lord Fitzroy—might be?”

“I think I saw him with his estate manager by the new staff accommodation.” At Caitlyn’s puzzled look, Hattie pointed to one of the larger outbuildings in the distance. “See that small barn there? It’s been converted to studio flats.”

“Oh yes… I walked past it the other day…” Caitlyn looked at the old stone structure again. “I didn’t think it looked big enough—”

“Well, the rooms aren’t very big an’ we have to share a bathroom, but it’s real cosy and it’s nice to have a space o’ my own,” said Hattie with a smile. “Lord Fitzroy wanted to have some temporary accommodation that any member of staff could stay in for free, ’specially if they’re new, so they don’t have to worry while getting themselves sorted. That’s real kind of him, isn’t it? Like me—I’d have to go back to Banbury every day if I didn’t have a place to stay here, an’ there’s no direct train, you know, so that would mean bus transfers an’ a two-hour commute every morning and evening! Plus, my father’s in a nursing home near here so it’s easier for me to visit him.”

“Oh, I’m sorry—I didn’t realise your father was ill,” said Caitlyn.

Hattie’s face clouded over. “Yes. He… he had a nervous breakdown last year an’ had to move into a nursing home.

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