Much Ado About Murder (Cock & Oyster Historical Cozy Mysteries Book 3) by Elysabeth Grace

Author:Elysabeth Grace [Grace, Elysabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-01T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIVE

Henry Fortnoy smothered a laugh as he listened from the other side of the library door. He hadn’t thought Hope and Charity possessed a courageous bone in their bodies when it came to their parents. Yet, in one night, they’ve outdone his years of debauchery and mayhem.

“Oh well, not my affair,” he mumbled beneath his breath and returned to his bedchamber.

It was after midnight and the house was silent as a tomb when Henry stepped from his room and noiselessly closed the door behind him before secretly making his way to the servants stairs and following them until he reached his uncle’s library.

Entering the room, he walked over to a paneled wall and pressed a lever. A door swung open and two people emerged from the darkened tunnel. “What was the racket, Harry?” a woman’s voice asked as she stepped into the room.

“Lower your voice.” Henry released the laugh he’d held. “My sisters were caught fucking their cousins’ suitors, Marie.”

“Which one fucked Benedick?”

“Hope.”

Marie chuckled. “You might want to tell her to squeeze his cods if she wants to end things quickly given the size of his cock. Hmph, she gave it up for free because he’s a pinch-penny.”

“They’re looking to marry,” Henry retorted. “You’re only interested in money.”

The man who followed Marie from the tunnel snorted. “Since her plot to trap Othello Blackwood failed, there isn’t much chance Desdemona—sorry, Maria Stewart will find a wealthy husband.”

“May you grow blisters on your arse, Tom,” she shot back.

“Enough bickering you two, ” Henry hissed. “Let’s get this over with, and quietly. Follow me. We need to go through the tunnel to the servants entrance to the dining room”

The usually bickering Tom and Marie were quiet as church mice as they trailed behind him. Once they reached the servants’ entrance, Henry had Tom light the candle he carried. After Tom’s muttered curses about the flint, the light flickered into existence, and the trio entered the room.

Henry took the candle and walked over to the large cabinet where his aunt Maude kept her silver plates and cups. “Hist Marie, do your magic.”

Marie pulled a hairpin from beneath her cap and hip-bumped Henry to one side. “Adjust the light a bit. Good.”

She fiddled with the lock for a few seconds, then stepped back. “All yours, monsieur.”

Henry motioned for Tom to bring him the linen sack he held. “Guard the door.”

Once Tom was in place, Henry removed items and placed them in the sack. When he finished, Henry rearranged the remaining cups and plates. “No need to be greedy. Besides, some of these are fakes and we wouldn’t get a copper penny for them. Never understood why Aunt Maude keeps worthless trinkets in here.”

He closed the door to the cabinet and started for the servants’ entrance. Footsteps echoed outside the main door to the dining room and Tom blew out the candle. The door creaked as a hand pushed it open and a candle was thrust inside the room. Henry motioned the others to the wall behind the door.

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