The Chambermaid: A Chilling Mystery Thriller by Ramona Light

Author:Ramona Light [Light, Ramona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2022-10-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 36

“Ah, Miss Mason,” Clifford calls as I walk toward the hotel. He is standing outside in the pale sunshine, examining some of the flowers that run along the front of the building. “Another trip into town, I see!”

I look down at the paper bag in my hands and try to smile, but I can’t. Seeing Willow run away really hurt me, and it also confirmed my worst fear—she has talked to someone about my questions. Why else would she have been so embarrassed?

“Bought something nice, I hope?” Clifford asks, his voice overly cheery. Instead of making me feel relaxed, it angers me. How can he be so nonchalant after what he said in the kitchen the other day?

I look in the bag at the random items I bought. “I suppose.”

Clifford lets go of the stem he’d been examining and walks up to me. His round-rimmed glasses slip down his beak of a nose a little, and he pushes them back up. His hair looks a little disheveled, and there are beads of sweat on his forehead.

“Is everything okay, Miss Mason?”

“Fine,” I say, a little too sharply.

“You seem a bit flustered,” Clifford says. “Did something unsavory happen in town?”

“No, nothing.”

“Indeed. You can always talk to me, you know?” he says. His voice is sickly sweet. When he smiles, I have to fight a shiver. “I’ll always be here for you.”

When he reaches out and puts his clammy hand on my shoulder, I automatically flinch away. Clifford snaps it back, then turns around and scans the area. His smile is still there when he looks at me again, but it feels forced.

“The flowers have really come up this year, wouldn’t you say?” he asks, waving his hand over the gardens on either side of us.

“Yes, they’re lovely.”

“Indeed. I wish we had more. But alas, I have to make do with what little space we have,” Clifford says sadly.

It looks like they have plenty of space to me, and almost all of it is covered in flowers.

When I tell him this, he says, “You can never have enough flowers, Miss Mason.”

“Well, I should get this stuff upstairs,” I tell him, shaking the bag. Although, I don’t think I need anything in it. I only bought them because I was so uncomfortable.

“Of course, how rude of me,” Clifford replies, stepping aside. As I walk past, he adds, “Quite a view, isn’t it?”

“Excuse me?”

“From your room.” When I turn around, he has his back to me as he examines another row of rose bushes. “It’s an interesting vantage point, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, sure, I guess.” I don’t know if he will talk again, but I don’t care. My patience is running thin.

I spin on my heels and walk through the main doors into the foyer. One of the men I see there quite often is behind the desk talking to a couple wearing all black. He looks up when he sees me but doesn’t acknowledge me in any way. I’m used to that reaction by now, but it still hurts.

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