The Curious Case of the Templeton-Swifts: A 1920s Mystery (Lord Edgington Investigates... Book 6) by Benedict Brown

Author:Benedict Brown [Brown, Benedict]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-12T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Returning to the entrance hall, I found Delilah coming down from her master’s bedroom looking particularly hungry. She peered about the room as if to say, what’s been going on here without me?

“Have you been sleeping all morning, you lovely lazy beast?”

She didn’t respond, not only because she was a dog, but because that other beast, Devyn Templeton-Swift, rushed down the stairs at that moment. “Are you talking to that animal again?” he growled. “You’re really not the full shilling if you think she’s capable of an intelligent reply.”

He sneered at me, and I had a good mind to tell him what I really thought of a man who went scaring his staff and apparently lacked the capacity to smile. I didn’t, of course, as I was afraid he would hit me, but I was sorely tempted. Instead, I made a small, scared noise and ran off to find my mother.

There was no sign of her in the lounge we’d previously occupied and, by the time I’d finished looking for her downstairs, Halfpenny and Cook had arrived.

“How on Earth did you get here so quickly?” I marvelled. “It’s been less than half an hour since Todd called you.”

Our footman, Halfpenny, turned to stone and could think of no possible explanation, whereas Henrietta pushed straight past him with a brief, “Afternoon, Master Christopher. We were lucky with the traffic, that’s what it was.”

Halfpenny nodded nervously and dashed after his colleague. I suppose that, to be a cook, Henrietta must have required an intrinsic knowledge of architecture; she knew where the kitchen would be without asking. I went outside to look for my family, and the truth finally hit me. “They didn’t come all the way from Cranley.” I walked a little further through the immense forecourt of the house. “They must have been staying nearby.” A few more steps and I’d dismissed the possibility that our footman and our creative chef were conducting some kind of illicit affair before a more realistic explanation finally presented itself. “This was Grandfather’s doing!”

It was at this very moment that Lord Edgington, the paragon of virtue and truth, appeared from the house with his daughter at his side. They had changed into walking clothes; I believe it was the first time I’d seen my grandfather in anything but grey wool and cashmere since he’d dressed up for a treasure hunt in the winter.

I stood at the stone entranceway to the estate, waiting for him to arrive and, when he finally strolled over, I had an accusation to put to him. “You’ve been keeping two members of your staff in Salisbury. You sneaked out of the house under false pretences yesterday evening to dine with them, isn’t that correct?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” He selected his most indignant tone for this statement.

Sitting on the running board of the Silver Ghost, our chauffeur was only a few feet away. I knew that he couldn’t lie. “Todd, tell me the truth. Did you drive my

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.