The Mystery of the Black Widow ~ A Gay Victorian Romance and Erotic Novella by Lady T. L. Jennings

Author:Lady T. L. Jennings [Jennings, Lady T. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: My Secret Quill
Published: 2016-02-27T16:00:00+00:00

*

~ Chapter Nine ~

As I turned a corner, I nearly walked straight into another servant girl, who without even giving me a second glance, walked straight past me, carrying a pile of towels.

“Excuse me,” I said, rather annoyed with her somewhat rude behaviour.

However, she did not seem to notice me at all and simply continued walking down the corridor towards the rooms at the other end of the inn.

I straightened my back, ready to call out after her again, when I realised that it was the same young servant girl whom I had seen the previous evening when I was searching for someone who could provide me with extra blankets. Then, I had assumed that she was a little bit deaf, but now I changed my opinion of her.

Clearly she is both deaf and daft, I thought and scoffed. But then again, she might just be an unfortunate relative that the innkeeper and his wife employed more out of charity than out of necessity, I added to myself, mollified by my own thoughts. It is not that they really need more servant girls with so few guests staying at the inn.

A fire was burning in the fireplace, and the room was not as cold as it had been the previous night, I was pleased to notice when I entered my room. After walking back and forth with my hands behind my back for a while, I sat down at the small writing desk and read through Lord Lydford’s second will.

Had Lord Lydford really died of heart failure? I thought with a frown. According to Letty’s story, he had not been overly close to his brother and he had seemed composed over his death, but then again, some people are better at hiding their emotions than others–I knew all about that.

Had a sudden rare brain fever truly claimed James Lydford’s life? I mused and tapped my fingertips lightly together in front of me while I rested my elbows against the desk. He had been five-and-thirty, significantly younger than Lord and Lady Lydford, according to my notes. Brain fevers could be dangerous and contagious; however, was it not odd that only James Lydford had been affected and no one else until several weeks later when it had affected the two attorneys from London?

But was there really a link between the previous three deaths at Lydford Hall and what happened to the two attorneys who visited the manor significantly later, when everyone had left and the house was closed up? I wondered, without finding any clear answers.

And why had the housemaid, Sarah Barnes, really committed suicide?

The list of questions seemed endless and impossible to answer in one evening. Only one thing was absolutely certain: Lavinia Lydford was a liar. Ghosts did not exist, and the whole notion about a mysterious ‘Black Widow’ strolling around a rumoured haunted mansion was perfectly absurd.

But then, why had she lied about it? I pondered and stroked my unshaved chin thoughtfully. Could there have been another reason for

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.