The Pryce of Deceit: An Historical Ghost Cozy Mystery (The Pryce of Murder Book 2) by Kari Bovée

Author:Kari Bovée [Bovée, Kari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781947905245
Publisher: Bosque Publishing
Published: 2023-09-05T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

The following day around midmorning, the four of us—Eliza, Helen, myself, and Bijou—were setting out for Mr. Townsend’s home. As we were standing in the lobby waiting for the hotel carriage, Sally Dean approached us. I’d hardly recognized her as she was not wearing her customary barmaid’s ensemble of bright-green bustier and knee-length skirt. Instead, she wore a simple, two-piece cotton dress in a charming and understated brown-on-ochre-leaf print.

“Hello, Sally,” I greeted her. “Don’t you look nice.”

She gave me a charming smile. “Thank you, Mrs. Pryce. Kitty is allowing me the day off.”

I was glad to hear it. Sally spent long hours on her feet during the day at the Bella and then more long hours on her back in the evening and throughout the night. I wished I could afford to pay Kitty’s girls more to get them out of that life, but I was no match for what Kitty could give them and all the benefits she offered. They were like a little family—tightly bonded and loyal to one another. Although I didn’t approve of them “sporting” at the Arabella, I was grateful for the work they did in the saloon. They kept the place running, and the revenue generated from the Bella was more than helpful for the running of the hotel.

“Where are you ladies off to?” she asked.

Helen, holding the baby, shifted Clara to her other hip, jostling her quite roughly. The baby whimpered, threatening to cry.

“We have . . . well, we have an errand to attend to.” I didn’t feel it was appropriate to offer any of the details of our mission.

Clara’s fretting gave way to wailing. Helen let out an irritated sigh and rolled her eyes. “For Heaven’s sake, Clara,” she said. “I just fed you.”

“Oh, the poor thing.” Sally laid her hand on Clara’s back. Her large dark eyes were filled with compassion. “May I hold her?”

Without answering, Helen held the baby out to her. Sally took the child and hugged her close. Immediately, Clara’s crying ceased. She laid her little head on Sally’s shoulder, sniffling and snuffling into it.

“You have quite the touch,” I said, impressed with the tenderness she showed the child.

“I love babies. I have lots of little brothers and sisters. Before I came to La Plata Springs, I used to help my mother care for them.” She turned to Helen. “If you’d like, I could watch her while you go on your errand.”

“That’s a grand idea,” Eliza said with some disdain.

“Thank you,” Helen said. “She’ll need feeding at noon.” From her oversized handbag, she pulled out a feeding bottle full of milk and handed it to her. “I’ve left more milk in the kitchen icebox.”

“Wonderful.” Sally smiled brightly, her eyes lit with enthusiasm. “Come on, Clara. Let’s find you a toy to play with.”

Mr. Ellis, the hotel’s carriage driver, pulled the carriage up to the front of the hotel and we bade Sally and Clara goodbye. After Helen and Eliza got in, I noticed a commotion down the street, next to the livery.

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.