A MYSTERIOUS MURDER by Fiona Grace

Author:Fiona Grace [Grace, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

It was the perfume that had clued Mary in. That whiff of perfume, smelled on Lord Farthing’s pillow, had given her a hint as to what might have happened.

With Lady Farthing at the table, this blond woman in the green jacket who he was having an affair with could have been angry. She remembered the half mocking words that Lord Farthing had spoken, talking about his ‘beautiful wife’. That might have made a mistress angry. Perhaps he’d promised this woman the world, and then never kept his promise. At any rate, love in such a situation was a precarious thing, Mary thought.

That blond woman could have been smiling and laughing while concealing murderous thoughts, and have seen the opportunity when the scene between Mary and Lord Farthing played out, and she realized that he was getting drunker and drunker, and wouldn’t be able to put up a fight. Yes, this woman was somebody she needed to speak to – and urgently.

But she would have to wait for morning. Reluctantly, feeling that every moment counted in this case, she took off that smart uniform, now creased and rumpled, and lay down on the bed.

She had never thought she’d sleep, but her mum must have been right about the tea, because although it seemed like only a moment later that she opened her eyes, the window was brightening outside with a faint light. The day was fine. The sky on the faint gray horizon looked clear.

Mary put on the uniform again, smoothing it down. She brushed her hair carefully, taming down the buttery blond waves which were tangled and unruly after her stressful day yesterday, and placed the white cap over them.

She might have been forbidden to work, but wearing a uniform was going to represent her best chance at staying unseen, even though some of the guests might be looking at the household staff with a more wary eye today.

Then, taking a deep breath, she scrambled over her bag and headed out.

It was time, finally, to clear her name. And her nose would lead her to where she needed to go. At any rate, she hoped so.

Breathing deeply, keeping that astringently rosy scent in her mind, Mary headed along the corridor. At every door she stopped, taking a sniff, seeing if she could pick up any trace of it on the doorknob, or coming from under the door.

It wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped. Unfortunately, the doors just smelled of wood. The doorknobs smelled metallic. And even though, after looking around carefully, she got down on her hands and knees and even tried to smell under the door, these solid wooden doors were very closely fitting to the floor. There was barely a crack between the two. You could have slipped a love letter in there, but that was about all.

And you certainly couldn’t smell perfume from the other side.

But perhaps she could think of a creative excuse. Because she had heard the blond woman speak and thought she would recognize her voice again if she heard it.

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