A Sinister Establishment: A Regency Cozy (A Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mystery Book 6) by Lynn Messina
Author:Lynn Messina [Messina, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Potatoworks Press
Published: 2020-06-15T22:00:00+00:00
Chapter Eleven
Mrs. Blewitt, in accordance with the behavior of her fellow servants, was eager to blame another member of the staff for Mr. Réjaneâs horrendous decapitation. To her credit, however, she managed to patiently answer several of Beatriceâs questions before forcefully pointing her finger.
Calmly, she recounted her movements during the relevant interval in helpful detail, explaining that after reviewing all the items in the pantry so that she could replenish the stores the following day, she had inspected the kitchen to make sure it was up to her cleanliness standards. Then she retired to her room, performed her nightly ablutions, said her prayers and climbed into bed. Although she had not checked the clock specifically to see the hour, she felt strongly it was a little after one.
Furthermore, she readily owned to having a longstanding disagreement with Monsieur Alphonse regarding the plants she chose to cultivate in the little courtyard garden. It was a trifle annoying, yes, the way the Frenchman repeatedly derided her rosebushes, but certainly nothing over which she bore him a grudge.
âHe would have preferred that I grow onions,â she explained, âbecause he thought you could never have too many of them. I am sure that is true, but my garden is an English one and must contain roses. I told him I was happy to share the plottage so that he may grow his own crops, but he had no interest in doing the work. I think he just enjoyed tweaking me about my roses. I did not mind in the least. It was like a game to him. Monsieur Alphonse did not take many things seriously. I understood that.â
As the chefâs nonchalant attitude had been mentioned in several interviews, Bea nodded absently at this statement and opened her mouth to question the nature of the disagreement, which had been described to her in considerably harsher terms by the scullery maid.
Before she could utter a word, however, Mrs. Blewittâs placidity broke and she cried plaintively, âBut I do not understand why you are asking all these questions about my behavior when you must already know who the killer is. Itâs Gertrude. Gertrude hated Monsieur Alphonse and everyone knows it. She could not bear how freely he moved about the house, coming and going as often as he pleased. Every time he wandered out of the kitchen to walk around the square or visit Gunterâs, she seethed with anger, and he wandered out all the time, whenever the mood struck. It happened just yesterday! In the middle of preparations for the party! He simply disappeared for almost an hour, leaving the pots boiling and the quails roasting and not telling a soul. Gertrude was beside herself. I have never seen anyone so angry. She roamed the kitchen, muttering to herself and brandishing a ladle like it was a club. I really thought she was going to knock him on the head as soon as he returned. I was prepared to intercede before things got out of hand, but eventually she remembered to check on the quails and returned to work.
Download
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.
Spare by Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex(4195)
Never by Ken Follett(2879)
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman(2297)
Machine Learning at Scale with H2O by Gregory Keys | David Whiting(2289)
Fairy Tale by Stephen King(2068)
Win by Harlan Coben(2061)
Will by Will Smith(2041)
Reminders of Him: A Novel by Colleen Hoover(1878)
The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly(1569)
The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom(1532)
Ellery Queen - 1965 - The Fourth Side of the Triangle by Ellery Queen(1506)
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner(1448)
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr(1434)
When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole(1431)
Undercover Threat by Sharon Dunn(1404)
The Searcher by Tana French;(1333)
The Becoming by Nora Roberts(1330)
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry(1327)
A Short History of War by Jeremy Black(1299)