Dark Gothic Box Set 1 by Eve Silver

Author:Eve Silver
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-988674-15-5
Publisher: Eve Silver

Chapter 9

Less than an hour had passed since Emma had overheard the exceedingly odd conversation between the housekeeper and Lord Anthony, and her understanding of their dialogue was no clearer now than it had been then. Thrusting her hand into the pocket of her skirt, she curled her fingers around the key to the upstairs rooms, the cold metal ridges pressing into her skin. A convenient reason to seek out Mrs. Bolifer. An opening for a long-overdue discussion.

Closing her eyes briefly, she stiffened her resolve before rapping lightly on the closed door of Mrs. Bolifer’s private apartment.

“Yes?” The housekeeper's voice sounded impatient.

Emma smiled. It was nice to know that some things would always be as expected.

“Mrs. Bolifer? May I speak with you?”

A rustling sound, the scrape of a chair along the wooden floor, then the door was pulled open a crack. Mrs. Bolifer glared at her through the thin opening, gray eyes narrowed in undisguised irritability.

“I am working on the household accounts, Miss Parrish. What do you want?” She opened the door a fraction of an inch wider, and a soft scent drifted into the hallway. Like freshly squeezed lemons, Emma thought, frowning. There was something familiar about the smell. A medicinal quality that made it less than pleasant.

“I should like to speak with you for a moment, if I may.” Emma angled herself into the opening, hoping that the housekeeper would not slam the door in her face.

“Only for a moment.” Grudgingly, Mrs. Bolifer stepped back, indicating that Emma might enter.

Emma stepped through, surreptitiously studying her surroundings and finding them rather unexpected. She would have predicted the housekeeper's apartment to be drab and gray, not unlike the woman herself. Somehow, she had imagined that Mrs. Bolifer would live in a stark and dark environment, with heavy furniture and cheerless decoration. Instead she found a bright room painted buttercream yellow, with curtains of a slightly darker hue adorning the windows. They were pulled back with tasseled ties, letting the daylight stream through the glass panes.

A lovely embroidered settee was against the far wall, and a matching chair angled toward the hearth. On the mantelpiece sat a cut-glass vase with pale pink roses that had yet to reach their full bloom. Two small gilt-framed miniature portraits flanked the vase. Emma caught a glimpse of a stern faced man portrayed in one, and a young girl, her lips turned up in the hint of a smile, depicted in the second.

The housekeeper crossed to a small round table with two delicately carved high-back chairs. She sat down in the chair facing Emma. With unblinking gaze and taciturn mien she flipped the cover of her journal closed and rested her open palm against the dark leather jacket, her fingers splayed outward, as if holding in the secrets of the tome they rested upon.

Though the second chair stood empty, Mrs. Bolifer did not offer it.

“Well? What do you want?” The housekeeper drummed her fingers on the book as she waited for Emma's response.

“I came to return the key to the rooms on the upper floor.

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