Death by Dark Roast by Kate Adams

Author:Kate Adams [Adams, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-10T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

You might think that a dark room with walls covered in shelves groaning under the weight of thousands of books, dark leather armchairs and dark wood tables all around would be the last place you’d want to spend time on a warm summer’s day, but no matter what was going on outside, I always found the Library Café comfortable and welcoming. In the winter, it was a cosy escape from the worst of the weather; in the summer, it transformed into a cool respite from the sun’s rays. I had yet to find a season in which this wasn’t my favourite of the three cafés.

Today it seemed like the visitors agreed. With the Food Festival packing up and the stallholders moving on, the visitors had returned to the cafés for lunch and their restorative coffee and cake. Staff members also reappeared in their droves for a caffeine-fuelled pick-me-up before meetings; others held their meetings in here with coffee and cake to make it all the more bearable. Visitors would browse the shelves, taking in the selection of books that the Duke had demanded would not merely be decoration, but would reflect the interests and history of the house and generations of the family that had lived here. Art, architecture, gardening, social history, Shakespeare – books of all kinds were there on the walls of the café, sourced from second-hand bookshops throughout Derbyshire, giving visitors a glimpse into the minds of the Fitzwilliam-Scotts. It amazed me that so few books were stolen, but the first time I’d mentioned to the Duke that there were some gaps on the shelves, he’d simply smiled and said he hoped that the books gave their new owners great pleasure.

I had spent the morning helping to keep the shelves of sandwiches stocked, serving iced coffee and clearing tables. It was a day for mucking in and I didn’t mind; it was a nice change from spreadsheets and emails, and anyway, my office was unbearably hot and I’d grab any excuse to stay out of there. I’d just finished advising a couple of American visitors on what I felt were the ‘must see’ parts of the house and was wiping down tables when Kathy Wright came in. She looked tired and distracted, but smiled when she spotted me.

‘Hi, Kathy, lovely to see you. Can I get you a coffee, or is that not the generous offer it sounds?’

She laughed. ‘I wouldn’t say no. My morning cup just doesn’t seem to be enough today.’ Despite the smile that had crossed her face, she still looked tired. Her eyes flitted around the café, unable to settle on me, or anything else for that matter. ‘I’m actually here to drop this off for you while Lucy is up at the events office with Yeshim. We thought you might like some more samples, have a chance to try some of the coffee that we didn’t have on sale at the festival.’

Kathy handed me a cardboard box. I opened it to find six beautifully packaged sample bags with the adorable Signal Box logo printed on every one.

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