Jane Pemberton 03 - An Inconvenient Corpse by Blythe Baker

Author:Blythe Baker [Baker, Blythe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798766879039
Google: sLPnzgEACAAJ
Goodreads: 59644959
Publisher: Independently published
Published: 2021-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

10

“Well, would you like to take a walk?” I asked as we left the dining room. With great relief, we left the room behind and made our way through the hall toward the foyer. “We have many options on a day as beautiful as today.”

“Indeed, we do,” Celia said, though I could tell from her tone and the way her gaze fixed upon her folded hands that she was distracted. Likely by the conversation we had been having over breakfast. For some reason, the encounter with her father had troubled her, and this particular death disturbed her more than the others that had occurred recently.

“What would you like to do?” I asked. “Do you wish me to call for the carriage, so we could go down to the shore and have a walk by the sea? Or would you perhaps enjoy a walk out here around the estate, with the lovely vistas in the distance?”

Celia seemed to rouse, and she looked over her shoulder at me. “I think…a walk around the estate would be nice,” she said.

I nodded. “Wonderful.”

She let out a small sigh, turning her gaze toward the windows as we passed.

“Are you all right?” I asked. I started, realizing how much I sounded like my mother. I had used the same tone she used to when she knew something was troubling me.

“Of course,” Celia said, but there had been a moment of hesitation. She turned her head and smiled, though not directly at me. “I suppose I am only a little surprised.”

“Surprised?” I asked. “At what, precisely?”

“My father,” Celia said. “He seems…a great deal calmer than I might have expected of him.”

“I had the same thought,” I said. “It must be a relief for you, yes?”

“Oh…well, yes, I suppose,” she said. “I was so sure of Mr. Burton’s guilt.”

I understood. “I know it must be frustrating to once again be uncertain of who the offender is,” I said. “But I am confident that your father, and the proper authorities, will be able to – ”

“You sound just like my father,” Celia said in a quiet voice.

My face flushed. “I do not mean to distress you,” I said. “But I also would very much like for you not to be so troubled over this.”

We reached the foyer, and I decided to walk around and speak to her.

I knelt down in front of her. “Celia, I realize this is all very confusing,” I said. “It is for me, as well. But we must do our best to remain calm and trust that the answers will be found.”

She pursed her lips and cast her gaze downward.

“This is not your responsibility to settle,” I said. “Nor is it mine, though I can certainly see why you would wish to put an end to it all as soon as you can. This is your home. And right now it does not feel particularly safe, does it?”

Celia tugged at the end of her sleeve.

I laid a hand on her knee. “This will pass. You will feel safe in your own home once again.

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.