Castle of Secrets by Amanda Grange Page B

me, and
let me know when he is fit to be seen.’
    ‘Yes, my lord,
of course, my lord.’
    ‘Good.’ He
thought for a moment, and then said: ‘Your boy in the outer office. He met Mrs
Reynolds?’
    ‘Alas no, my
lord. He has only just joined us. His predecessor is sadly demised.’
    ‘I see. Very
well. Inform me when I might speak to Mr Brunson.’
    ‘Yes, my lord,
very good, my lord.’
    He took his
leave, with Mr Wantage bowing him out of the office, then set about paying
attention to business.
     
    The following morning, Helena was awake early, and was
already dressed when Effie entered the room. She wanted to question the girl,
and find out what she had discovered in the drawer in the housekeeper’s room.
    ‘Good
morning,’ she said.
    Effie grunted
a reply, and set about seeing to the fire.
    ‘I wonder if
you can help me,’ she said. She considered asking a direct question, but
suspected it would produce nothing but anxiety in the girl, as it had when she
had questioned her about the mail, and so she decided to lead up to it in a
roundabout manner.
    ‘I would like
to make an inventory of the drawers in the housekeeper’s desk – that means
making a list of everything that’s inside them,’ she explained, as Effie turned
and looked at her blankly. ‘I need to know which of the things belong to the
castle, and which belong to Mrs Carlisle. She might want to claim her
belongings when her sister is feeling better, and I do not want to use them by
mistake.’
    ‘No, missus.’
    ‘Can you
remember what you saw there when you looked for some string?’
    Effie turned
back to the fire hurriedly, knocking the fire irons over in the process. They
fell with a clatter. Effie jumped, picking them up nervously and trying to hang
them back in place, with hands that shook so much she had to make several
attempts before succeeding.
    ‘Can you
remember what there was?’ Helena prompted her.
    Effie shook
her head.
    ‘Was there,
perhaps, some writing paper?’
    Effie jumped.
    ‘There was a
letter, perhaps?’
    Effie’s mouth
clamped together, and her hands shook as she raked the grate.
    ‘Do you
remember anything at all?’ Helena asked.
    Effie shook
her head, and concentrated vigorously on her task.
    It was clear Helena was going to get nothing
from the girl, at least for the moment, so she complimented her on her ability
to lay a clean fire. Her praise went some way towards relaxing Effie, who
picked up the empty bucket and hurried out of the room.
    One avenue of
exploration had led nowhere, but she hoped she might have better luck with
another. After taking breakfast with Mrs Beal in the kitchen, she went out to
the stables, for she had remembered something overnight: Mrs Beal had mentioned
that the coachman had taken her aunt to Draycot to catch the stage.
    The stables
were situated behind the castle, and the block was well tended. The noise of
horses snuffling came from the stalls, and a glossy chestnut head looked out.
    The black
carriage, which Helena had ridden in on her journey across the moor, was standing in the stable yard,
and the coachman was polishing the brass lamps.
    ‘Good
morning,’ she said.
    He looked up
briefly and acknowledged her presence, before returning to his work.
    ‘I wanted to
thank you for driving me across the moor on my arrival here,’ said Helena .
    ‘His
lordship’s orders,’ said the coachman.
    ‘Quite so. It
was good of him to take me up. It is not every earl who would make room in his
carriage for his housekeeper.’
    He grunted a
reply and went on with his work.
    ‘He seems to
be a good master to work for,’ she said.
    He grunted
again.
    ‘He set you to
drive my predecessor to the nearest town, so that she could catch the stage
coach a few weeks ago, I understand.’
    ‘Aye.’
    ‘It was a very
kind thing for him to do. Poor lady, having to leave in such a hurry.’
    ‘Ah.’
    ‘And so late
at night. Was it not difficult for you to harness the horses?’ she