Anne Perry - Silence in Hanover Close

Slowly, side by side, they left the library, crossed the hall to the stairs, and went up.

That evening Edith had another one of her “spells,” and Emily was asked to lay out the dinner gowns for both Veronica and Loretta.

“Poor Edith. She should see a doctor,” she said with cloying sweetness. “Shall I ask Mrs. York to call one for her? I’m sure she would; she thinks so highly of Edith.”

Fanny tittered and then stopped abruptly when the housekeeper glared at her.

“There’s no need for you to tell us what to do and what not to, miss!” Mrs. Crawford snapped at Emily. “We’ll call a doctor if it’s necessary! You’re a sight too ready with your advice!”

Emily affected innocence and a slight air of having been hurt.

“I’m sure I was only trying to help, Mrs. Crawford, being that I shall see Mrs. York in the line of duty. To save you going out of your way.”

“I’ll go where I please, miss, and none of your business!”

“The girl was only trying to help,” the butler said reasonably. “And maybe we should get a doctor to Edith. She has more turns than a hurdy-gurdy!”

Libby burst into a fit of giggles and half slid under the table.

“Oh, you are so witty, Mr. Redditch,” Bertha said admiringly.

Nora snorted. She had observed Bertha’s eye for Redditch and, having tried her own hand there and failed, regarded it with scorn. Anyway, she had every intention of doing better than a butler-Bertha could have him and welcome! She wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life living in someone else’s house! She was going to have one of her own, with nice linen and crockery, and a maid of all work.

Redditch smirked slightly; admiration was very pleasant.

“Control yourself, Libby,” he said sententiously. “No call for all that. Yes, Mrs. Crawford, I think Amelia might mention it to Mrs. York.”

“Yes, Amelia,” Nora agreed with a little sniff. “Why don’t you do that?”

Joan opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind. But she stared at Emily and shook her head so slightly it might have been an illusion of the gaslight, except for the expression of warning in her eyes.

“Scorch any slips today?” Nora asked sarcastically.

Emily smiled back. “No, thank you. Did you spill any soup?”

“I never spill soup! I know my job!”

“You used to,” Albert said with satisfaction. In his opinion Nora was a step above herself. He had tried to be friendly with her, and she thought herself too good for a junior footman. And she had ticked him off in front of the tweeny. “I remember when you dropped a potato in the French ambassador’s lap.”

“And I remember a few of your mistakes, too!” Nora said fiercely. “Do you want me to begin?”

“Do as you please, I’m sure,” Albert said airily, but his face was bright pink.

“I will! How about the day you stood on Lady Wortley’s train? I can still hear the taffeta rip!”

Redditch decided to take control. “That’ll do!” The butler straightened himself in his chair and fixed them with a stern eye. “I won’t have name-calling and interfering with other people’s jobs. Nora, what you said was uncalled for!”

Nora made a face behind his back.

Emily stood up. “The wind’ll change and you’ll get stuck like that!” she said simply, betraying to everyone what Nora had done. “Anyway, it’s time I went upstairs.”

“It’s more than time!” the housekeeper added. “Seeing as you have both ladies to care for. Should have gone quarter of an hour since.”

“I didn’t know Edith would be taken with one of her spells again,” Emily answered back. “Although I suppose I might have guessed, seeing how often they happen.”

“I’ll have none of your impertinence!” the housekeeper snapped. “Watch your tongue, miss, or you’ll be out on the street without a character!”

“And there’s only one way to make your living then,” Nora added spitefully. “We all know what ’appened to Daisy. Not that you’d be much good at that either. You’re too thin, and you’ve no color at all.”

“And I should imagine you’d be perfect!” Emily returned instantly. “You’ve just the face for it. You’re wasted here- at least, I suppose you are.”

“Oh!” Nora flushed scarlet. “I’ve never been so insulted!” She stood up and flounced out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Albert started to giggle and Libby slid down under the table again, burying her face in her apron. Only Fanny stared in horror; she understood the power of jealousy instinctively, and she had seen enough to be frightened of it.

Emily left the room on the crest of her victory, but she had only got as far as the doorway when she heard the whispers start behind her.

“She’s a bad lot, that one!” the housekeeper said sharply. “She’ll have to go! Mark my words. Airs above herself-trying to talk with a fancy voice!”

“Nonsense!” The butler was very quick. “She’s got a bit of spirit, that’s all. Nora’s been queening around here too long; time someone matched up to her. She’s just not used to having another girl as handsome as Amelia is.”

“Handsome! Amelia?” Mrs. Crawford snorted. “Thin as a tuppenny rabbit, she is, and all that pale hair, and skin like a dish of whey. If you ask me, she’s not healthy!”

“She’s a sight healthier than Edith!” Redditch said with evident satisfaction.

Emily closed the door on Mrs. Crawford’s gasp of temper, and went along to the green baize door and up the main stairs.

By the time Emily had laid out Veronica’s clothes and gone to Loretta’s room, Loretta was already waiting for her. For several minutes she merely gave instructions, almost absent-mindedly, then at last she seemed to make up her mind to speak.

“Amelia?”

“Yes, ma’am?” Emily heard the difference in her tone, something peremptory in it. Or perhaps she was anxious?

“Is Miss Veronica unwell this evening?”

Emily considered her answer for a moment. If only she knew more about Loretta and her relationship with her son. Had the marriage been arranged? Had Loretta selected Veronica? Or had she and Robert fallen in love, against Loretta’s wishes? Perhaps she had been one of those possessive mothers for whom no woman could have been good enough to marry her son.

“Yes ma’am, I think she was.” She must be careful. If Veronica herself said otherwise she would create trouble by betraying her to her mother-in-law and at the same time destroy the trust she needed in order to learn anything. “I didn’t like to ask her, in case I intruded.”

Loretta was sitting on the stool in front of the dressing table. Her face was grave, her blue eyes wide. Cascades of deep, wavy hair framed her perfect pink and white skin.

“Amelia, I must confide in you.” Her eyes met Emily’s in the glass. “Veronica is not very strong, and her health needs care, at times perhaps more than she realizes. I hope you will help me to protect her. Her happiness is very important to me, you understand. Not only was she my son’s wife, but in the time she has lived here we have grown very close.”

Emily was startled into attention. She had been mesmerized for a moment by the steady, almost unblinking gaze in the glass.

“Yes, ma’am,” she agreed hesitantly. Surely it was a lie-wasn’t it? Or could the violent emotion between them be a form of love, of dependence and resentment? How should she answer this? She must behave like a maid and yet not lose the chance to learn. Did Loretta already know about Pitt’s visit? Emily must not be caught in a lie, or she’d be thrown out and would fail completely. “Of course I will do whatever I can,” she said, smiling back nervously. “The poor lady does seem …” What word should she use? Frightened-terrified was the truth-but of what? Loretta was watching her, waiting. “Delicate,” Emily finished desperately.