A Murder at Rosamund's Gate Read Online Free PDF Page B

Judith said, looking meaningfully at the jug in Lucy’s hand.
    “Oh, let me fill that for you,” Lucy said, moving across the room. In her haste, a bit of wine sloshed onto Judith’s silk dress.
    “Stupid!” Judith exclaimed, jerking back in her chair. “Look what you’ve done!”
    “Oh, miss, I’m so sorry!” Lucy stammered, her face red. She looked about for a bit of linen to dab at Judith’s dress.
    “I should say you are,” Judith said, smoothing her skirts, conscious that the men had stopped talking. To Mistress Hargrave she said, “Your servant has spilled the wine. In our household, she’d be discharged for such sloppiness. So uncommon is it for us, I daresay it surprises us when we come upon it elsewhere.”
    “Yes, my dear,” Lady Embry purred, with a quick glance at her daughter, “but we should not expect servants to be so well trained as ours. We get ours early on indeed, sometimes as young as nine or ten, and train them from the start. This way, they know how to handle themselves in the presence of their betters. A few were even from the palace, where such happenstance is unheard of.”
    Lucy looked down, her cheeks burning.
    Master Hargrave coughed slightly. “Indeed,” he said, smiling at Lucy. “Such accidents are rare here, too. In any case, we should not like to sack a lass like Lucy, for such loyal and trustworthy servants are worth far more than the trouble a few drops of wine can bring.”
    “Moreover,” his wife put in, “I know how to take that stain out.” Mistress Hargrave then dabbed a clean piece of linen into her goblet before carefully rubbing at the stain on Judith’s dress. As if she had performed an act of sorcery, the stain disappeared. “See, the white Rhenish wine takes out the red straight away.” She laid the linen on the table. “A little trick I learned at the palace.”
    Judith and her mother exchanged glances. “At the palace?” Lady Embry asked, her haughty tone catching a bit.
    “Yes, when I was one of Her Majesty’s own ladies-in-waiting. I was but a young girl, of course, not much over twelve when I first came.” The mistress smiled blandly at her guests. Lucy could have hugged her. “And I can tell you, during the time of Charles and Henrietta, there was no small amount of wine spilled at the palace, by nobles and servants alike.”
    The mistress sat back, dabbing her mouth daintily. Lucy could have sworn she was hiding a smile but was far too well bred to show it. To have served the queen as a beautiful lady-in-waiting was no small honor. Few could say the same, and this was quite a triumph. Lady Embry nodded slightly, acknowledging the added status of her hostess, and seemed to lose her chill somewhat.
    The rest of the night passed pleasantly enough with Master Hargrave pulling out the fiddle and passing it around for the household to play a merry tune. He had long insisted his children and ward learn to play. Sarah was quite good, Lucy noted with a little smile. Sarah’s music teacher had been attractive enough to keep her interest. Lucas, too, though coming to the instrument a bit late, played a few quick jigs passably.
    Dutifully, Adam took his turn, his eyes half shut, ignoring Judith’s rapt attention. He seemed neither interested nor disinterested in the piece but played with little of the fervor she had seen in him on some evenings. Indeed, he seemed distracted.
    Placing the violin back in the case, he caught Lucy’s eye. She raised an eyebrow, and he gave a little shrug. I do not perform for strangers, he seemed to say.
    Especially ones that insult a hardworking lass in his household, Lucy added mentally on his behalf. Whether that gallantry was true, she did not know.
    *   *   *
    The next morning, Bessie and Lucy stepped out of the magistrate’s house, eager to have a day off. The mist today was tentative, a few wisps that the wind easily chased away. Since both were visiting their families south of London, the girls planned