An Invisible Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

enjoyment. Jenny rather approved of Janice.
    Opposite her, Ava Simmons raised her napkin and gave her lips a gentle pat before reaching for a small glass of wine. Up a place, and opposite, Elsie watched the governess with derisive eyes. Malcolm Powell-Brooks waited patiently for his food to cool. Lady Roberta, of course, ate with her grandparents. No doubt she’d much rather eat down here with the servants who were her friends, Jenny suspected, and, of course, with her art tutor, who must be the cause of many a blush-making, teenage dream.
    ‘I’d have thought you’d want to meet him at the pub rather than have him come up here, Janice,’ Malcolm said, and smiled mischievously as her pretty blonde head shot up. Both of them turned and glanced at Ava Simmons, who seemed oblivious to it all.
    Jenny noticed Janice flush a dull, unbecoming red, but before she could make any gentle probing as to what Malcolm was insinuating, Meecham reappeared. In spite of herself, Jenny was uncomfortably aware that she was watching him anxiously. Noticing her scrutiny, he smiled gently.
    ‘Their lordships would like to express their approval and satisfaction, Miss Starling,’ the butler said in his usual pedantic tone. Translated – they had lifted the lid, taken one delighted look, and tucked in like gannets.
    Jenny beamed, and for the first time that evening, fully relaxed. She glanced over her shoulder to the stove and the two big pots, steaming away gently, and glanced at the kitchen clock. Perfect timing. The two raspberry jam steamed puddings would be cooked to perfection in another fifteen minutes.
    ‘Has anyone seen my knitting needle? My number ten?’ Elsie suddenly piped up, her voice abrupt and accusing. ‘I know I had it the day before yesterday. I was knitting a cardigan for Bunty’s youngest.’
    ‘Are you sure it’s not in your bag, Elsie?’ Gayle asked, ignoring the exasperated looks the others cast in the kitchen maid’s direction.
    Elsie’s unlovely face became set. ‘No, it ain’t. First place I looked, weren’t it? It’s not there. The other one is. Someone must have took it, that’s all.’
    ‘Who’d want to steal just one knitting needle, Elsie?’ Janice piped up reasonably. ‘Perhaps it went the same way as that slipper of yours.’ She glanced across at Jenny, and winked. ‘Or that thimble you swore somebody had pinched.’
    Elsie merely glowered. ‘Someone put that slipper under my chair. I never does that. I always has me slippers on, else they’re kept under me bed. I know who it was, all right. That young ladyship. Little minx. Thinks I don’t know where I put things. But I ain’t so daft. And that thimble shouldn’t have been in that drawer. I never keeps me thimbles in that drawer.’
    ‘Oh well, I’m sure it will turn up, Elsie,’ Gayle said placatingly.
    When everybody had finished, Jenny did a quick check of the plates. Elsie, Meecham, Janice and Gayle had left clean plates. Only Malcolm and Ava Simmons had left some, mostly vegetables. All in all, she was satisfied.
    ‘That’s the bell, Dad,’ Gayle said, prompting her father as a faint but plainly audible bell tinkled overhead. So Meecham was just a little hard of hearing, Jenny noted idly. Or was he just preoccupied?
    The butler followed her to the stove and watched with evident approval as she removed the family’s pudding from the pot, took off the greaseproof paper, traced a knife around the edge and upturned it. The sponge came out clean, golden and light, the generous helping of runny, piping hot jam trickling down the sides in a delicious stream. A jug of proper custard was placed by its side and Meecham left, moving at a fair old clip. When she turned back to the stove, Jenny was just in time to see Elsie already turning out the larger servants’ bowl onto a plate.
    The cook hadn’t heard her, and for a moment, she felt slightly uneasy. She
should
have heard her crossing the flagged kitchen floor. She
should
have