British Manor Murder Read Online Free PDF

do? How can we help?” asked Lucy.
    â€œWell, I just took a CPR course,” said Sue.
    â€œGood to know,” muttered Lucy as they left the kitchen and retraced their steps along the passageway.
    â€œI bet this was the downstairs where the servants toiled away,” said Lucy, thinking how horrible it would be to work all day in the poorly-lit subterranean tunnel.
    â€œDid you notice the bells in the kitchen?” asked Sue. “They were over the doorway. There were a bunch of them, all labeled. D RAWING R OOM , H IS L ORDSHIP , H ER L ADYSHIP , N URSERY , and lots more.” She stopped walking and squeezed Lucy’s arm. “Can you believe it, Lucy? Here we are in an English country house, honored guests, for all the world like Lady Susan and Lady Lucy. It makes me wish for a big hat with plumes and a skirt with a bustle.”
    â€œI suspect that back then we’d be wearing black dresses and white aprons,” said Lucy, glumly realistic. “And the plumes would be on our feather dusters instead of our hats.”
    â€œYou’re probably right,” admitted Sue, resuming the hike along the passage. “But a girl can dream.”
    After passing through the door to the passage beneath the manor house, they continued on a short distance to a cellar where they encountered a utilitarian stone staircase with a plain black metal railing.
    â€œShall we?” asked Sue.
    â€œNothing ventured, nothing gained,” grumbled Lucy, mounting the stairs.
    Reaching the door at the top of the stairs, they paused to read the framed notice listing rules for servants, which were printed in black boldface on paper card that had yellowed with age.
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    KEEP OUTER DOOR LOCKED AT ALL TIMES.
    ONLY THE BUTLER MAY ANSWER THE BELL. BE PUNCTUAL.
    NO GAMBLING OR OATHS OR ABUSIVE LANGAGE ALLOWED.
    NO SERVANT IS TO RECEIVE VISITORS IN THE HOUSE.
    ANY MAID FOUND FRATERNISING WITH A MEMBER OF THE OPPOSITE SEX WILL BE DISMISSED IMMEDIATELY WITHOUT A HEARING.
    THE HALL DOOR IS TO BE CLOSED AT HALF PAST TEN O’CLOCK EVERY NIGHT.
    THE SERVANTS’ HALL IS TO BE CLEARED AND CLOSED AT HALF PAST TEN O’CLOCK EVERY NIGHT.
    ANY BREAKAGES OR DAMAGES TO THE HOUSE WILL BE DEDUCTED FROM WAGES.
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    â€œI imagine they’ve kept this as a sort of joke,” said Sue.
    â€œI hope so. Otherwise it would be very hard to retain staff these days,” said Lucy, pushing open the door and revealing a space so large and grand that it caused them to gasp in awe. Craning their necks, they saw, high above them, a blue sky dotted with puffy clouds upon which perched numerous scantily clad pink-fleshed ladies and gentlemen of ample girth. Around them fluttered dozens of plump little cherubs, some playing musical instruments and others equipped with bows and arrows.
    â€œI’d like to do something like this in my bathroom,” quipped Sue, waving a hand toward the ceiling.
    â€œI’m thinking of upgrading my back stairway,” said Lucy, comparing the cramped little flight of wooden steps in her kitchen to the enormous marble staircase that dominated the magnificent hall. She continued to let her gaze wander around the huge room, which she decided must be the reception area approached by the massive flight of stone stairs they’d attempted to climb when they were dropped off outside the manor. This was the room that would greet visitors to the great house. Its grandiose size and luxurious furnishings were intended to impress. Huge bronze consoles with colorful marble tops stood on either side of the doorway and an assortment of polished white marble statues and busts were arranged along the paneled walls. Hanging behind the statues were many large, full-length portraits of gorgeously gowned women and bewigged men in satin knee breeches, often wearing crimson and ermine robes.
    One of these portraits had fallen and was being examined by Perry and the woman who’d summoned him earlier. The