Island of Bones Read Online Free PDF Page A

what has caused you to come to us in such an unpleasant mood this morning.’
    He put the paper down. ‘I had the pleasure of seeing my house pointed out to a party of pleasure-seekers this morning, and found myself, in my own parlour, being identified as a curiosity of the area like a bearded woman at the county fair.’
    She turned again on the carpet and her skirts rippled, falling over themselves in an attempt to keep pace with her. ‘You
are
a curiosity, Crowther,’ she said, folding her arms across her bodice. ‘You should have waved your scalpel at them. They would have drunk all of the best brandy at the Bear and Crown to recover their nerves and you could have charged Michaels a commission on the sales.’
    She dropped into a seat opposite him with a rustle of silk and leaned back, trying to pull the warm air of the room into her lungs. Her conscience was still a little troubled by her role in forcing Crowther out of seclusion. Three years previously, she had persuaded him to become involved in her enquiries into the affairs of Thornleigh Hall. There had been deaths, and Crowther’s own history of family scandal had been thrown into the light and picked over in the newspapers. Yet they had managed to protect the current Earl and his sister, and seen them take possession of the Hall in the care of their guardians. It had cost them both, and neither were the people they once had been, but she could not regret those decisions made.
    ‘Yet
we
are fortunate. Graves and Mrs Service have to allow parties of ladies and gentlemen through Thornleigh Hall half the days of the week and watch them examining the floorboards for bloodstains.’
    ‘Let them lock the gates then.’
    ‘Crowther,’ Harriet said, ‘how could they? It is their duty to be stared at.’
    Crowther’s further thoughts on the troubles suffered by the Earl of Sussex’s family were lost as the door to the salon opened and Mrs Heathcote entered with a letter on a tray. She presented it to the gentleman rather abruptly. Mrs Heathcote had been housekeeper of Caveley since its purchase, and regarded both Mrs Westerman and her sister as a good pair of girls who only needed proper managing. It was a sign that he was accepted almost as part of the family that she now regarded Mr Crowther in a similar light.
    ‘There we have found you, Mr Crowther! An express arrived for you and Hannah thought you would have come here, you having left your own house in such a temper, and so she has brought it along. I would offer you coffee, but it has such a stimulating effect. Perhaps you had better have some of Miss Rachel’s Nerve Drops until you are in a better humour. Now, will you take your dinner here, or must Hannah have something by for your convenience?’
    Crowther realised he had probably been brusque with Hannah, his own housekeeper, before he left his home and recognised that he was now being punished for it. He took the letter and unfolded it, trying to ignore both Harriet’s stifled laugh and Mrs Heathcote’s stony gaze.
    ‘I can forego the drops, Mrs Heathcote,’ he said, with his eyes cast down. ‘My thanks and apologies to Hannah. I shall dine here, if I am welcome.’
    Harriet waved her hand with a smile and Mrs Heathcote, encouraged by this display of Crowther’s improved manners, nodded. ‘There now. Very good, sir. You know she has enough to manage at the moment.’ With that she swept out of the room like a 40-gun frigate under full sail.
    When the door closed Harriet laughed hard enough to bring tears into her eyes while Crowther read his express. When she had recovered sufficiently she asked: ‘What extra work are you giving poor Hannah, Crowther? Has she finally begun to regret entering your service?’
    ‘At times, I am sure she has,’ he replied, continuing to read. ‘I have had several samples from London arrive in a despoiled state due to the heat. They had lost all interest scientifically and I am informed the smell of decay was