Music of the Distant Stars Read Online Free PDF Page A

are right-handed, the needle repeatedly stabs into your left forefinger. It doesn’t hurt, really, unless you make a mistake and push the needle too hard, but it always leaves its unique mark.
    ‘I see,’ Lord Gilbert murmured. ‘Very observant, I must say.’ He looked at me, and I saw both respect and resentment in his expression. Typical of his sort, he did not really like observant women. With the exception of his wife, he probably found all clever women a threat.
    Lady Emma took his hand and said something softly to him. His expression cleared and he managed a smile. ‘We’re grateful, er—’
    ‘Lassair,’ said Lady Emma.
    ‘We’re grateful, Lassair, that you came straight to us with this terrible news,’ he said. ‘What more can you tell us?’
    I collected my thoughts and then described as succinctly and accurately as I could what my aunt and I had found and what we had done.
    I could tell that Lord Gilbert was affected by my tale. He started to speak, and his voice broke with emotion. He paused, and I realized that he was struggling to control himself. ‘This girl – her name is Ida – is, as you say, a seamstress, in the employ of my cousin, the lady Claude de Seés, who is at present staying with us as she prepares for her wedding. My cousin is, indeed, busy sewing her trousseau. Her marriage linen,’ he added helpfully, although in fact I knew the word. ‘Hence, er, hence the need for a seamstress to assist her.’ He stopped, frowning. ‘She – er, Ida was reported missing this morning. She eats breakfast in the servants’ hall, but today she did not turn up. The others waited for a while to see if she had overslept and would soon come hurrying along out of breath and worried because she was late – she loves her food, you see – but she did not. In the end, one of them went to rouse her, but she was not there.’
    ‘Where does she sleep?’ Not with the other servants, it appeared, or they would have noticed her absence when they’d woken up.
    Lord Gilbert glanced quickly at Lady Emma, and I sensed that for some reason he was discomfited. ‘My cousin, the lady Claude, is very protective of her trousseau. Quite understandably,’ he protested, although I had made no remark, ‘for she is a wealthy woman and has amassed household and personal linens of great value, all most beautifully sewn, I have no doubt, although I have not myself seen any examples of the work, nor, indeed, would I expect—’
    Lady Emma came to his rescue. ‘My husband’s cousin is very aware of the need to take every precaution against theft,’ she said, and I noticed that her carefully neutral tone did not give away what she thought of Lady Claude’s behaviour. ‘For this reason, she insists that all work on her trousseau is performed in a small room, whose door is kept locked. She also insists on the presence of someone to watch over the precious items at all times, this person being Ida.’ She looked down at her hand, which still clasped Lord Gilbert’s. ‘We arranged a truckle bed in there for the poor girl. I believe she was adequately comfortable. Certainly, she did not complain. She was always ready with a smile and a bright remark.’
    I was starting to dislike Lady Claude. I had heard sufficient tales of the way some lords and ladies treated their servants and, in truth, locking a girl into a small room each night so that her presence would safeguard a pile of linen was not bad at all by the standards of the times. It was just that I kept seeing that pretty face, all ready for laughter. The thought of Ida shut up all by herself, away from everybody else and missing any fun that might be happening, was all but unbearable.
    Not that I dared say so. I cleared my throat and straightened my back, determined not to give away my private feelings. I also resolved not to mention Ida’s pregnancy; it seemed that she had not been married and, if the lords and ladies here at the hall did not know of her