Page 84 of Grave Expectations
Seth dusted off his hands. "Now don't get upset."
"Ah. It must be Lady Harcourt if that's your first response."
"Idiot," Gus muttered.
"She sent a message early this morning," Seth told me. "She wanted to speak with Fitzroy but he refused to leave the estate."
"Because of me?"
He nodded.
So he hadn't gone out to question his contacts about the killer, yet he hadn't come to me either.
"He sent word back to her, summoning her here instead," Seth went on.
"I'm sure that went down well. I doubt Lady Harcourt is used to being summoned anywhere these days."
"She came wearing a riding habit. She didn't want to talk in the house."
"Don't know why," Gus said, joining us. "We don't listen in on private conversations."
"Speak for yourself," I told him.
The corner of his mouth lifted but the smile was half hearted. "They've been gone a while now."
I eyed the stable entrance. Was Lincoln giving her short shrift over helping Mrs. Drinkwater? Or was she needling her way back into his good graces with her charms and excuses? I wouldn't put it past her to have a credible answer prepared.
"Is there something I can do in here?" I asked.
"Why?" Seth hedged.
"Because if I'm going to wait, I might as well be useful."
"I don't think that's a good idea. Go back inside where it's warm. We'll tell Fitzroy you were looking for him when he returns."
"The cold doesn't bother me. I won't even notice it once I start working."
"Charlie, stop being difficult! I'm trying to get you out of the way so you won't come face to face with Julia. The air was tense enough when she arrived, and by the look on her face, she felt awful for what she'd done. Don't make this even more difficult for her."
I snatched the broom out from beneath Gus's arm. Since he'd been leaning on it, he almost tumbled over. "I don't bloody care how difficult it is for her," I snapped at Seth. "She can bloody well face me, whether she likes it or not."
His lips pressed together. "You are being deliberately obstreperous." He marched toward the back of the stables, opened a stall door and disappeared inside.
"What's obstrep, obstrop…what's that word mean?" Gus whispered.
"Interesting?" I said with a shrug.
He chuckled.
Seth exited the stall again, leading a horse behind him. He moved it into one of the clean stalls and shut the door. He pointed to the newly emptied one. "Go on then. You want to help, you can help in there. You know where the mops and pails are. Get to work."
I peeked through the stall door. It was filthy. I pressed my hand to my nose but it didn't block out the smell of dung. "What have you been feeding him?"
"No time for talking," Seth tossed over his shoulder as he walked away with a cocky step. "There's work to do."
I signaled a rude hand gesture behind his back, coaxing another laugh from Gus.
Some fifteen minutes later, the clip clop of horses' hooves in the courtyard signaled the return of Lincoln and Lady Harcourt. Now that my temper had cooled and the time had come to face them, I wasn't sure what to say. Perhaps if I'd spent some time with Lincoln alone I would have felt more at ease. Something was bothering him, and that bothered me. I was as anxious about seeing him as I was at seeing her.
