Page 76 of A Rake's Redemption
The maid wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. “Maybe ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes seems a long time to be looking for a mop cap.” Alex made a notation on the paper in front of him. “Now tell me about the truffle.”
Elsie looked confused. “The truffle you gave Miss Inis?”
“I did not give her a truffle,” he replied and watched for Elsie’s answer. Her expression didn’t change. “What makes you think I did?”
“I saw you leave earlier in the day. I just thought…well, I thought you might have bought her a truffle.”
“I might have thought of it,” Alex said, “but I did not.”
“Then who did, my lord?”
“That’s what I want to find out,” Alex answered. “Who prepared the tray?”
“I don’t know. Fern brought it up.”
“Fern?”
Elsie nodded. “She said the cook was about to, but she had to go upstairs anyway.”
Alex made another notation and asked a few more questions before he dismissed the maid and asked that Mrs. Olsen be sent in.
The cook entered a few minutes later, still holding a towel. “You wished to see me, my lord?”
“Yes, please be seated.”
“Beggin’ your pardon, I’ve got pots and pans on the stove,” Mrs. Olsen said. “I don’t want dinner to be burned.”
“Of course not.” Alex smiled, knowing Mrs. Olsen didn’t like leaving her perfectly capable underlings in charge of anything. “I’ll get right to the point then. Did you make chocolate truffles the day Inis was injured in the park?”
“I’ve not made truffles since Yule.”
“Not even a special truffle on that day?”
Mrs. Olsen frowned. “If I were going to go to the trouble of truffles, I would certainly not make just one.”
Alex scribbled another note. “Do you recall anyone delivering a truffle to the kitchen?”
“I didn’t see it.” Her frown deepened. “Do you think one of my helpers stole a truffle from a shop?”
“No. A truffle was placed on the tray sent up from the kitchen that day, though.”
She widened her eyes. “There was no truffle on that tray. I prepared it myself. Soup and fresh bread was all.”
“You are sure?” Alex held up a hand at Mrs. Olsen’s indignant look. “Never mind. I am not doubting your word. Thank you.”
After the cook left, Alex turned to Inis. “I think it is time we talked to Fern.”
“Do you really think one of the servants would want to harm me?” Inis asked as they waited for Mrs. Bradley to bring Fern to the library.
A muscle twitched in Alex’s jaw. “I would say someone might want to kill you.”
His words sent a shockwave through her and the blood drained from her face. “But why?”
“That’s what I don’t know,” Alex replied, “but even if the spider and the stairs were accidents, which I doubt now, the truffle needs to be accounted for. I am beginning to think you didn’t lose consciousness because of the bump on your head, but because the bloody truffle was poisoned.”
Inis stared at him. “Poisoned?”
