Page 75 of A Rake's Redemption
Alex frowned. “What truffle?”
…
Alex forced himself not to push the horse to a trot on London’s uneven cobblestone streets the next day as they neared Dansworth House. When Inis had mentioned a truffle last night, he’d no idea what she was talking about. Now he had suspicions, none of them good.
“Are ye sure ye want to do this?” Inis asked once they got back to the house.
“I am positive,” Alex answered. “Go ahead to the library. I want to have a word with Mrs. Bradley and Evans.”
“I doona think—”
“Shhh. Humor me,” Alex said and bent to kiss her forehead. “Far too many odd incidents have happened.”
Evans assured him all staff would be rounded up and placed in the parlor under Mrs. Bradley’s watchful eye. When he spoke to the housekeeper, her expression turned grave. She bade him wait a moment and soon returned with a piece of foil wrapping.
“I don’t know if this will help, but I found it wadded into a ball under the stairwell three days ago.”
“Interesting.” He took the paper and placed in his coat pocket. “Thank you.”
Alex made his way back to the library and took a seat behind his desk. He rarely did that when he talked to his employees, but today he wanted to establish a position of authority. Inis had taken one of the straight-back chairs at the small working table. He almost told her to use one of the more comfortable armchairs near the hearth, but the table was closer to his desk and he liked the idea of having her near.
The housekeeper sent Mary, Ivy, and Alice into the library individually. Each of them was pale and shaking, but they swore they knew nothing about Inis’s accidents. Watching their faces and gestures as closely as he would a poker player, Alex was inclined to believe them. He’d left the footmen to be questioned by Evans, since they would not have handled the laundry where the spider was found, nor would they have reason to be on the stairs to the fourth floor where the carpet had come loose. He couldn’t imagine any of them sending Inis a truffle, either. More than likely, they would have eaten it themselves.
Elsie came in next, twisting a corner of her apron nervously.
“Please sit,” Alex said.
Her eyes grew round, but she perched on the edge of the chair Alex had placed in front of the desk. She looked as though she would take flight any second.
“You were the one who brought Miss O’Brien’s laundry to her room when she received the spider bite—”
“I didn’t—”
“Let me finish,” Alex said. “I know we already went over this, but I want you to think. Did you see anyone else go in or out of the laundry room before you took the clothes up to Inis’s room?”
Elsie shook her head. “I saw they were folded, so I thought I’d take them.”
Alex sighed. He knew the laundry maid had been ill that morning, and a kitchen maid had taken the clothes off the line. She’d said she hadn’t folded them, yet Elsie had found them folded.
“All right. What about the second accident on the stairs? Did you notice the loose carpet when you took things to the fourth floor?”
Elsie shook her head again. “I would have reported it, my lord.”
“Were you on the fourth floor that morning?”
“No.” Elsie started crying. “I would never harm Miss Inis.”
“Elsie was in the kitchen that morning,” Inis said. “The maids were all there. Fern’s mop cap got wet, and I came upstairs because she’d left her other one in my room.”
Alex frowned. “How did her mop cap get wet? Was she not wearing it?”
“She laid it on the table so she could get some food.”
Alex lifted a brow. “She didn’t have time to put it on? Was she late?”
“I doona ken,” Inis answered. “I usually eat earlier than the maids.”
Alex turned to Elsie. “Do you know?”
