Chapter 22
The day of the public viewing, Anne rose early after too little sleep.
She washed, dressed, and stepped into the corridor on her way to the water closet.
She heard voices in the side passage and for a moment feared Rosa was arguing with Mr. Dalby again.
But when she looked around the corner, she saw it was the housemaid, Jane, holding a rubbish bin, looking alarmed and upset.
Mr. Dalby was glaring down at her. “I’ll ask again. What were you doing in my room? Going through my things?”
“No, sir. Only made your bed and emptied the rubbish.”
“I’m missing something.”
“What, sir? If you tell me, I will help you look for it.”
He hesitated. “Never mind. And you’re sure you took nothing but rubbish?”
“Yes, sir.” She lifted the bin. “Here, see for yourself.”
“Who else comes in to clean or what have you?”
“No one, sir.”
Mr. Dalby shook his head, swore under his breath, and reentered his bedchamber through the dressing room.
A few minutes later, Anne had just returned from the water closet and begun to make her bed when Sir Herbert’s door burst open and Mr. Dalby stalked through the room to hers.
“Were you in my room again?” he demanded, hand on hips.
Anne’s heart clanged in her chest. “Why on earth would I go in there?”
“You’re lying. I think you’ve been in there at least twice. First, you came in a few days ago and put something in my water to make me deuced uncomfortable, Miss Nurse, with your bag of tricks.” He jerked a hand toward Anne’s medicine case.
“I did not,” Anne insisted. Though Rosa did.
“Don’t think I didn’t see you smirking at me while I was . . . indisposed. And then you returned sometime yesterday and took something of mine.”
Anne raised her chin. “What did I supposedly take?”
He opened his mouth, paused, then said, “Something of a . . . personal nature.”
“Whatever it is, I did not take it. Why would I care about anything in your room?”
He studied her, eyes glinting. “Oh, you would care, Miss Loveday. You would care very much indeed.”
Anne gestured toward the door. “Please leave, Mr. Dalby. I don’t like you invading my room any more than you would like me invading yours.”
For a moment longer, his green eyes pierced hers. Weighing. Watching. Then he turned and walked away.
Anne expelled a long breath and sank onto her bed, counting the hours until she could leave Painswick Court forever.
Anne went downstairs to lend a hand in finishing preparations for the viewing, helping to make sure they were ready to receive the many townspeople and other guests who would soon be arriving.
Albert Palling came to Painswick Court carrying a basket of carnations and roses arranged with a few yew branches.
Anne said, “Oh, how nice. Do come in. I am sure Miss Fitzjohn will wish to thank you.”
“That’s all right. Don’t want to make a fuss. Just set them with the others, if you would be so kind.”
“Of course. Thank you, Mr. Palling.”
When everything was ready downstairs, Anne helped Jane clean and air Lady Celia’s room and her own too.
Meanwhile, Rosa found a quiet moment alone with Miss Fitzjohn to formally take her leave.
Anne didn’t know how much Rosa disclosed to Katherine, whether she’d told her about her past with Mr. Dalby or about the child.
Either way, Anne was glad Rosa was returning to Valley View Lodge.
She knew both Robbie and Dr. Finch would be relieved and pleased as well.
And finally, during the long afternoon and evening of the public viewing, Anne helped direct visitors to keep the line moving, spoke with neighbors and old friends, and remembered similar days spent bidding farewell to her own mother and grandparents.
She found herself praying for Katherine Fitzjohn, and for Jasper, wherever he was.
After the last visitor left Painswick Court, Anne went up to her room, packed a few remaining items, shut her case and valise, and walked downstairs, hoping to slip out with little fanfare.
Instead, Mr. Dalby met her in the hall. He looked down at the valise and medicine case in her hands. “Now, I wonder what you have in there . . . ?”
“Nothing of yours.”
“Perhaps I ought to have a look, just to be sure.”
Anne set her cases on the hall table and gestured toward them. “Look all you like. I don’t want to be the victim of any more false accusations.”
He opened her valise and pawed through her personal belongings. Anne was too angry to be embarrassed at seeing his hands rake over her stockings and shifts. Then he looked through the drawers and bottles in her medicine case as well.
“Humph.” He snapped shut the lids once more. “Where are you going?”
“Back to Miss Newland’s, of course. My patient has died. And now that the inquest and viewing are over, I am no longer needed here.”
“I disagree.” Katherine Fitzjohn appeared in the library doorway. “Suddenly, I am not feeling quite the thing. All the shock and grief, no doubt.” She sent her cousin a pointed look. “One of my weak spells is coming on.”
Mr. Dalby scoffed. “Weak spell, my eye. Don’t credit it, Miss Loveday. Katherine is the strongest of all of us.”
“How kind of you to say so.” She turned back to Anne. “Even so, I would feel better, safer, if you would remain with us for a few more days. At least until Jasper returns from wherever he went. I am growing increasingly worried about him.”
Anne hesitated. “Mr. Dalby clearly does not wish me to stay.”
“It’s not his decision to make. It’s mine. And I would really like you to stay.” The appeal, and perhaps fear, in her large eyes was evident and persuasive.
“Well, I . . . I suppose I could stay another day or two. If I’m needed.”
“Good. That’s settled, then.”
“I’ll need to let Miss Newland know,” Anne said. “She is expecting me.”
“It will be dark soon. Send Toby with a note.”
“I prefer to go myself. Explain things to her and make sure she has no concerns. It won’t take long. I can be back in an hour or two.”
Miss Fitzjohn challenged Mr. Dalby with another pointed look. “Very well. I think we will survive that long, won’t we, dear cousin? Unless you object for some reason?”
“Not at all. In fact, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on her.”
“What do you mean?”
For a long moment, Mr. Dalby held Katherine’s gaze, then shrugged. “Nothing at all. Do whatever you like. It matters not to me.” He straightened his sleeves and turned. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have something I must . . . take care of.”
Leaving her cases in the hall, Anne left Painswick Court and set out for Yew Cottage. Nerves jumping at every sound, Anne hurried across the graveyard to the welcome sight of the snug abode with candlelight glowing in the windows.
When she arrived, Miss Lotty wrapped her in a fierce embrace. “Oh, Anne. You’ve been heavy on my heart. I’ve been praying for you.”
“Thank you.”
Anne had barely crossed the threshold when Ursula Birt gave a cursory knock and let herself in.
“Saw you arrive, Miss Anne. Had to come and see how you are.”
“I am . . . well enough. Thank you for your concern, Miss Birt.”
“Do come and sit down, Anne,” Lotty insisted. “Have something to eat.”
“Very well, although I promised Miss Fitzjohn I would return in an hour or two. She has asked me to remain a few more days.”
“Why?”
Anne considered. “She says she is not feeling well, but I wonder . . .” Was Katherine uncomfortable in Painswick Court with Mr. Dalby in residence now that her mother and Jasper were gone, and Rosa and nearly Anne as well? It certainly seemed like it.
The three women shared a simple meal of bread, cold ham, cheese, and fruit, along with sympathetic conversation, which soothed Anne’s beleaguered soul.
“Again, I’m so very sorry about Lady Celia,” Miss Lotty said, eyes downturned. “Passing away during your stay. Most trying, I’m sure.”
“It was. Thank you.”
“And knowing you, my sweet, dutiful girl, you feel responsible at least in part, after your dear mamma . . .” She patted Anne’s hand. “But remember it is God who numbers our days.”
Around a bit of ham, Miss Birt said, “Unless there’s a killer afoot. Then God has less to do with it.”
“Ursula, please. It’s only a rumor.”
“I hope you don’t believe all the rumors,” Anne said. “I did not give her too much of anything.”
“We know that, Anne. Of course we do.”
“That was one rumor we gave no credence to,” Miss Birt agreed. “Though I heard some of the men from the coroner’s jury talkin’, and it seems you thought someone may have done her in?”
“I did think that, yes.”
“Dr. Marsland said she died of natural causes,” Miss Newland said, expression pained. “Heart failure or the like, and the coroner and his jury agreed.”
“I know.”
“And Dr. Marsland is very knowledgeable, Anne. I’ve known him for years.”
Ursula nodded. “We all have.”
“I know. So . . . perhaps I was wrong.” But deep down, Anne didn’t fully believe she was.
“If you truly think someone harmed Lady Celia, do you think it’s a good idea to go back there, my dear?”
No, it wasn’t. Then why was she? Anne searched her heart and knew why. The same reason she had gone to Painswick Court in the first place, even though she had been full of misgivings. Because someone had asked for her help. Because she could be of use to a person who needed her.
After they had eaten, Anne insisted on carrying the dishes to the kitchen, and then the two older women walked Anne to the door, Lotty using a single crutch for the short distance.
There Miss Lotty embraced her again. “I do so worry about you there. I can’t help feeling responsible.”
“I shall be all right. Truly.”
Would she be? Would she truly be safe in Painswick Court, or would whoever had shortened Lady Celia’s life decide to shorten hers as well?
Leaving Yew Cottage, Anne crossed New Street and entered the churchyard as darkness fell. She followed one of the paths that crossed the graveyard at an angle, then walked around the immense church toward the door in the wall that led to Painswick Court.