Humphrey never seemed to have anything to do, given our lack of visitors. Half of me thought he only existed in the pockets of time in which we needed him. I never saw him save for when he appeared to deliver a message. And Mrs. Winters took our liberal schedule as a personal insult.
“Seven,” I answered her. “I’ll be certain Belle knows, and if we’re caught at work, you can save us plates.”
“Save you plates?” she echoed.
I adopted my best lawyer voice, the one I saved for dealing with particularly difficult clients. “I’m afraid it will take us some time to adjust from our lives in London to Thornham.”
The stern angles of her face softened slightly.
“And the baby,” I added, certain this would be the lynchpin to my argument. She couldn’t possibly disagree with the struggles of new parents.
“Perhaps, if the missus was more focused on her babe, she wouldn’t be running around looking for happiness.”
“Belle prefers Ms.,” I informed her, dropping all pretense of formality. “Belle is a wonderful mother.”
“Of course, she is, Mr. Price,” she said with a cold smile that chilled me to my bones. “But, word to the wise, a woman can be a wonderful mother and unhappy.”
Her words were still ringing in my ears when I stepped into my study to phone Detective Longborn. Other than a few important documents regarding our purchase of Thornham, I hadn’t gotten around to unpacking, so I was surprised to discover half the boxes there’d been the last time I’d been in here. On my desk, Belle’s elegant script was dashed across a notepad.
I took a few minutes while Nora was here to unpack a bit. Hope you don’t mind.
I smiled, feeling vindicated in pushing for the nanny to finally start. There was no way I was going to admit it to Belle, but I’d been feeling restless myself. On one hand, I could lose myself for hours watching Penny sleep. The rest of the time, I found myself...bored. I’d been warned when we purchased this house that I’d need at least a skeleton staff to be certain things would run smoothly. I’d taken the advice, not wanting to worry about running a house and having a new baby. The trouble was that I was completely redundant now. Belle had Penny to look after, as well as Bless. Penny had Belle and Nora now. Rowan worried about the grounds. Mrs. Winters ran the household. And Humphrey took care of everything else. I was still stewing on this when Longborn answered his phone.
“Detective? Smith Price,” I said in a clipped tone.
“Ah, Price. Thank you for returning my call.”
“I assume there's been an update on the finding at Thornham. “ He’d told me he would call with any news. I hadn’t expected there to be any.
“Perhaps I could come by and speak to you in person?” he suggested.
“If you like,” I said slowly. It was never a good sign when the police wanted to chat, but that had been my experience in the city—where things actually happened. I reminded myself that this was just a symptom of living in the middle of the countryside.
“I’ll stop by in a few days.” I heard papers rustle on his desk.
“Should I be concerned?” I asked. I’d finally stopped dreaming of the pile of bones they’d found in my basement. I suspected they’d be making another appearance tonight.
Longhorn didn’t respond immediately. His hesitation said more than our entire call. “It’s likely nothing, but I’d rather tie this up.”
“Of course.” I hung up with him, my feet already carrying me to the lift. I rode it down to the quiet lower level. The swimming pool pump hummed in the background. If I turned that direction, I would find myself in it’s muggy surroundings. Instead, I walked the opposite direction to the wine cellar and it's almost preternaturally cool space. It’s why I’d chosen it for the wine cellar, but as I ran a finger over its stone walls, I found myself wondering what secrets these walls kept—and whether we’d unearth them.
17
Belle
Lola squealed, jumping up from the table as soon as I entered The Briar Rose Inn holding Penny in my arms. The baby had only stopped crying when Nora unbuckled her from the seat and handed her to me with a sympathetic smile. I couldn’t help being glad that she wasn’t greeting my business partner with screams. Lola hugged me around the shoulder, peeking at Penny.
“She’s gorgeous, just like her mama,” Lola murmured, reaching to offer