Anne Perry s Christmas Mysteries Page 0,8

said icily.

"Do you have peppermint water?" Caroline asked. "I can give you some, if you wish?"

"I prefer to exercise a little self-control in the first place," Grandmama answered, as if the offer had been addressed to her.

Maude smiled. "Thank you, but I have one dose, and I'm sure that will be sufficient. There are not so many nuts, and I can't resist them."

She offered the dish to Joshua again and he took two more, and asked her to continue with her tales of Persia.

Grandmama tried to ignore it.

It seemed as if morning, noon, and night they were obliged to talk about or listen to accounts of some alien place, and pretend to be interested. She had been right in the very beginning: This was going to be the worst Christmas of her life. She would never forgive Emily for banishing her here. It was a monstrous thing to have done.

***

She awoke in the morning to hear one of the maids screeching and banging on the door. Was there no end to the lack of consideration in this house? She sat upright in bed just as the stupid girl burst through into the room, face ashen white, mouth wide open, and eyes like holes in her head.

"Pull yourself together, girl!" Grandmama snapped at her. "What on earth is the matter with you? Stand up straight and stop sniveling. Explain yourself!"

The girl made a masterful attempt, took a gulping breath, and spoke in between gasps. "Please ma'am, somethin' terrible 'as 'appened. Miss Barrington's stone cold dead in 'er bed, she is."

"Nonsense!" Grandmama replied. "She was perfectly all right at dinner yesterday evening. She's probably just very deeply asleep."

"No, ma'am, she in't. I knows dead when I sees it, an' when I touches it. Dead as a skinned sheep, she is."

"Don't be impertinent! And disrespectful." Grandmama climbed out of bed and the cold air assailed her flesh through her nightgown. She grasped a robe and glared at the girl. "Don't speak of your betters like farmyard animals," she added for good measure. "I shall go and waken Miss Barrington myself. Where is Tilly?"

"Please, ma'am, she's got a terrible chill."

"Then leave her alone. You may fetch Miss Barrington's tea. And mine also. Fresh, mind. No leftovers."

"Yes, ma'am." The girl was happy to be relieved of responsibility, and of having to tell the master and mistress herself. She did not like the old lady, nor did any of the other servants, miserable old body. Let her do the finding and the telling.

Grandmama marched along the corridor and banged with her closed hand on Maude's door. There was no answer, as she had expected. She would rather enjoy waking her up from a sound, warm sleep, for no good reason but a maid's hysterics.

She pushed the door open, went in, and closed it behind her. If there were going to be a bad tempered scene over the disturbance, better to have it privately.

The room was light, the curtains open.

"Miss Barrington!" she said very clearly.

There was no sound and no movement from the figure in the bed.

"Miss Barrington!" she repeated, considerably more loudly, and more peremptorily.

Still nothing. She walked over to the bed.

Maude lay on her back. Her eyes were closed, but her face was extremely pale, even a little blue, and she did not seem to be moving at all.

Grandmama felt a tinge of alarm. Drat the woman! She went a little closer and reached out to touch her, ready to leap back and apologize if her eyes flew open and she demanded to know what on earth Grandmama thought she was doing. It was really inexcusable to place anyone in this embarrassing position. Gadding about in heathen places had addled her wits, and all sense of being an Englishwoman of any breeding at all.

The flesh that met her fingers was cold and quite stiff. There could be no doubt whatsoever that the stupid maid was correct. Maude was quite dead, and had been so probably most of the night.

Grandmama staggered backward and sat down very hard on the bedroom chair, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. This was terrible. Quite unfair. First of all Maude had arrived, uninvited, and disrupted everything. Now she had died and made it even worse. They would have to spend Christmas in mourning! Instead of reds and golds, and carol singing, feasting, making merry, they would all be in black, mirrors covered, whispering in corners and being miserable and afraid. Servants were always afraid when there was a death in