been aware of it. So why did he send her to me? Now I have to deal with this.”
Without waiting, Darcy rushed through the bedroom door. Inside she found the other maid, the one she had given the note to, changing the linens on the bed.
“Where is she? Where is my grandmother?”
The maid set a pillow down and looked over at her.
“Why are you not speaking?” Darcy asked.
Charlotte drew up beside her. “She passed on, Darcy, while you slept. I thought you were capable of understanding my words.”
“She died in the night?” Darcy asked, shocked. Tears burned her eyes.
“You did say she was ill when you arrived.”
“Why didn’t you send for me?”
“Dear lord, Darcy! No one could determine the hour the old lady would decide to leave this world. We were all asleep.”
“I just wish you had come and told me as soon as you knew.”
Charlotte clapped her eyes shut. “I wish you had expressed with more force that Madeline was this close to dying. I am put out that you did not, and angry with my husband. He should not have sent her to Meadlow.”
“Where is she?”
“My servants moved the body to another room. This is a guestroom and I would hate for anyone in my circle of friends, if they were to visit, to sleep in a bed where a deceased person had lain for too long. They’d be appalled. No one likes to sleep in a bed someone passed away in.”
Frustration rose in Darcy and she shook her arm free from Charlotte’s hand. “Be quiet, Charlotte!”
Eyes widening, Charlotte gasped. “What? How dare you speak to me in that manner? I am just as upset as you are.”
“How can you treat this event with such coldness and think only of yourself and your inconvenience? I wish we had never come here.”
“Well, no one forced you. You may leave at any time.”
“I was forced. Grandmother was forced. She should have died in her own bed at Havendale, not suddenly taken from the home she lived in for decades and placed with strangers.”
As if a dagger struck through to her core, Darcy dashed from the room. At first, she stifled the want to cry. But she could not prevent the tears from welling. She covered her face with her hands and allowed them to fall. She had not realized how much she had grown to love Madeline.
Charlotte swept out into the hallway. In a forced show of sympathy, she caught up with Darcy. “Is there something a servant can bring you? Wine, or perhaps some sweets? They always lift my spirits.”
Darcy stood still and silent.
“Well,” huffed Charlotte. “I did not think you cared so much for the old woman.”
Darcy looked at her. “She was my grandmother, Charlotte. Is there no sorrow in you at all, no sadness at least for me?”
Charlotte lifted her brows. “Please mind yourself while you are in my house, Darcy. I will send for the undertaker. I suppose she would want to be buried beside her—let me see—two husbands?”
“She would. And you need not worry yourself. I will take care of everything.”
“My husband would not approve. I’ve sent for him.”
“You knew where to find him?”
“Of course. I know where he goes when he is away from me.”
Darcy wiped her eyes dry. “Where is Mrs. Burke?”
“Oh, I meant to tell you about that. Seeing I have enough staff at Meadlow, I will find her a new situation.”
“She will stay with me. I have an obligation to her.”
Charlotte gave Darcy a mocking smile. “I daresay I do not understand you. You have no duty to a servant. The best thing for her is to be placed in a household where she will work and be cared for. Is this the view in America, that you treat servants like family members?”
Darcy drew in a long, slow breath, turned away and left Charlotte in the gloomy hallway with her maid standing behind her. There was no consoling poor Mrs. Burke. Darcy found her weeping in an upstairs bedroom, so small it could only fit a single bed and dresser. Darcy poured her a glass of water and made her drink it.
Mrs. Burke drew out a handkerchief and blew her nose. “I knew it were coming. God rest her soul.”
“You were good to her, and I thank you for that, Mrs. Burke. Now Charlotte tells me she will find you a new position. But I would be happy if you came with me back to America.”
Mrs. Burke smiled a moment. “You