Murder on Charles Street - Leighann Dobbs Page 0,33
anything like the late Lord Westing?”
With the change of topic, the young man gave up balancing the stack and distributed them evenly in both arms. He shook his head. “This one’s far less indolent, but you know your lords. He has high ambitions.”
“High ambitions, you say?”
Jarrod nodded. A thick lock of his hair fell onto his forehead, obscuring one eye. He kept the rest tied back from his face. “Yes, he is courting a young heiress and impressing her family with a dinner party tomorrow.” He shook his head, his expression betraying his censure. “Those lordly types, always trying to impress others with food.”
Harriet bit back a laugh, but her amusement leaked into her voice. “You mean to tell me that you wouldn’t be impressed with the food?”
His grin widened. “I suppose you have me there. But why so much of it? There will be six people at dinner, and I have enough to feed twenty. ’Tis lucky I accompanied Peggy to run these errands. With her lame wrist, she would never be able to carry half of this on her own.” His eyes warmed again, and he winked. “Of course, a paltry load like this gives me no trouble at all.”
Harriet did not need another show of strength, especially not from a man who looked like a matchstick when compared to most of the men who visited Number Two Charles Street. For the first time since departing, she wished she had brought Emma with her, if only for the distraction. But with so many people around, Katherine had been afraid the pug would get trampled. This marketplace was far more crowded than the usual promenades where Katherine and Harriet took the dog.
“I heard a whisper that Lord Westing’s death was not natural, that the physicians may have been at fault. You don’t suppose the new Lord Westing is so ambitious he might pay the physicians to mistreat their patient?”
The footman spat on the ground. “Ah, I don’t trust any of those leeches as far as I can throw them. But Lord Westing? He never expected to inherit. He took a position as a clergyman and lost touch with the family. I heard he nearly fainted away with the news when it came that he’d inherited.”
“Fainted away? Like a delicately bred young lady?”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past him. He lived a sheltered life. You’ve trouble with yours?” With his chin, he indicated the knot of women a mere ten feet away. Harriet glanced sideways at Lady Katherine then shook her head. “She isn’t so bad. Nearly self-sufficient.”
The footman laughed again. “What’s that like?”
Harriet shared a smile with him. “More tiresome than you’d think.”
He grinned. When he leaned closer, Harriet recalled that she had a task to accomplish. She wasn’t here to commiserate with a fellow servant, an activity that she’d sorely missed this past month with only her and Lady Katherine in the house. Granted, she enjoyed having a spacious room and bed to herself and free run of the house, but the endless wave of chores threatened to bury her. She never could seem to finish everything she needed to do in the day.
If she wanted to have any chance of a moment or two to put her feet up, she should end this interview as soon as possible. “So you’d say your Lord Westing is a good sort?”
The young man shrugged. “Oh, he dreams of grandeur, but he always remembers the people in his employ and tries not to overtask us. Like with Peggy—after she injured herself again, Lord Westing insisted that I accompany her on errands.”
Harriet stole another glance toward her employer. Had she finished with the conversation yet?
She didn’t realize how close the footman had come until he whispered in her ear, “If you ever have errands too big for you to carry, I’d be happy to lend you a hand too.”
Harriet jumped. “Oh dear, I think my mistress is through. She’ll need me.” Harriet stumbled back, shaking out her skirts as she turned away.
Jarrod called out, “The offer stands.”
Shaking her head, she rejoined Katherine and prayed that her employer wouldn’t ask her to explain that bit of the conversation. Harriet had absolutely no time for romance, what with running Katherine’s household and investigating at the same time. And when it came to flirtations, this footman simply didn’t have McTavish’s charm. He left her feeling awkward rather than warm.
But that was McTavish’s worst quality. He thought he could finagle whatever he wanted with little