“It’s a bit delicate, ma’am,” said the housekeeper. “I didn’t want anyone to be thinking …”
“Thinking that Prudence had behaved inappropriately.” Emma nodded. “I understand. Correct me if I’m wrong, but did Prudence’s distress have something to do with William Cox?”
Mrs. Hodges’s mouth gaped for a moment, before she recovered. “How did you know?”
“Prudence admitted such to you?” Emma said instead of answering the question.
She nodded. “Yes, after a bit. Prudence said he was in his cups and was pestering her. He even followed her back to the long gallery, flirting and carrying on something terrible.”
Emma had to force back a flare of anger. If William Cox had been standing in front of her at this moment, she likely would have smashed the teapot over his head.
“How very unfortunate,” she tersely replied.
“Begging your pardon, Mrs. Knightley,” said Harry, “but howdidyou know?”
“I observed his condition in the great hall. At the time, of course, I didn’t realize he was bothering Prudence. Mrs. Hodges, what did you do after she told you about William?”
“I offered to go straight to Mr. Knightley, but Prudence begged me not to. She said he was just a stupid fellow, and she didn’t want to make a fuss about it.” The housekeeper sighed. “I wish I’d made a fuss. She might still be alive.”
“There’s no way to know that,” Emma calmly replied. “I can well imagine that Prudence was distressed by the incident. Still, I find it hard to believe that she would then drink herself into such a state that she would accidentally fall out of her window. She was too sensible for that.”
Harry cleared his throat, his gaze firmly fixed on his shoes. His expression suggested he was torn about something.
“Harry, is there something you’d like to say?” Emma asked.
He looked at her and then at Mrs. Hodges, who regarded him through a narrowed gaze.
“Mayhap it’s not my place to say,” he said.
“Then perhaps it’s best you keep it to yourself,” Mrs. Hodges crisply replied.
Emma held up a hand. “No, I want to hear it. Harry, did you know that William Cox was pestering Prudence?”
“Not until later, ma’am, when Mrs. Hodges told me. But I don’t know if he was pestering her so much as …” He trailed off with a grimace.
“Yes?” Emma prompted after a few moments.
“I think Prudence may have been sweet on Mr. Cox,” he suddenly burst out. “And she wasn’t upset that he was pestering her, she was upset that hewasn’t.”
“Good heavens,” exclaimed Mrs. Hodges. “What are you going on about now?”
“I knew you wouldn’t like it,” he morosely replied.
Emma leaned forward. “So, you’re suggesting Prudence had feelings for William, and possibly even saw him as a beau?”
He shrugged. “I’m fair sure there was someone she was sweet on. It makes sense it would be Mr. Cox, if she was upset about him.”
Emma frowned. “I don’t follow.”
“If she was sweet on him and then found out that he was only flirting with her, she’d be upset,” he explained. “But men like that don’t take up with the likes of us, do they? Servants, I mean.”
Mrs. Hodges made an exasperated noise. “Prudence would know that. She was a practical girl.”
Even practical girls fell in love with men above their station. Harriet, for instance, had once developed strong feelings for Mr. Elton—and even for George. Emma supposed it wasn’t out of the question that Prudence might think herself an eligible match for William Cox, especially since her father was a respectable blacksmith with a good trade.
“So you think that Prudence was upset because William Cox rejected her?” she asked Harry.
He nodded. “That’s why she had a tipple to make herself feel better.”
