Mrs. Pembroke pinched the bridge of her nose. “As servants tend to be when guests require serving.”
“Every servant in this house will be questioned,” he said, eyes narrowing.
Mrs. Fenwick stiffened. “What? Questioned for doing their work?”
Rothborne’s gaze shifted to her. “They will be questioned for what they heard while doing it.”
Mrs. Pembroke’s voice rose a notch. “You willnotbully my household. Is that understood?”
Captain Whitby stepped between them. “No one is being bullied, madam. We merely need to know whether anyone saw or heard anything unusual.”
“Unusual?” Mrs. Pembroke said. “The only thing unusual I’ve heard this morning was a man putting a sugared almond in a candlestick.”
Nathaniel lowered his gaze, and Anna knew he was trying not to smile.
Rothborne looked toward her. “You.”
Anna’s heart thudded as she curtsied. “Sir.”
“You were serving in the parlor most of the evening.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You stood near the hearth while Major Ellis and Mr. Sloane were speaking.”
“I served wine near the hearth, sir.”
“What did you hear?” Rothborne snapped.
Anna forced herself to look puzzled rather than terrified. “Music, sir.”
Rothborne’s eyes narrowed. “What else?”
She offered him a tiny shrug. “Mrs. Wexford was displeased with the sugar.”
Captain Whitby made an impatient sound, but Nathaniel coughed. Rothborne glanced at him.
Nathaniel took on an innocent look. “And she was quite displeased.”
Mrs. Pembroke shook her head in dismay. “The matter caused considerable distress.”
“It did not,” Rothborne snapped.
Mrs. Pembroke’s eyebrows shot up. “Then you were not the one who had to hear about it a half dozen times.”
Rothborne stepped toward Anna. “Do not play games with me, girl.”
Anna lowered her eyes. “No, sir.”
He took a step closer. “Who did you speak to after leaving the parlor?”
“Mercy, sir. Mrs. Fenwick and Mrs. Pembroke.”
“No one else?”
She shook her head. “No, sir.” The lies slid off her tongue easier than she expected. That scared her almost as much as Rothborne did.
Nathaniel still stood near the door, silent and watchful. She couldn’t tell whether his silence meant approval, fear, or calculation.
