Page 49 of Truly, Madly, Daring

Emmeline added a large dollop of jam to the crumpet and shot Janet a grin. “You flatter me, but we’ll get along famously, I think.”

Janet nodded, and then her face fell.

Emmeline paused with the crumpet suspended in mid-air. “What is it?”

“I… I don’t like to say, my lady.”

“Nonsense, Janet. Anything you say is between you and me. No one else will know of it. You have my word.”

“Even his lordship?” she asked sceptically, wringing her hands together.

Emmeline set the crumpet down, anxiety in her heart. “Janet. Whatever is the matter?”

Janet hurried to the side of the bed and lowered the voice. “I don’t want you to think me ungrateful, this is the best job I ever had, or could dream of having, but… the people here, my lady. Not all of them, but one or two.” The woman looked over her shoulder as if she were afraid of someone listening. “I ought not say. It’s only been one night, and I was that tired I hardly knew where I was, only—”

She clamped her mouth shut again, her fingers pressed to her lips. Emmeline could see the anxiety shining in the woman’s eyes.

“Janet, something has clearly upset you. These past days you’ve been level-headed and entirely sensible. I do not believe you would get yourself in a tizzy over nothing.”

“Thank you, my lady,” she said in a rush. “And I don’t think I would, neither, it’s just I got a bad feeling about this place. Leastways, some of the folk what work here.”

“Who?” Emmeline demanded, but before Janet could answer, there was a tremendous crash and a bellow of rage from the bathing room. “Rex!” Emmeline exclaimed, shoving the breakfast tray aside and leaping from the bed.

Rushing across the room, Emmeline hurried through the dressing room and flung open the door to the bathing room, to find Rex sprawled naked on the floor, blood pouring from a gash on his forehead.

“Rex!” she exclaimed, kneeling beside him. “What happened?”

“I slipped, but… the bath,” he said, ashen faced. “There’s something in it.”

Emmeline reached for a towel and handed it to him, aware he would not wish to be seen in such a position if his valet returned. She helped him to his feet, and then turned to look at the large claw-foot tub, and screamed.

“Emmeline!” Wrexham exclaimed as she ran back to him, burying her face against his chest. “What? What is it?”

Emmeline shook her head, unable to breathe, let alone speak. Her body shook with fear, with horror at what someone had done. Janet was right. There was something very wrong in this house.

“My God, you’re trembling,” Wrexham said, furiously.

“I’m fine,” she managed, pulling herself together. “It’s just the shock, that’s all. I don’t know how anyone could do anything so unspeakable.”

Wrexham went very still. “What’s in the bath, Emmeline?”

Emmeline took a deep breath and told her rebellious stomach to behave itself. Someone had tried to put the fear of God into them, and she would not oblige them by casting up her accounts.

“Eyeballs,” she said succinctly. “Dozens of them. They’re floating all over the surface of the bath. The water is all bloody too. I pray to God they’re from a butcher’s shop.”

Wrexham took an involuntary step back, his expression appalled, and then his face set in hard lines, rage lighting his eyes.

“Emmeline, go back to the bedroom, pet. I’ll deal with this.”

“Wrexham, you’re bleeding,” Emmeline protested, snatching up a small towel and pressing it to his forehead.

He took the towel from her. “Never mind that, I hit my head when I fell. Just… go to the bedroom. Please, love.”

Emmeline nodded, not wanting to leave him, but suspecting he needed to take control of the situation to steady himself. “Very well.”

Keeping her gaze averted from the horrific contents of the bathtub, Emmeline left the room. The moment the door closed behind her, she heard Wrexham bellowing for his valet.

From that moment on, the morning went from bad to worse, for Wrexham was fit to be tied. Emmeline had once heard her father turn the air blue and bellow himself hoarse when he’d hit a difficult situation when a supplier had let him down, endangering one of his largest railway projects. He’d had nothing on Wrexham. The entire house was in uproar, the staff skittering about like Satan himself had come to bear them off to the fiery inferno.