Page 37 of The Case of the Curate

“Breakfast is served, my lady,” he informed her.

“Excellent. Thank you. Oh, Kemp?”

He had already turned away toward the back of the house, but he faced her again at once with another slight bow, his face as wooden as ever. She walked up to him, since she had no desire to shout.

“My lady?” he said distantly.

“As you’ll know,” she said, “I’m staying on at the court in order to help Lord and Lady Chadbon in this sad matter of Dinah Fenn’s death.”

“Very good of you, my lady,” he said expressionlessly, and she had the impression he didn’t think so at all.

“You are in overall charge of the staff, and I can’t imagine much gets past you where they are concerned.”

Kemp, apparently immune to charm or flattery, said nothing at all. No muscle twitched in his face or body to betray discomfort or gratification.

“What was she like, Kemp?” Kate urged. “What was your opinion of Dinah? As a housemaid and as a person?”

“The maids come under Mrs. Thornfield’s supervision, my lady.”

“I know they do,” Kate said pleasantly. “But I would like your answer.”

Kemp cast a quick glance toward the back of the hall, as though trying to conjure a distraction that might end this conversation that he clearly didn’t want. Why was that? Was he just following his master’s orders for discretion? Or did he have something to hide?

“She was a bit of a flighty girl, to be frank,” he said at last. “But she was improving under Mrs. Thornfield’s training. She still had a tendency to avoid work, rarely did anything she wasn’t ordered to specifically, but she carried out her duties adequately and with care.”

“Meaning she didn’t break anything?” Kate asked, trying to inject a little humor.

Kemp’s expression never changed. “As Your Ladyship says.”

“Did she quarrel with other members of staff?” Kate asked.

“Not to my knowledge. She was a pleasant enough girl.”

“She was also extremely pretty. Did that cause problems among the male members of your staff?”

“No, my lady, it was never allowed to. There is no fraternizing among the staff. This is strictly enforced for their own sakes as well as for the family’s.”

“Of course,” Kate said, “very right and proper. But you can’t stop people feeling, can you? A lovesick footman mooning after his ladylove does not always attend to his duties with the speed and care I know you would insist upon.”

“Indeed. There was nothing like that.”

“Kemp, I am accusing no one, and I most certainly don’t want him dismissed, but I already know Lewis was besotted with her.”

The first hint of emotion flashed in the butler’s eyes. “He never laid a finger on her.”

“I know you and Mrs. Thornfield would have prevented anything improper from occurring,” Kate soothed. “But strong emotions, even kind ones, can lead to ultimate unpleasantness. Did either of them try to slip around your guard?”

“No, my lady.”

It was frustrating. She knew he was hiding something. Did he know Dinah had been with child and was covering for Lewis?

“They were allowed half days away from the house, were they not?” she pursued.

“Never at the same time.”

“Of course not. On the night she died, Kemp, you were one of the first people to find her.”

“After the curate.”