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He winked. ‘Nothing,’ he said, raising an eyebrow and she burst into laughter at his cheekiness as he hurried away, laughing too.

15

Today was going to be as busy as it would be physically demanding. Fleur had two corpses to care for; one for local burial, which would be the simpler of the two, and one who would be sent to Port Augusta on the train. She anticipated embalming the latter – usually an all-day task – so she would have to work intently and swiftly today. Replacing someone’s entire network of veins and arteries with chemicals after draining the blood required as much mental focus as physical exertion; making sure a pinkish complexion could be maintained through the journey this person was yet to make was the challenge. Fleur wanted his relatives to be able to grieve over someone they recognised, who didn’t frighten them with a grey pallor.

The knowledge that she was seeing Tom again tomorrow evening made it easier on her mind and it was the evening meal that occupied her in this moment.

‘Nan, is there anything I can do to help? Any shopping you need?’

Nan did most of the cooking now that Irma no longer even pretended to attend to duties in the kitchen. Fleur had to wonder exactly what Irma did with all her spare hours.

‘No, your father ordered a roasted chicken. I have all we need for this evening, Miss Appleby, but we’ve run out of some staples that Mrs Appleby wants and I’m nervous that I won’t have time. Jean isn’t here today to help.’

‘Then let me fetch them. I’ve got to go out briefly, so give me a list. I’ll do them now before I begin my day’s work.’

‘Are you sure, Miss Appleby? I don’t want to get you into trouble.’

Fleur laughed. ‘You won’t. And Nan, I’ve told you before, please call me Fleur.’ She worried that Nan was so spooked by Irma’s rules that she might just curtsey, but fortunately, she gave Fleur a shy smile.

‘I’m sorry, I will. I forget.’

Fleur smiled back. ‘I’ll make the list, hang on.’ She fetched a used envelope and licked the pencil she kept tucked into her hair during her working day. ‘Right, fire away.’

‘We’ll need some more butter, Miss, and some, um, white pepper. Mrs Appleby likes to have marmalade and we’re running low on Yo Yo biscuits. Oh, and a fresh tin of chocolate powder, please, if you can. Mrs Appleby likes to make your father a milky drink at night . . . er, if he’s home.’

Nan met Fleur’s gaze and she flushed slightly; she hadn’t meant it pointedly but they both knew he was so rarely home of an evening.

‘My father never used to drink anything before bed; he always said it gave him indigestion.’

Nan shrugged. ‘Mrs Appleby insists. She likes to make it and carry it up to him just before bed, so she tells me.’

Fleur shook her head, baffled. ‘Anything else? Meat, cream, salt, sugar, flour, tomato sauce?’

Nan shook her head at all those suggestions. ‘No, we’re good. Oh, yes!’ she said, looking relieved to have remembered. ‘We need more rat poison.’ She blew out a breath. ‘Mrs Appleby would have skinned me if I’d forgotten that.’

‘Rat poison?’ Fleur repeated. ‘Whatever for? I haven’t seen any rats.’ As she said it, she privately corrected herself, imagining Irma as a huge rat using all the same conniving intelligence.

Nan shrugged. ‘I might have seen one when I first arrived, but not in the house – it was out in the street, actually. I haven’t spotted any since.’

‘Nan, you said more rat poison.’

‘Yes.’ The woman sighed.

Fleur shook her head in query.

‘We had a box, because I picked it up for Mrs Appleby when I started. But she reminded me yesterday that we need a new one.’ Nan shrugged again in a don’t-shoot-the-messenger kind of way.

Fleur’s forehead creased deeply. ‘But Irma doesn’t lift a finger around the house. Why on earth would she be attending to rats?’ She bristled. ‘Non-existent ones.’

‘Maybe it’s the mortuary,’ Nan offered hesitantly.

‘Nan, Dad and I are clinically clean in there. Never any food or drinks taken in, not even drinking water. Every receptacle, every piece of equipment, is scrupulously cleaned daily, plus once bodies are dealt with they’re sent on or certainly closed up and gone within a day. And I doubt Irma has ever set foot in there to know. She wouldn’t have a clue about it.’ Fleur frowned. ‘No, we’ve not seen a rat in as long as I can recall.’

‘Please don’t get me into trouble,’ Nan said, looking suddenly mortified.

‘May I see the old box?’

‘I might have thrown it away. Wait a tick.’ Nan returned soon enough with it. She rattled it for effect and they both heard the remnants of crumbly dust.