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“No, you were here first, and I did not mean to infiltrate your privacy. I asked a maid to meet me here, but once she arrives, I will take her elsewhere.”
Henry narrowed his eyes slightly. “Did you choose this room for a particular reason? I do not mind sharing it.”
“Only to read once my interview is completed. I was hoping no one would find me before dinner.”
He laughed. “It appears that we are of the same mind.”
Quiet footsteps came toward us, and I gave him a wide-eyed look. “Keep yourself hidden,” I whispered.
“I believed I had already done that well,” he muttered.
A maid stepped into the doorway and immediately dropped into a curtsy.
“Hannah?” I asked, crossing the room to meet her.
“Yes’m.”
“Please, come in.” I paused at a grouping of chairs near the back wall and indicated that she be seated. She sat gingerly on the edge of the chair across from me and folded her hands primly in her lap.
“I would like to first set your mind at ease and explain that multiple people are being questioned and you are in no trouble. There is a . . . situation which has occurred, and I would like to know what you can tell me about Molly and Janet.”
Her eyes widened softly before she shook her head. “They have never been friendly with one another, ma’am. From the first day Molly arrived, they have tried to best one another.”
Interesting. “Did Janet have trouble with anyone else before Molly arrived? I am told she has worked here for five years.”
“Yes, ma’am. Five years.” She paused before continuing. “Janet is not an easy girl to be friends with, but she hasn’t had trouble before, not like she does with Molly.”
“What kind of trouble does she have with Molly?”
Hannah hesitated. She looked over her shoulder at the door, then back to me. “She was friendly with the blacksmith’s son, but he stopped seeing her when Molly arrived. Molly claimed he shifted his affections to her, but she hadn’t been here long enough for that, I don’t think.”
Everything pointed to Molly, except for one thing. Why would she have gotten herself put in a position to be dismissed if her goal was to dismiss Janet? That would in no way remove Janet from the house.
“Thank you, Hannah. You have been a great help.”
She rose at once and bobbed a curtsy before slipping from the room.
“Fancy yourself a detective?” Henry’s deep voice called from the end of the library.
I moved down the narrow room to sit in the chair near his seat. “I fear that your mother has placed her trust in the wrong person.”
“Is this about the maid searching Benedict’s drawers?”
I sat up. “You’ve heard of it?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Yes, and I wonder if you are asking the right questions but questioning the wrong person.”
“I do not know which of the servants are the most trustworthy.”
“I did not mean the servants.”
“Then who . . . oh. Benedict.”
Henry winked and lifted his book again.
That was a good idea. I felt I had already made my decision—Molly seemed the most likely of the two to have erred, but she would not have put herself in the position she was in if her goal was to remove Janet from the house. If Lady Edith had managed the situation, Molly would already be gone without a reference.
Janet could have acted out of jealousy and fabricated Molly’s misdeeds. But hadn’t she been relieved when I needed extra time, not disappointed that Molly had not been dismissed yet? Had she been the liar, she would have been frustrated that her lie hadn’t worked, wouldn’t she?
It was too confusing. I wanted to lose myself in a book and consider the matter again later. The fourth and final volume of The Mysteries of Udolpho was waiting for me, and I plucked it from the shelf before sitting back down and opening it to the first page.
Henry and I read in companionable silence until it was time to dress for dinner.
“I will see you soon,” I said, and left the room, taking the book with me.
