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“That is most discouraging.”
“I am well aware,” Guy said, “but these coal workers need someone to stand up for them. And no one is doing it.”
“That is not our job,” Hawthorne said. “We assess threats, and we neutralize them.”
Guy sighed as he signaled the serving wench to bring him a drink.
Hawthorne made a disgusted face as he placed his tankard back onto the table. “This ale is terribly watered down.”
“You get used to it.”
“There is no need,” Hawthorne said. “Your assignment is done, so we get to leave Anmore.”
The serving wench set his drink down in front of him and walked off. “We leave at dawn,” Guy stated before he took a drink.
“Don’t you want to say goodbye to Miss Locke?”
“I do not.”
Hawthorne nodded. “Then we leave at dawn.”
Chapter Sixteen
It was stilldark outside when Daphne awoke to a commotion coming from the hallway. She rose and put on her white wrapper as she walked over to the door. She opened it and saw several maids passing by.
She stopped one of them. “Whatever is the matter?”
“Lady Frances is sick, Miss.”
“Has the doctor been sent for?”
The maid nodded. “Yes, a rider just left to fetch him.”
Daphne hurried to her grandmother’s room. The fire in the hearth provided only a dim light, and the drapes were closed tightly against the dawn. She approached the bed where her grandmother lay awake. “Would you like me to light some candles for you?”
“I would not. I’m afraid I have a terrible headache.”
“Is that all?”
Her grandmother slowly shook her head. “I am nauseous, weak, and I have a rash on my arm.”
“Well, the doctor should be arriving soon, and I’m sure he will help you feel much better,” she encouraged.
Her grandmother reached for her hand. “I need to speak to you.”
“You are speaking to me.”
“Privately,” her grandmother clarified.
Daphne could hear the urgency in her grandmother’s voice. She turned towards the servants. “Would you mind stepping out for a moment so I can speak to my grandmother?”
They promptly left the room, closing the door behind them.
“Whatever is the matter?” Daphne asked.
Her grandmother moved to sit up in her bed. “I fear that I have been poisoned,” she declared.
“Are you quite sure about that?”
