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“You are not to go out anywhere without us from now on!” her mother said. “A murder! The horror!”
Olivia grimaced. “I was not alone, Mother, and nothing bad happened to me.”
“Thank the Lord for that, dearest, thank the Lord!”
Olivia returned to her plate. “Who is the person who got murdered?”
“The papers do not say. Only that it was a commoner. Someone sneaked into the ball,” the viscount said.
“You see, that is why I am against the masquerades. You never know who comes in and out! The victim and the murderer could both have been common criminals,” Olivia’s mother exclaimed.
Olivia expelled a breath. She did not want to discuss the gruesome murder at breakfast. As a matter of fact, she was not in the mood to discuss the murder at all.
She felt guilty not caring one whit about what happened, but she was too happy for once in her life to dwell on things that did not concern her and things she could do nothing about.
“We should definitely call on the Kensingtons this morning!” her mother exclaimed.
“No!” Olivia’s head shot up. Both of her parents looked at her, startled. “No, we shouldn’t go. T-they are probably tired after the ball.”
Olivia grimaced and lowered her head again. She needed to come up with something better, but she hadn’t expected them to want to leave today during visiting hours. She couldn’t let that happen, and she couldn’t exactly tell them why.
“Well, I think they will be accosted by visitors all day either way, so we shan’t cause too much trouble,” her mother remarked.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave the house today,” Olivia murmured under her breath.
The viscountess looked at her in worry. “Are you all right, dear? Do you not feel well? You look rather… flushed.”
Olivia raised her head. “I am just… I think I got overly excited last night and don’t feel too good. I have an overwhelming headache.”
“Well, you shouldn’t go anywhere then. I shall ask for our cook to make you homebrew.”
“Or perhaps just a tad of laudanum,” her father interjected.
“No.” Olivia shut her eyes. “I shall be well. Perhaps just a bit of rest would do.”
She opened her eyes and regarded two pairs of worried eyes directed toward her.
“Truly, I am well. Just… Let us stay at home today.”
“All right.” Her mother smiled, but then turned to the viscount, and both exchanged a worried glance.
Perfect. In her quest to not make them suspicious, she’d made them more suspicious than if she’d stayed quiet.
The clock ticked loudly in the room as Olivia counted every passing second. A few people called on her parents, and they all had a pleasant chat and exchanged plenty of gossip about the ball and the murder of the mysterious woman, while Olivia nervously tapped her foot, waiting for their time to be up. Her mother threw her disapproving glances a few times, but then her gaze turned worried.
The room became suffocating rather quickly, and Olivia’s stays jammed into her ribs, making it impossible to breathe easily. Olivia felt sweat cover her skin, and her clothing itched and chafed. It all felt uncomfortable, and she wanted to jump out of her skin.
Rationally, Olivia knew that the state of her nerves had nothing to do with her clothing or a poorly ventilated room. There was a little over twenty minutes left, and then calling hours would be over, and the door for the visitors would be closed. And yet Jarvis had not called on them yet.
Of course, he wasn’t exactly treated like a guest, and he could spend supper with them on any given day, but today was different, wasn’t it?
He had promised he’d call on her father the first thing in the morning. What could have delayed him?
As the clock chimed quarter to the hour, the last guests cleared the room, leaving Olivia staring moodily at the clock.
“Well,” her mother said a few moments later. “The visiting hours are almost over, we might as well—”
“There’s still time,” Olivia interrupted.
