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For a moment, Samantha was flummoxed. Then she gasped. “Good Lord, Mrs. Girvin, never say that dreadful man was importuning you?”
The housekeeper quickly put up her hands. “Oh, no, nothing like that. At least, not in the way you mean.”
“But he was importuning you about something?”
Girvin lapsed into silence, clearly thinking. Samantha got the distinct impression that her housekeeper might be cooking up a lie.
“Mrs. Girvin?” she finally prompted.
“Mr. Haxton was, in fact, questioning me about my work,” Girvin admitted.
“In a negative sense?”
“Yes.”
“But your work is impeccable. What could have troubled him?”
“We didn’t get very far in the discussion before you came upon us.”
There was the lie. Samantha would have bet a bob that the discussion had been going on for several minutes.
“Mrs. Girvin, if any board member has a complaint about your work, they are to bring it to me. They are not to harass you.”
“I was attempting to explain that to Mr. Haxton when you arrived.” The housekeeper paused. “Thankfully.”
Samantha studied the woman, noting her still closed-up attitude. She concluded that it might be better to have a go at squeezing Haxton for information.
“Very well, Mrs. Girvin. You may return to your duties.”
“My lady.” The housekeeper dipped a quick curtsy before heading toward the front rooms.
Only after Girvin had disappeared around the corner did it occur to Samantha that the housekeeper had failed to ask why she’d been looking for her in the first place. That, too, was most un-Girvin like. The woman never forgot a thing and was always attentive to Samantha’s wishes.
Turning on her heel, Samantha followed her. Since there were only a few other people in the corridor, she easily spotted Girvin at the end of the hall. But instead of turning right into the supper rooms, the housekeeper turned left and started up the staircase.
Why would she go upstairs? There were only offices and a few smaller classrooms on the second floor, and all were locked for the evening. Nothing about the woman’s behavior made any sense.
She hurried along the hall, sending a quick glance into the supper rooms. The fact that they were empty and that Braden was not in sight meant that Kade’s performance was about to begin.
Drat.
John, as chair of the Penwith Foundation, had agreed to introduce Kade on behalf of the board. While Samantha had no official duties to perform in that respect, she should be present. Everyone, including Lord Beath, would expect it.
She hovered outside the door of the recital room, mulling her choices. Her instincts, honed after months of investigating Roger’s death, urged her to follow Girvin. Something was wrong here, and that something had to do with foundation business. She’d stake her reputation on it.
Macklin, the Kendricks’ butler, appeared in the doorway. “May I be of assistance, my lady?”
Samantha craned a bit, so she could peek into the room. “Everyone seems to be seated.”
“Yes, my lady. Dr. Blackmore is about to introduce Mr. Kade, but we were waiting for you.”
“Where is Lord Beath?”
“In the first row, with Mrs. Blackmore and Mr. Baines.”
She nodded. “That’s good. Then they won’t expect me to make a grand entrance and disrupt things.”
Macklin frowned. “My lady?”
