“She is, indeed. I imagine that when the leeches leave for their own lives—if they ever do—she’ll be fine again.”
“Worry does affect the stomach,” I said. “Well, I must be off. I hope you enjoy the lemon cake, Mrs. Gamble.”
“Huh. Won’t be me that’s eating it, will it?”
“An extra pan with leftover batter never goes unwanted in the kitchen. Good day, Mrs. Gamble.”
She nodded at me, then she banged down the rolling pin as though remembering something, snatched up a basket, and thrust it at me. “These are for you, love. Picked by Symes—said her ladyship instructed it.”
I remembered Lady Covington demanding of Symes whether the herbs Lady Cynthia had asked for were ready. I did not need the herbs, and I knew Cynthia had never asked for them, but I took the basket without question.
Mrs. Gamble and I exchanged another farewell, and I exited via the stairs leading up to the garden.
When I’d reached the top of the staircase, I saw the young gardener, Symes, leaning on his hoe, studying the greens at his feet. He glanced up as I emerged, and pulled off his hat.
“All well, Mrs. Holloway?”
“Yes, Symes, thank you.” I hefted the basket. “And for the herbs.”
He grinned, showing white teeth. “Aye. Seems the mistress was a bit confused on why you were coming.”
I sent him a small smile. “Lords and ladies don’t have to have reasons for what they do, you know.”
“Too true. Not like you and me, eh, Mrs. Holloway?”
I did not like the familiar way he looked at me or that he lumped me into a class of human being with him, but I could be civil. Besides, I did not want to spurn any resource that might help me discover who was trying to poison Lady Covington.
“No, indeed, Symes. Good morning.”
He gave me a friendly nod, waiting until I’d exited through the gate before he resumed his cap.
* * *
* * *
When I returned to the Mount Street house, I was struck by the contrast between it and Lady Covington’s. Even the kitchen had been quiet, Mrs. Gamble working by herself in the large and well-appointed room.
My kitchen was cramped, with pots, pans, and crockery taking up every available space. But it was cozy with Elsie singing in the scullery, Charlie playing a game with one of the footmen in the corner, Tess joining her voice with Elsie’s from time to time, an upstairs maid sailing in to fetch a cup of tea for Mrs. Bywater, and Lady Cynthia, planted at the table, her elbows on it, looking morose.
Cynthia wore trousers and frock coat today, a garb not much different from that of Jonathan Morris. I knew Cynthia’s clothes were tailor-made for her—I wondered what the tailor thought when she came in for fittings.
I set down the basket of herbs and removed my coat, then carried the basket to the table and began to sort through the greens, their fragrance pleasantly clean.
“What’s all that?” Cynthia asked in a dull voice.
“Thyme, a bit of basil—too early for it, so it must have come from the hothouse—tarragon, and chervil.” I lifted the tarragon, my favorite, and inhaled its fragrance. Some said it smelled of anise, but I thought it had a bright scent all its own.
“Oh.” Cynthia rested her chin on her fists, which slid the skin of her face upward.
“Should you be downstairs?” I asked her as I tied on my apron. “Did your parents go out?”
“I shall never go upstairs again,” Cynthia said. “I’m certain a cubby can be fixed down here for me to sleep in.”
Tess sent me a tense look that told me Cynthia had been here for some time.
“You would be vastly uncomfortable,” I said to Cynthia. “Not to mention hot.”
“A bit of sympathy would not go amiss, Mrs. H.,” Cynthia said crossly. “You know they’ve come to drag me back to the country. I can dig in my heels, but they’ll drag me all the same—I’ll leave grooves behind me. I can’t stick it, so I’m not moving.”
She leaned back in the chair and propped her boots on a low stool.
“I do sympathize.” The herbs I sorted were in very good condition and quite fresh. I would use them for dishes today. “I have been pondering a way to keep you here.”
“Have you?” Cynthia brightened a fraction. “What shall we do?”
“How well do you know Baroness Covington?”
Cynthia considered. “Slightly. Miss Townsend knows her better. Why?”
“Perhaps you could stay with her for a time. This house is becoming a bit crowded with your mother and father and the Bywaters. Perhaps Miss Townsend could persuade Lady Covington to take you in. It’s a very large house. I’ve just come from there.”
Cynthia eyed me in surprise then with misgiving. “Why on earth should I? What’s it all about, Mrs. H.?”
I waited until the maid hurried out with Mrs. Bywater’s cup of tea, and the footman and Charlie moved their game to the servants’ hall. Elsie was belting out a tune and splashing loudly in the sink.
In a quiet voice, I told Cynthia and Tess about my encounter with Lady Covington at the Crystal Palace and all I’d learned from her and the cook today, as well as what Daniel had reported. Now that I was certain something foul was happening, I had no hesitation in recruiting Cynthia and Tess to help.
Both listened in disbelief, which soon became concern. “You think the lady’s maid’s doing it?” Tess asked when I finished. “Poisoning the poor woman? Nasty old bat. The lady’s maid, I mean.”
“That I do not know. If Cynthia were there to keep an eye on things . . .”
“Delighted to,” Cynthia said at once. “Not only can I watch this maid and the other members of Lady Covington’s ghastly family, but I can clear out of here. Papa bleats on about having me at home or respectably married off, but I don’t trust him. He’s up to something.”
I did not admonish her for speaking so of her father, because I agreed with her. Lord Clifford had lied his way into his title, claiming to be next in line when he’d in fact been a few spaces removed, but the heirs had been scattered across the globe and difficult to track down. Time had made Lord Clifford now the correct heir, as the others had passed on, but he had taken advantage of distance and the time it took for legal dispatches to arrive to stake his claim. He’d apparently undertaken other swindles in the past, though I did not know the details about them.
“He cannot do much while staying here with the Bywaters,” I said, hoping this was the case.