Trip the Light Phantasmic (The Gothic Gwyn Mysteries Book 1) by Judith Sterling

Author:Judith Sterling [Sterling, Judith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I started up the stairs. Beatrice’s manner was typically brusque, but now her tone conveyed disapproval. I felt like I was in trouble and heading to the school principal’s office. Not that I’d ever had that experience, but I could imagine it.

The higher I climbed, the stronger the smells: rosemary and garlic, roasting chicken, and onions sautéing in butter. The nose knows, and mine was certain I was heading for the culinary heart of the home.

I reached the top of the stairs. The kitchen was enormous, with a linoleum floor, walls painted light green, and a stove with two ovens. A large iron pot rack crowned a long, enameled worktable, at which a dark-haired maid stood chopping carrots, likely the ones Lloyd picked fresh from the garden. Close by, a second brunette in uniform ascended what had to be the servant stairs. The trestle table in the center of the room must be where the servants ate their meals.

“We’ll have more privacy in the butler’s pantry,” Beatrice stated. “Follow me.”

Moments later, we stood in a narrow room featuring numerous glass-fronted cabinets filled with china, glassware, silver serving dishes, and candelabra. From the looks of it, Mr. Stebbins had everything he needed to perform his job efficiently.

Unblinking, Beatrice regarded me. “Watch your step with my nephew.”

“Edgar?”

“Craig.”

My eyes widened. “I only just met him. How did you—”

“Penny was down gathering crabapples near the cottage and heard your voice. Naturally, she was concerned and reported it to me.”

Uh oh. How much had the maid heard? If memory served, I’d raised my voice only twice: first, when I suggested “lecherous intent” in Craig’s nocturnal visit and second, after he propositioned me.

Beatrice was waiting, presumably for an explanation of why I entered the forbidden cottage. I would counter with a question. “Why should Penny be concerned?”

“Why shouldn’t she be? Craig is dangerous. A bad seed from the day he was born.”

“Bad how?”

She looked to the side, and her eyes narrowed as she conjured sour memories. “He was always drawn to the dark, and to things he should’ve left alone. Why, I even caught him spying on me once, during an intimate moment.”

“Intimate.” Oh, dear God. “As in having sex?”

She nodded gravely. Mind-stabbing imagery of her and Lloyd flashed before my eyes, but I quashed it.

“A young boy shouldn’t be so nosy,” she continued. “Not about things like that, and not about others either. He asked endless questions about herbs and plants…what to use them for and which ones were poisonous.”

I swallowed hard. She was painting a grim picture. “The garden has poisonous plants?”

“Certainly. Take belladonna, also known as deadly nightshade. It can be used for painkilling ointments, which Veronica knows well enough, but the berries are extremely toxic.”

“Good to know.” I heard the edge in my voice. I’m sure she did too.

“If the topic interests you, there are books on botany and herbology in the library.” She pushed her dress sleeves up to her elbows, one at a time. “Now, I’ve got work to do, and you’d best dress for dinner.

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