of us were already going about our business when we heard the news.” Mrs. Ansel fidgeted with her cuffs. “Mr. Crocker set everyone else back to work. Mrs. Humphries’s girls are at a loss without her guidance.” She nodded at the cook. “And I can’t say why the footmen are still milling about.” She raised her voice, causing the two footmen to look up, then scramble to the door. I’d have stopped them, but what was the point? If someone on the staff had caused the footman’s death, he’d had plenty of time to cover his tracks by now.
Mrs. Humphries drew a shuddering breath. “Try to calm her, Mrs. Ansel. I daresay, the doctor will be here soon and will likely exonerate her of all wrongdoing.”
In fact, it was the doctor I expected to see when I turned at the sound of boots on the stairs. Instead, it was George who rounded the corner, his face full of alarm. His gaze took me in.
“Frances, er, Lady Harleigh, have I heard right? Has someone died?”
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Hazelton, but yes, you did hear correctly.” I explained the whole of my knowledge of the matter in a few short sentences. “The doctor should be here soon.”
He nodded. “I’ll check on the lad in the meantime.”
Crocker made as if to lead the way, but I placed a hand on George’s arm. “Do you think that’s wise? What if it was influenza?”
He shook his head. “I’ve heard nothing of influenza in the county, and I’d like to see for myself what happened to the young man.”
“Fine. I’ll go with you.”
He stopped and gave me a quizzical look. “I thought you were concerned about influenza?”
“But you’ve just said that’s not possible.”
His brows drew together as he turned and placed a hand on his hip in a show of impatience. “I didn’t call it impossible, just highly unlikely.”
“If highly unlikely will do for you, it will do for me.” I gave him a look that dared him to say no.
“It won’t be a pretty sight, Lady Harleigh.”
“We have cleaned up the room, sir.”
George threw a glance at the butler. “Have you removed the body?”
Crocker took a step back. “No, sir.”
George pursed his lips and turned to me, leaning in close. “I think you had better stay down here.”
By no means did I wish to be in a small room with a dead body, but I truly hated to be coddled. I gave George a look of deepest disdain. “It’s not as if I haven’t seen a dead body before. I’m coming with you.”
I caught a glimpse of Crocker’s horrified expression as I swished past him and followed George through the servants’ hall and up the enclosed staircase to their quarters. The tap of our shoes on the wooden steps echoed and sounded overly loud in the close confines.
“Crocker, what is the lad’s name?”
“His name is Michael, ma’am,” he said, following us up the stairs. “Michael O’Brien.”
“Thank you. It feels rather cold to continue referring to him as the footman.” George had already reached the second-floor landing and turned left into a hallway. I hurried to catch up with him.
“It’s the last door on the left, sir.” Crocker spoke at my shoulder. George gave me one more warning look before pushing the door open and stepping inside. I followed.
The two small windows near the ceiling did little to illuminate the room, which was just large enough to hold a cabinet, two beds, one bedside table, a cane-backed chair, and a trunk at the end of the bed nearest to the door. The bedside lamp was dark. It would have been gloomy even without the smell of death, and vomit, and the body lying in the bed. Perhaps I should have allowed George to coddle me this time.
He’d pulled the straight-backed chair next to the bed and bent forward, examining the boy’s eyes. He glanced up when I walked in and gave me a look that said, I warned you. I squared my shoulders and advanced to his side.
“What are you looking for?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Signs of what might have killed him.”
“He obviously had some sort of stomach distress.”
George wrinkled his nose and nodded in agreement before turning back to the body and lifting Michael O’Brien’s hand. “I was annoyed when Crocker said the room had been cleaned, but as I can still smell the aftermath, I can only be relieved that he did so.”
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