Page 11 of A Whisper at Midnight

“Mrs. Chambers has mentioned him?” Tilda prodded.

“And Mr. Chambers,” Clara replied.

Mrs. Blank pursed her lips at the maid but said nothing. The cook sniffed as she departed with the tea tray.

Now Hadrian was even more curious. Why were they discussing Hadrian years after Beryl had decided to wedChambers? He didn’t like it, particularly since it involved him in this situation.

“Mr. Chambers discussed his lordship?” Tilda asked. “How peculiar as they are not friends.”

“He’s only mentioned him a few times,” Clara mumbled.

The butler entered the kitchen from a corridor that led toward the front of the house. He looked toward Hadrian and Tilda. “Your lordship. Miss Wren.” Then he moved his gaze to the young maid. “Clara, it is your turn to speak with the constable.”

Clara took a deep breath and chewed her lip.

“Don’t fret,” Mrs. Blank said. “Just answer his questions.” She gave the young woman a direct stare, and again, Hadrian had the sense that there was silent communication.

The maid hurried toward the doorway the constable had come through and disappeared into the corridor.

“The constable has been interviewing all of you?” Tilda asked.

“Yes,” Mrs. Blank replied. “He’s asking us if we’d noticed any evidence of someone breaking into the house, but everything was as it should be this morning. Except for Mr. Chambers, of course.”

“Not everything,” Oswald noted. “What about the missing kitchen knife?”

Hadrian snapped his attention to the butler and noticed Tilda did the same. “There’s a knife missing?” Tilda asked.

“Mrs. Dunning noticed it was gone this morning,” Oswald replied.

“Do you need anything?” Mrs. Blank asked, her expression expectant.

“No. We came to ask about the tea.” Tilda smiled at the housekeeper. “We’ll leave you to it.” She turned and slightlyinclined her head toward the door to the stairs whilst meeting Hadrian’s eyes.

He accompanied her from the kitchen, and they climbed the stairs to the landing on the ground floor. The door to the sitting room was ajar.

“I can tell that you wanted to interview the retainers,” Hadrian said. “I am very curious as to why Chambers is mentioning me after all this time.”

She turned to face him, her features shadowed in the dim space for there was only a single candle burning in a sconce. “We are not conducting an investigation. I was hired to assist with a divorce, and that is no longer necessary.”

“But we make a good team,” Hadrian said with a smile. “I was hoping we’d have a reason to work together again, and here we are at the scene of a murder.”

Mrs. Dunning opened the door wider from the sitting room and stopped short upon seeing them.

“Pardon us,” Tilda said, as she moved past the cook into the sitting room. Hadrian followed her, and the cook went into the stairwell.

Tilda’s gaze followed the cook’s movements. “Mrs. Dunning, I understand one of your knives is missing.”

The cook pivoted, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Yes, but I didn’t use it to kill Mr. Chambers. I already spoke to the constable.” There was a glimmer of apprehension in her gaze.

“When was the last time you used it?” Tilda asked.

“Yesterday morning when I butchered a guinea fowl. I cleaned the knife and returned it to the block. This morning, it was gone.” The cook put her hand on her hip. “Why are you asking?”

“I’m an investigator,” Tilda said.

“I thought you were investigating Mr. Chambers so Mrs. Chambers could get a divorce.” Mrs. Dunning sounded skeptical.

“I was.” Tilda gave the woman a benign smile and said nothing else. The cook went downstairs.