Page 34 of A Whisper at Midnight

“Excellent.” Tilda smoothed her hands over her lap. “You are aware of Mrs. Chambers’ jewelry going missing.” Tilda knew she was because Beryl had talked about it yesterday when Clara was in the room.

Clara’s brow creased. “She is very upset about it.”

“I would be too,” Tilda said. “She thinks Mr. Chambers stole it, but nothing more has gone missing since Farrow left. Do you think it’s possible she took the jewelry?”

“I suppose it’s possible.” Clara frowned. “I really couldn’t say.”

“That’s all right.” Tilda gave her a reassuring nod. “Can you tell me about Mr. and Mrs. Chambers? In your opinion, how did they get on?”

“Not terribly well. They argued, and Mr. Chambers sometimes grabbed Mrs. Chambers or pushed her.”

“Did you witness him doing any of that?”

Clara shook her head. “I didn’t, but Farrow told me not long before she left that she’d recently seen Mr. Chambers push Mrs. Chambers down into a chair.”

Tilda already wanted to interview Martha Farrow, but now it was absolutely necessary. Perhaps she’d also been summoned to the inquest. If not, Tilda would find her. And she had a place to start in Stepney with her family.

“Was it difficult working here knowing that about Mr. Chambers?” Tilda asked.

Clara hesitated. When she answered, she spoke in a near whisper. “I wasn’t sure I believed that was true. Mr. Chambers hired me to this position, and I am loyal to him.” She pressed her lips together tightly as if she was trying to keep from saying more. Her jaw tightened.

“I can understand that,” Tilda said gently.

“But then I saw the bruises.” Clara met Tilda’s gaze with a fiery anger. “I didn’t realize he could be that cruel. He was always very kind to me. Or what I thought was kind.” She looked away. A tear fell from her eye, but she quickly brushed it away.

Tilda had a bad feeling about what she might learn next. “How was he kind to you?”

Clara looked back at Tilda but then shifted her gaze to her lap. “He made me feel … special. My mother had died just before I came to work here, and my father left us a long time ago. I was alone, but he made sure I felt cherished.”

Cherished? “Like your father would have made you feel?” Except Louis Chambers was perhaps a decade older than Clara at best.

It took Clara a moment to respond. “No. Not like a father.”

Tilda tamped down her revulsion at what Clara might reveal. “Was he … intimate with you?”

Clara nodded. She wiped her cheeks and kept her head down. “Mrs. Chambers doesn’t know. She’d throw me out without a reference.”

“Your affair continued until Mr. Chambers died?” Tilda wanted to make sure she understood.

Snapping her head up, Clara goggled at Tilda. “No.That stopped when they wed. I refused to lie with him after that, though he did try to persuade me to do so.”

“He ultimately left you alone?”

“I am sure he had other women.” Clara looked down once more and plucked at her skirt. “I think he sometimes took Martha to his bed, but I’m not certain.”

Martha became more and more interesting. Tilda dearly wanted to know why she’d left and whether she’d taken any of Beryl’s jewelry with her.

“Do you know about any of the other women?” Tilda asked. “Someone who was perhaps his paramour and might wear perfume?”

Clara’s forehead squeezed. “I can’t think of anyone, but I would not be surprised. I feel so foolish thinking he was such a kind man for so many years. Then, when I began to care for Mrs. Chambers, I could see the evidence of his abuse. She is better off without him,” she added fiercely, surprising Tilda with her vehemence.

“Thank you for sharing that with me, Clara. I would advise you to only share what you know tomorrow. The coroner doesn’t need to hear your opinions.” Especially not when they might draw attention to Clara as a suspect. Although, perhaps she ought to be.

“I’ll remember that,” Clara said eagerly. “Thank you for helping me. But please don’t tell Mrs. Chambers about how things were before she married Mr. Chambers.”

Tilda looked at the maid with sympathy. “It will likely come out at the inquest. I’m sorry. Perhaps it would be better if you told her beforehand, so she isn’t surprised.”

Clara paled. “I couldn’t,” she breathed.