Page 59 of Murder in Highbury

“I . . . I might have.”

“What, exactly, did you say?”

“I simply asked him why he was flirting with Anne.”

“And how did he respond?”

“He just stared at me.”

“I’m sure he was stunned by the question.”

“Then I asked him if he still loved me, and he just told me not to be silly.”

Once more, Emma pondered the idiocy of men. “Harriet, I am dead certain he meant that you were silly to even ask the question, since of course he loves you. Still, I can understand why you were upset. Men are quite dreadful at expressing their emotions, you know.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“How then did this regrettable discussion with Robert conclude?”

“Well . . . I suppose I ran away from him and came to find you.”

“Dearest, this really is just a tempest in a teapot. Anne is jealous because she fancied Robert for herself, so she’s trying to cause trouble. It’s truly no more complicated than that.”

Harriet rubbed the tip of her nose. “Truly?”

“I promise,” Emma firmly said. “And you are understandably worn down by the travails of the past few days, as well as by the funeral service.”

“Yes, it was terribly sad today. I don’t know how Mr. Elton is able to bear it.”

That was exactly the transition Emma had been looking for. “How was he during the service?”

“He seemed terribly cut up. But very dignified, too.”

“And was Mr. Suckling equally cut up?”

“No, although I suppose he wouldn’t be, since he was only her brother-in-law. In fact, he seemed irritated and was quite snappish when Mr. Cox and Mr. Gilbert offered their condolences.”

Emma frowned. “How odd. I always thought Mrs. Elton and her brother-in-law were close. And what of the arrangements themselves? From what Mr. Knightley tells me, they were rather simple.”

Harriet pursed her lips. “I don’t really know, since I’ve been to only one other funeral in my life. Mrs. Gilbert did say she was surprised to see such a plain affair, though, especially because Mrs. Elton was the wife of the vicar.”

“Yes, that is odd.”

“Mr. Suckling wore a silk armband and a silk hatband, but Mr. Elton’s servants had only black cotton armbands. Mrs. Cole was quite struck by that.”

“What about the female servants?”

“The housekeeper had a black dress. The maids did not have proper mourning clothes, and so were not to come, according to Mrs. Cole.”

Another mystery. There should have been plenty of time to acquire the appropriate mourning clothes for the servants.

“Who else attended from the staff?”

Harriet shook her head. “Only the two footmen. I didn’t see the coachman or groom.”

“Good heavens.”

“Perhaps Mr. Elton was too overcome with grief to manage anything better.”