Free Farthing by Jo Walton Page A

fussy cat like a Burmese or a Siamese, and that stroking always reminds me of a cat licking its fur. She likes to have everything in its place, she likes lace and velvet and bobbles, but she’s a superb manager. She’s absolutely devoted to Mummy, they’re cousins, and they’ve been together since they were girls, and while Sukey’s title is “secretary-companion,” the
    “companion” added to show she’s a lady and not a hireling, she actually organizes a tremendous amount for Mummy, the house, and political things as well. She keeps Mummy pointed in the right direction.
    Sukey stays on top of everything that’s going on and kind of briefs Mummy so Mummy can just Page 28

    sail through. They’re like a swan: Mummy’s the part on top of the water gliding along effortlessly and
    Sukey’s the part below the water kicking frantically. I know Mummy couldn’t do without her, and what’s more, Mummy knows it too. She doesn’t pay her a tenth of what she’s worth, and she couldn’t, no matter how much she paid. You can’t buy devotion.
    “Then who is there?” Sukey asked. “I’d do it myself, but there’s so much else that needs doing.
    Can’t you stay?” This last she said imploringly, but I shook my head.
    “I’ve been there all day, and I’m at screaming point,” I said. “How about Lady Manningham?”
    Sukey put her head on one side, just exactly like a cat. “I could ask her,” she said. “Are you sure Daphne wouldn’t…”
    “They’re tormenting each other about who Sir James loved better,” I said. There was no sense in keeping anything from Sukey at this point, even though that meant it would go straight to Mummy. “It seems Daphne walked into his dressing room and found the body, which looks like a spot of Bognor to me.”
    “Oh dear,” Sukey said, distressed. “You’re quite right. Run along and get dressed. I’ll ask Kitty Manningham to sit with her. Perhaps we should call Doctor Graham to come and take a look at her.”
    “That might be a good idea,” I said. “She says she’s going to have a baby in December and that Sir
    James knew.”
    “My goodness,” Sukey murmured. “The poor thing!” I knew at once that she meant the baby and almost laughed because that was so much my own reaction.
    Sukey patted my arm and scuttled off in search of Lady Manningham. I walked as fast as I could to my room to change, knowing full well that not even a murder would be sufficient to get Mummy to consider sitting down to dinner in day clothes acceptable behavior.
    David was in the room, dressed and waiting for me. I kissed him, almost threw off what I was wearing, scattering garments heedlessly about the floor, and dragged on the dress someone had taken the trouble to lay out for me. It happened to be the purple thing from the Worth collection. It’s not really purple, it’s lavender with a purple creeping-leaf design all over it, and I remembered after I had it on that it was floor-length, which meant my hair had to go up. I fixed it up just anyhow, sticking about ninety pins in it because I’d just washed it and it didn’t want to lie quiet. When I was looking at it in the mirror I
    remembered about the day before, and looked at David over my shoulder again. He was watching me, and smiling, but under the smile I could tell he wasn’t one bit happy.
    I picked my amethyst chain out of my casket. It’s a single amethyst on a gold chain, with amethyst ear-drops to match, and I love them because they’re the first thing David gave me after we were engaged. It wasn’t my birthday or anything, just an ordinary day in Grosvenor Square, with Mummy being bloody; and rain, hard London rain that’s so much dirtier and wetter than rain in the country. I
    hadn’t been expecting David, he just dropped by, and seeing him was like the sun coming out, and he gave me this little box, and I opened it not knowing what, and there they were. Every time I see them or touch them I remember that. I