Free Stolen Remains by Christine Trent Page B

with the queen to persuade her to let us get on with a burial, despite Violet’s association with the prince’s funeral.”
    “So this . . . awkwardness . . . might go on for days or weeks? Oh, Stephen, I’m not sure I can endure it.”
    “Sweetheart, be of good cheer. It will be done soon, I’m sure. If you prefer, I can send you back to Willow Tree while this is all sorted out. We’ll bring him back there for burial, anyway.”
    “I don’t know. It would be so cowardly of me. And what of Dorothy and Nelly? I can’t simply run off before they’ve even arrived.” Katherine cast her eyes down. “I’m already enough of a disappointment in the family.”
    “Never say that; you know it’s not true.” He swallowed the last of his sandwich and reached across the table to squeeze his wife’s hand. “This nasty business will be over with shortly and then we can get on with life. Remember, you are Lady Raybourn now, wife to, well, to me . Is that not some consolation for your troubles?”
    Katherine offered a wan smile. “It is a bit of solace, I suppose. Mrs. Peet doesn’t seem to care much for it, though, does she? I wonder why she finds the thought so distasteful?”
     
    Having discussed with the new Lord and Lady Raybourn the errand she wished to run, Violet set out to visit two old friends, Harry Blundell and William Swift. The two young men had taken over Morgan Undertaking from her when she left to go to America. Presumably they were still in her Paddington location, despite her having been gone these four years.
    She was pleased to see that not only was the location still intact, but Harry and Will had retained the Morgan Undertaking name. The sign even had a fresh coat of paint on it.
    “Mrs. Morgan, I mean, Mrs. Harper, how well you look,” Harry said. He put out his bear paw of a hand in greeting. Violet remembered hiring him because of his great strength. Harry could practically carry a coffin alone on his shoulders.
    At the sound of their voices, Will came out from the storage room. “Mrs. Harper, what a delight. What brings you back to London?” Will was very slight as compared to Harry, but had a more congenial manner with customers; therefore he tended to do all the interactions with the grieving while Harry managed behind the scenes.
    Violet shook his hand. “A funeral, naturally. You both look well. I confess I am gratified to see that you’ve made few changes here.”
    Harry grinned. “No sense in mucking about with what is already perfect, is there? I guess the only change is that Will and I are married men now. Married my Emily two years ago and Will entered the matrimonial state not six months ago.”
    “How wonderful for you both. I should like to meet your wives while I’m in the city.”
    “Hah! D’you think Lydia will want to meet another undertaker, Will?”
    Will’s ears turned pink. “I’m sure she would be most accommodating.”
    “Not likely. You see, Mrs. Harper, Lydia doesn’t much like Will’s profession. Constantly at him to join her father’s floral business and leave this ‘foul and ghastly’ business behind. She thinks our trade as worthwhile as that of a clairvoyant. I told him she’d be no end of trouble.”
    Poor Will. His marriage was probably as unhappy as hers with Graham had become. Time to change the subject and let the man be.
    “Yes, well, I’ve been asked to manage a funeral for the queen, and naturally I wish to hire Morgan Undertaking for all of the equipage.”
    Will looked puzzled. “You came all the way from America to bury someone for the queen? Why didn’t she just use the royal undertaker?”
    “A rather interesting question. She seems to have a soft spot for me since I stepped in and handled last-minute details of the prince consort’s burial. Sam and I have been in Brighton the last month visiting my parents, and the queen reached me there.”
    “Newspapers say she continues to grieve him and stays locked away at Windsor as much