Free Death Comes to Cambers by E.R. Punshon Page A

once,’ Lawson said, and for the life of him, discipline or no discipline, Bobby could not help putting down his note-book, and saying: ‘Shall I go, sir? You meant me?’
    â€˜Yes, all right, you go and find her,’ Lawson agreed, and whether he thought it a matter of indifference who went to find the girl, or whether he had taken the hint and realized it would be better to hear the girl’s story before Farman had any opportunity of influencing her one way or another, involuntarily or otherwise, Bobby never knew.
    At any rate, Bobby was through the door and outside before Farman had even begun to move, and as the door closed behind him Bobby heard Colonel Lawson again addressing to the butler some question that did not sound very important.
    â€˜Good/ Bobby thought, knowing as he did how easily people’s memories and ideas are affected by those of others. ‘That’ll keep him out of the way till I’ve got hold of this Robins girl.’
    He found his way to the servants’ hall, discovered the first housemaid, and brought her back with him. Farman, warned not to say anything to Amy Emmers, was thereupon dismissed, and Miss Robins was asked if she remembered anything to indicate any dissatisfaction with Amy Emmers on the part of Lady Cambers.
    â€˜They had a fair old set-to last Wednesday,’ the girl answered at once. ‘You could have heard them half over the house. Regular going for each other, they were. We all thought Amy would get the sack after that – wages in lieu of notice, and no reference either. But it all blew over – or seemed to.’
    â€˜You don’t know what it was all about?’ Lawson asked.
    â€˜You couldn’t hear nothing to make out plain,’ Miss Robins answered, with what was in her case, also, an evidently sincere regret. ‘But they were going for each other, hammer and tongs. I got so scared I went and told Mr. Farman, I thought they would be pulling each other’s hair out next. You could have knocked us all down with a feather when everything went on just the same.’
    â€˜Amy didn’t explain what the trouble had been about?’
    â€˜No. I did ask her. I said: “What’s up, Amy?” Her eyes were that red and swollen you could see how she had been crying. She never said a word – just walked away. Even when cook herself said to her: “Why, Amy, whatever have you been crying about like that?” All my lady said was: “My own affairs,” and not another word. Very uppish she’s always been, not what I call friendly and open.’
    A few more questions were asked, from which no more was gathered than that Amy Emmers had got the name of being a ‘favourite’, that this favouritism had been specially marked since the breach between Lady Cambers and her husband, and that as a result of this favour shown to her by her mistress Amy had very definitely lost any she had previously enjoyed with the other servants.
    â€˜Like having two mistresses in the house,’ Miss Robins complained, ‘as Mr. Farman said himself, what with her giving the orders and all.’
    Miss Robins was warmly thanked, told that presently she would be asked to sign the statement she had made when it had been written out, and Bobby proceeded to find Amy Emmers, with whom he returned.
    â€˜A bad business this,’ he remarked to her, as they came through the hall together. ‘You must be feeling it dreadfully.’
    Amy said nothing, and Bobby was aware of an impression that she was a young person with a quite unusual capacity for saying nothing – and that is as rare a gift as any. She was a tall girl, nearly a head taller than the other women of the household, and she was well made, with a quick graceful bearing. Bobby thought her very good-looking too, with her almost perfectly oval face and well-shaped, regular features, though both mouth and chin were a little on the large side,