Free Decked with Folly by Kate Kingsbury Page B

pleaded with her. “They’ve been so good I hate to disappoint them. Pansy’s coming with me and all, and they love to see her.”
    Cecily let out her breath on another sigh. “Oh, well, in that case, I shall hold Pansy responsible for seeing that you return.”
    A weak smile flashed across Gertie’s face. “I’ve got to come back, don’t I. I’m not going to leave me twins behind. Besides, it’s Christmas. How can I miss Christmas at the Pennyfoot?”
    Her voice broke, and Cecily thought she saw a tear glistening in her housemaid’s eye. A rare event indeed. “Try not to worry.” She gave the young woman another comforting pat. “I promise you we’ll all do our very best to get all this sorted out.”
    Gertie sniffed and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. “I bleeding hope so.” She glanced up at Cecily’s face. “Sorry, m’m. I shouldn’t be using them bad words in front of you.”
    “It’s quite all right. Quite understandable under the circumstances.” Cecily returned to her chair. “Now, if I’m going to help you, you must tell me what happened last night between you and Ian.” She gave her chief housemaid a hard stare. “And Gertie, if you don’t want to be sent to prison for something you didn’t do, I suggest you tell me every single word that was spoken.”

CHAPTER 7
    Gertie stared down at her hands for a long moment, then drew a shuddering breath. “I was in the kitchen. Must have been about six. Mrs. Chubb was in the laundry room. Michel had gone home and the maids were all in the dining room cleaning up. So I was all alone in there.”
    She paused, and Cecily leaned forward. “Is that when you saw Ian?”
    “Yeah. He knocked on the back door. I thought it was Dan knocking and I rushed to let him in. Gave me a really nasty jolt to see Ian flipping standing there. I thought he was still in London.”
    “So did we all. What happened then?”
    “Not a lot. I told him he couldn’t come in. He started arguing. Said he’d come to see the twins and nobody was going to stop him. I could tell he’d been drinking, I could smell it on him. I told him if he didn’t leave I’d call Clive.” Gertie flashed a look at Cecily. “He’s afraid of Clive.” She gulped. “I mean he was.”
    Cecily nodded. It wasn’t hard to see why Ian was intimidated by her maintenance man. Ian was not a tall man and his body was quite frail, whereas Clive’s impressive height, broad shoulders, and barrel chest made him look like a giant in comparison. “Go on, Gertie. I’m assuming he didn’t leave right away?”
    Gertie shrugged. “No, he didn’t. He started coming in through the door and I backed up to the table. Mrs. Chubb had left a roast on the table for supper. The carving knife was lying next to it so I picked it up. Just to scare him, I swear. I yelled at him to get out before I did something really, really bad to him, like slitting his bleeding throat.” She coughed behind her hand. “Sorry again, m’m.”
    “And he left?”
    Gertie chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, then shook her head. “He just stood there, arguing back at me. Then all of a sudden Clive appeared in the doorway. He dragged him out and I heard them shouting at each other, then it all went quiet.” Gertie looked up again. “I didn’t hear nothing after that. Clive looked in and asked if I was all right, and I said yes and then he was gone.”
    “I see.” Cecily frowned at the ledger in front of her. “And you were quite alone with Ian until Clive arrived on the scene?”
    “Yes, m’m.”
    “That’s strange.”
    Gertie looked puzzled. “What is?”
    Cecily smiled at her. “P.C. Northcott said someone told him you had threatened Ian with a knife. He wouldn’t tell me who it was, but I can’t imagine Clive would say anything to him.”
    “No, m’m. Clive would never say nothing that would get me in trouble. I’d swear on it.”
    “Well, then, in that case, someone else must have heard you,