Free Castle of Secrets by Amanda Grange Page B

morning,’ said Mrs Beal cheerily, as she put the finishing touches to the
table, adding a pot of honey to the rolls and butter that were already there.
‘There was frost on the inside of the window when I came downstairs. It’s still
there, look, even now.’
    ‘Yes,’ said Helena , relieved to be talking
about something so ordinary after her disturbed night.
    She blew out
her candle and put it on the dresser.
    ‘There now,
we’re ready,’ said Mrs Beal, looking at her handiwork with pleasure.
    Helena sat on one side of the
table, and Mrs Beal sat opposite her.
    ‘Tell me, Mrs
Beal, do you have a key to the east wing of the attic?’ Helena asked, for she knew she
must unravel its secrets soon, or say goodbye to sleep. ‘I would like to air
it, but the door is locked and there isn’t a key on my ring.’
    ‘No, I don’t
have any keys for upstairs. Now if you find you’re missing a key to the wine
cellar or the dairy, I can help you there. I’ve the keys for all the rooms
below stairs.’
    ‘No, thank
you, it’s only the attic key I need. Do you know if Mrs Carlisle kept any spare
keys anywhere?’
    Effie dropped
a handful of cutlery, which clattered against the flags.
    Mrs Beal shook
her head and tut tutted as the girl picked up the kitchen utensils.
    ‘Sorry, Mrs
Beal,’ gasped Effie.
    ‘Just you make
sure you clean everything properly,’ said Mrs Beal.
    ‘Yes, Mrs
Beal.’
    ‘Now what were
we talking about?’ asked Mrs Beal.
    ‘The key to
the attic. I wanted to know if Mrs Carlisle had a spare set.’
    ‘Not that I
know of. She was a very organised lady, though, and I’m surprised there’s a key
missing. Are you sure it’s not on the ring?’
    ‘Quite sure.’
    ‘It’s possible
she never had one. Some of the rooms are never used. They probably haven’t been
opened since her ladyship was alive.’
    ‘Her ladyship?
Did his lordship have a wife?’ asked Helena , thinking that here was the answer to the mystery of him
crying over a grave.
    ‘Lor' bless
you, no, his lordship’s never been married,’ said Mrs Beal. ‘I meant her old
ladyship, his mother. Ah, a wonderful woman she was. A great lady. Always had a
kind word for everyone. “That was a very good stew you served us up yesterday,
Mrs Beal” or “I want to thank you for all your hard work, Mrs Beal. The banquet
was a great success.’
    ‘So his
lordship never married,’ mused Helena .
    ‘He never
needed to, not with his brother —’
    She stopped
suddenly.
    ‘I didn’t know
he had a brother,’ said Helena .
    ‘Oh, yes. But
you don’t want to hear about all that,’ said Mrs Beal. She took the kettle from
the fire and made the tea.
    ‘On the
contrary, I’m interested in the family,’ said Helena , and waited for the cook to go on.
    Mrs Beal
looked to be weakening, but there was another clatter as Effie dropped a pan
and Mrs Beal’s attention was distracted.
    ‘What are you
doing?’ asked Mrs Beal, going over to the young girl.
    ‘Sorry, Mrs
Beal,’ gasped Effie.
    ‘That pan’s
given years of good service, and if it’s properly looked after it’ll give years
more,’ said Mrs Beal admonishingly.
    ‘Yes, Mrs
Beal,’ said Effie, picking up the pan and putting it back into the sink.
    Mrs Beal
returned to the table, grumbling about the difficulty of finding good help in
such an isolated spot. Helena tried to induce her to talk about his lordship’s family
again, but Mrs Beal had evidently decided that discretion was called for, and Helena could not persuade her to
say more.
    Instead, Mrs
Beal recounted the troubles of her position, talking about the likelihood of
the fishmonger retiring, and the scandalous way the dairymaids flirted with the
farm hands instead of keeping their minds on churning butter.
    As she talked, Helena listened with only half
an ear as she wondered about Lord Torkrow’s brother. He must be a younger brother,
otherwise he would have inherited the title. Where was he? At school,