It took her fifteen minutes to track down Michel. She found him in the saloon bar, sipping a cup of coffee that no doubt had a measure of brandy in it.
She motioned him away from the counter, where he was exchanging jokes with the barman, and led him out into the hallway, where they were unlikely to be overheard.
“I understand that Gertie had an argument with Ian in the kitchen the night he died,” she said, keeping her voice low. “I was wondering if you happened to overhear them.”
Michel’s face looked pale in the dim light from the window at the end of the corridor. It was a gray day outside, and since the rain had washed the snow away, there was no bright reflection to light the dark hallways.
Cecily made a mental note to have the gas lamps lit while she waited for Michel’s answer.
“No, madame, I did not see or hear them at all.” Michel shook his head for emphasis. “I leave immediately after cooking the supper. I had the plum puddings in the oven and they would not be cooked until nine o’clock that night,
“They do, indeed, Michel. Thank you.”
She was about to turn away when he added, “I did see Clive Russell, however. I did not expect anyone out in the yard so late. He made me jump in my skin. He came up behind me as I went in the back door. Sacre bleu! That man is a giant.”
Cecily frowned. “What time was that?”
Michel shrugged. “Nine o’clock, perhaps. Maybe a little later. I had come back to take out the puddings.”
“Well, thank you, Michel. You can go back to finish your coffee now.”
“Yes, madame.” Michel gave her a little bow, then disappeared back into the bar.
Walking back to her office, Cecily wrinkled her brow. Clive always left about six o’clock, unless she specifically asked him to stay longer to work on something. She hadn’t had to ask him to stay for at least a month. So what was he doing in the kitchen yard at nine o’clock that night?
Deep in thought, she didn’t see the woman standing by her door until a shrill voice shattered her concentration.
“Cecily, dear! I was just coming to see you! I peeked in the ballroom and I noticed the backdrop isn’t in place on the stage.” The petite woman flapped a hand in front of her flushed face. “I do hope and pray it will be ready for the performance tonight.”
“Hello, Phoebe.” Cecily smiled at the newcomer, more to put her at ease than because she felt like smiling. Phoebe could be exhausting at the best of times, and if she’d brought the colonel along, things could get even more difficult.
Colonel Frederick Fortescue had fought in the Boer War, and as a result of his experiences had returned home with an addled brain that fluctuated between endless memories of his war days and, at times, a belief that he was still on the front line.
Dealing with the colonel kept one on one’s toes, in more ways than one. Phoebe’s way of dealing with him was to ignore his problem and convince herself he was completely normal.
Right now, however, the lady seemed extremely upset by the lack of a perfect setting for her pantomime. “Really, Cecily, I should have thought everything would have been ready. I have quite enough to worry about getting my girls organized and in place. I really can’t be fretting about the stage scenery as well.”
“Don’t worry, Phoebe.” Cecily opened the door of her office and ushered her visitor inside. “The backdrop is getting a little touch-up of paint, that’s all. It was looking a bit drab, and I knew you wouldn’t be happy to see it in that state so I had Clive freshen it up for you.”
“Oh.” Phoebe’s wide-brimmed hat, loaded with pink ostrich feathers, blue ribbons, and purple grapes, wobbled precariously on her head as she plopped down on a chair. “Well, I certainly hope he has it done before curtain this evening.”
“He has promised to have everything set up by this afternoon.”
“Well, good.” Phoebe fanned her face again. “I don’t know why I’m so warm. It’s quite chilly outside, though I’m happy to say the snow has all gone. All that slush does dreadful things to the hems of my skirts.”
Cecily sat down at her desk. “Is there anything we can do for the pantomime, apart from getting the scenery in place, I mean?”
Phoebe’s frown relaxed. “Thank you, dear, but I have everything under control.” She leaned forward. “What is this rumor going around about a man being found dead in your duck pond? I do hope that isn’t true.”
“Where did you hear that?”
Cecily had spoken more sharply than she’d intended. Phoebe’s eyebrows raised. “Cecily! Are you saying it
Struggling to find an answer that would satisfy her, Cecily shook her head. Just as the pause had become uncomfortably long, a sharp rap on the door snatched Phoebe’s attention away.
“Oh, that’s probably Frederick. I left him to see to the carriage. I made him promise he would pop in to see you before going down to the bar. Come in, darling!”
The door opened and the colonel’s bewhiskered face peered in. “Oh, there you are, old bean. I was wondering where you’d gone.”
Phoebe clicked her tongue in annoyance. “I told you I’d be in Cecily’s office. Do come in, Frederick. It’s drafty with that door open.”
The colonel shuffled into the room and leaned on the door to close it. “What ho, there, Mrs. Baxter. All ready for Christmas, I see! What? What?”
“Yes, indeed, Colonel.” Cecily waved her hand at the vacant chair. “Have a seat.”
“Don’t mind if I do, old girl. The old legs are not what they used to be.”
“Frederick!” Phoebe looked scandalized. “Gentlemen do not refer to their… er… personal body parts in the presence of a lady.”
The colonel seemed confused, as well he might. “Personal body parts?”
Cecily hastened to intervene. “It’s quite all right, Colonel. Do sit down.”
“Oh, right.” Parting the tails of his coat, Colonel Fortescue sat down heavily on the chair.
“Anyway,” Phoebe said, “as we were saying, Cecily. We have been rehearsing for two weeks in the church hall and I think you are going to be pleased with the pantomime this year. We are doing Cinderella. I think I told you about that.”
Thankful that Phoebe had lost the thread of their earlier conversation, Cecily smiled. “Cinderella. How nice. One of my favorites.”
“Is that the one about the young lady who couldn’t wake up?” the colonel asked.
Phoebe gave him a scathing look. “Of course not. That was Sleeping Beauty.”
“Ah, I knew it had a beauty in there somewhere.”
Phoebe bristled. “Really Frederick, if you intend to go on being such a bore, why don’t you just toddle off down to the bar. I’m sure you’ll find someone to listen to your nonsense.”
“Good idea, old bean.” The colonel heaved himself out of the chair again. “Just hope there’s a bit more peace and quiet in there than in the George the other night. All that blasted racket gave me a headache.”
Phoebe rolled her eyes at Cecily. “He came home and complained for over an hour about some kind of brawl in the courtyard. Serves him right, I told him, for rubbing elbows with the riffraff.”
“They were going at it hammer and tongs, old girl. Yelling and hitting and kicking…” The colonel shook his head. “Reminds me of the time I was in India watching a cricket match. The bowler hit the batter on the hip with the ball and the batter swore he did it on purpose. Went tearing up to the bowler waving his bat-”
“Frederick,” Phoebe said sternly. “Please, just go to the bar. I’m sure you’ll find someone there who’ll listen to your stories.”
“-and swung it at the poor chap,” the colonel blithely continued. “Missed the bugger, tripped over the bat and fell on it. Took out his two front teeth, just like that.”
Cecily winced, while Phoebe’s cheeks grew red. “Frederick! The bar!”
“All right, all right, I’m going.” The colonel shuffled to the door. “Never could talk right after that, but he had a hell of a whistle.”
Phoebe looked as if she was about to have a stroke.
