Buckingham Palace Gardens - Anne Perry [77]
He looked embarrassed. She was suddenly terribly sorry for him. This place and the people in it were his whole life, the reason he believed in himself. Perhaps he had found some way to come to terms with the things he disapproved of: the strange women who came at night, for what reason he must know; the guests he might not care for, either for their manners or their purposes in being here. Many of them would take advantage, and there would be nothing he could do.
And now there was murder, and he still had to try to keep it all quiet and everything working as usual. Would he even be thanked for it? Thanks could mean a lot, in fact it could mean almost everything.
“But I am grateful,” she added in the prickly silence. “Wouldn’t ’a done for me to tell everyone as Ada made me do ’er job wi’ the slops, which is wot made me late. An’ please don’t say nothin’! I’ll sort ’er.”
He looked desperately uncomfortable. “Have you…have you learned anything?” His voice caught in his throat.
“Best you dunno, sir,” she replied.
“Would it be helpful if you were to serve at dinner tonight?” he asked.
“Serve? You mean like at the table?” she was horrified.
“Yes. They are not dining until late. You still have at least two hours. Would it help you to observe?”
“I…” She hated to admit it. “I dunno as I know ’ow ter do it, sir. Not…not wi’ silver dishes an’ all them glasses an’ all.”
“You won’t be asked to serve the wine,” he assured her. He looked better, and he had the upper hand again. “Just the vegetables, and clear away. The footman will serve the wine and the soup. Would it help?”
“If someone’s as mad as all that, yer’d think yer could see it, wouldn’t yer?” she said thoughtfully. “Mrs. Sorokine’s bin goin’ around all day askin’ things. Mr. Tyndale, sir, do you know if someone broke a dish, all blue and white china, wi’ a bit o’ gold in it? One from upstairs, I mean? She were askin’ like it mattered.”
He looked concerned. “Yes, I am aware of that. She asked me also. I tried to discourage her. It seems I did not succeed. Who was she asking?”
“Walton. ’As it got summink ter do with the murder, sir?”
“No. No, you have quite misunderstood. There isn’t such a dish here. The matter has to do with some unfortunate behavior of a quite different nature,” he said firmly, watching to see if she believed him. “It is His Royal Highness. Leave it absolutely alone. Do you understand me, Miss Phipps? I am most desperately serious.”
She was astounded, and a little frightened as well. She realized for the first time the delicacy of the balance Mr. Tyndale needed to keep between his own beliefs and those of the man and the class he served. Did he even see the absurdity of it? How difficult was it for him to explain to himself, and justify, when it was late at night and he was alone in his room? Did he question, waver? Then count the cost?
He blinked under her gaze. “Do you understand me, Miss Phipps?” he said again.
“No, sir,” she replied. “But I’ll do like you say.”
The door swung wide open and Mrs. Newsome was there again, her face white apart from two spots of color in her cheeks.
“Phipps—” she started.
“If you have something to say, Mrs. Newsome, then you had better say it to me,” Tyndale cut across her abruptly. “Phipps was reporting a certain matter to me, which I shall relay to the police. The fewer people who know of it the better. It may turn out to mean nothing, but we must see. You will keep this entirely to yourself.” That was an order; there was no possibility of misunderstanding this time. Was he repaying her for showing him up in front of the other staff at the table?
“Indeed,” Mrs. Newsome said unhappily. She turned from Tyndale to Gracie. “Phipps, there is a considerable amount of rubbish in the still room after the party. No one got round to cleaning it up. Go and do so, and while you are there, you can scrub the floor.”
“I want her to help at table this evening,” Mr. Tyndale said.
“She’s not fit to, but if that’s what you want, then she can do so. After she’s scrubbed the still-room floor,” Mrs. Newsome rejoined.