Quicksilver - Amanda Quick [92]
“This is ridiculous,” she said, losing patience. “No one owes me a thing. For the last time, Mr. Sweetwater would have recovered on his own.”
“Perhaps,” Nick said. “Perhaps not.”
“I give up,” she said. “I’ll see you both at breakfast.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Matt said meekly.
“Right, then,” Nick said. “Breakfast. Sounds like an excellent notion.”
Virginia went down the hall to the kitchen, mentally bracing herself for the next challenge of what was shaping up to be a difficult morning. The smell of hot coffee greeted her. She swept into the room, electing to go for a straightforward approach. There was no longer any point in pretending that hers would ever be a respectable household.
“Good morning, Mrs. Crofton,” she said.
“Good morning, ma’am.” Mrs. Crofton took a large frying pan down off a wall hook and set it on the stove. “Young Matt and Tony have been awake all night and are no doubt famished. I have a hunch the rest of your guests will wake up soon. What with one thing and another, I decided it would be best to plan an early breakfast. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“I think I’ve had enough for a while,” Virginia said. “I drank so much during the night that I doubt that I will sleep for a week.”
“Some peppermint tea, then?”
“That sounds very good, thank you.”
Mrs. Crofton disappeared into the pantry. “Mr. Sweetwater has recovered, I take it?”
“Yes, but he’s still asleep. I expect he’ll be down for breakfast.”
“Very good.” Mrs. Crofton reappeared with a small canister in one hand. She opened the container and ladled the herbal tea into a pot.
Virginia sat down on one of the long benches at the large wooden table. “Mrs. Crofton, I realize that the goings-on in this household, especially of late, are not at all what you are accustomed to.”
“No, ma’am.” Mrs. Crofton picked up the steaming kettle and filled the teapot. “This household is most unusual in a number of ways. Certainly not like any I’ve worked in previously.”
“I know that you have been obliged to tolerate certain activities that you find unseemly and no doubt offensive to your high standards.”
“I admit that I was somewhat unsettled by the notion of working for a psychical practitioner at first.” Mrs. Crofton set the kettle aside and carried the pot to the table. “I was very sure that you were a fraud. But I soon changed my mind.”
“You did?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mrs. Crofton put the teapot on the table and plucked a mug from a rack. She put the mug in front of Virginia. “I know now that you do, indeed, have a true talent. I also know that while some might call it a gift, it is also a burden. I’ve seen how the bad readings affect your nerves. I know that you suffer from poor sleep and nightmares after you’ve read the mirrors and seen things that no decent person should see.”
“Yes, well, as I said, this is not a normal sort of household. I do understand that in the past few days it has become even more bizarre. Last night was no doubt too much for you. Under the circumstances, I cannot blame you if you wish to give notice. Never fear, I will provide you with a good character reference.”
Mrs. Crofton drew herself up proudly. “Are you dismissing me, ma’am?”
“What? Good Lord, no. I just assumed that in view of the odd activities around here of late, you would want to seek a position in a more respectable household.”
“I went into service in a respectable household as a maid of all work at the age of twelve, Miss Dean. In that first post I was obliged to fight off the drunken attentions of the eldest son of the household. The lady of the house discovered us just as the young man was about to rape me. She blamed me and turned me off without a character.”
Virginia frowned. “That was so unfair.”
“It happens all the time. But I was fortunate. I landed on my feet in another respectable household. The husband took no interest in me. He seduced the poor governess instead. Got her pregnant. Needless to say she was let go. We heard later