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he wanted as a hysterical female
on his hands, so he tried to keep his gaze as reassuring as
possible while he waited for her to reply.
    “ One day, about a week before Lady Attingham passed away, one
of her friends arrived, a Mrs Bolsworthy. I was showing her out
because the butler was busy with Lady Attingham. Mrs Bolsworthy
told me that she didn’t think Lady Attingham had long to go because
her health was so poor. She, Mrs Bolsworthy, said that if I found
myself out of a job, I should consider taking the job here. She
handed me a note with your name and address on before she
left.”
    “ So when Lady Attingham passed away a few days later, you did
exactly as Mrs Bolsworthy suggested and wrote to me.”
    Tilly
nodded. “In my letter, I explained what I had been doing at
Attingham House, and said that Mrs Bolsworthy had instructed me to
write.” She pointed to the parchment still on Harry’s desk. “I
received that about ten days later.”
    Harry
shook his head. So the Dandridges’ had been helping themselves to
his mail as well? He set that matter to one side for now, and
forced his attention back to the current problem -
Tilly.
    “ What was wrong with Lady Attingham, do you know?”
    Tilly
shook her head. “One minute she was fine. The next thing we know,
she took poorly. She faded really quickly.”
    Harry
frowned at that.
    “ Had you known this Mrs Bolsworthy long?”
    “ I didn’t know her at all,” Tilly replied. “She was Lady
Attingham’s friend.”
    “ I am sorry,” Harry sighed. “I meant; had you seen this Mrs
Bolsworthy at the house much, prior to Lady Attingham taking
ill?”
    Tilly
shook her head. “No. She certainly wasn’t a regular visitor at
Attingham House in the years that I grew up there.”
    “ How many times did she visit Lady Attingham before she passed
away?”
    “ Oh, about three or four times over the period of about six
months. Why?” Tilly frowned at the rather thoughtful look on his
face.
    Harry
didn’t answer her for a moment, and studied the rug beneath his
feet while he contemplated how much to tell her.
    “ Did Lady Attingham ever seem worried, or distressed after Mrs
Bolsworthy’s visits?”
    Tilly
thought about that for a moment.
    “ Not really, although I didn’t serve her, Harrold did.” She
noted the blank look on his face, and explained. “Harrold was Lady
Attingham’s personal butler. He never mentioned to me that Lady
Attingham was distressed in any way.”
    He
picked the parchment up off his desk and studied it. “When you
received this, you hopped onto the next post chaise as instructed,
and came straight here.”
    “ I had no choice. If I don’t have a job, I have no home. It’s
as simple as that. Lady Attingham’s solicitor instructed us all
that we had to find alternative employment.” She sighed and looked
at the floor sadly. “I used all of my savings, and the last of my
wages, to get here.”
    Harry
watched a shiver sweep through her, but suspected that it had
nothing to do with a chill. He studied her closely, and knew from
the look of pure honesty in her eyes that what she had just told
him was the truth. He mentally cursed whichever Dandridge was
involved, and tried to decide what to do now.
    “ I am sorry. It is just a shock.” She lifted her worried gaze
to his. “Who would do such a thing? Why? I have come all the way
from Lincolnshire for the job. It’s cruel.”
    Harry
had to agree, and wished he could give her some answers.
    He could
see no reason to mention the fact that it was the Dandridges’ who
had brought her here, because then she would start to ask him
questions he couldn’t answer. To him, it was obvious that the
Dandridges’ were responsible because they were the only ones who
had access to the house, his mail, and the seal in his desk
drawer.
    “ I am just sorry it has happened to you,” he replied
quietly.
    Especially someone so young and beautiful, he thought. He studied the fine sweep of her
brows over