Malice at the Palace (The Royal Spyness Series Book 9)

 

 

A great gust of wind swirled up, stirring the dead girl’s clothing. The sequins on her dress sparkled suddenly in the beam from the flashlight. I wanted nothing more than to get away from that spot.

 

“Very well,” I said. “But we must do something. A girl has been murdered. We can’t let it be hushed up just so that a wedding can go forward.”

 

“Of course,” he said. “But this is a royal palace and it will need to go through the correct channels. I will pass this information on to His Majesty’s private secretary and see how I am instructed to proceed. And in the meantime please behave as if nothing is amiss. The word will have gone around that you summoned me late at night. You might want to think up a plausible explanation for that.”

 

“All right, I’ll try,” I said. “Although my brain isn’t working very well at the moment.”

 

“I’ll escort you back to your front door.” He took my arm and steered me along the narrow pavement while I wracked my brains thinking of something plausible to say.

 

“Oh, there you are, your ladyship.” The same maid came to meet me in the foyer. “Is everything all right? Major Beauchamp-Chough looked quite upset and he wanted a flashlight.”

 

“Yes, my fault, I suppose,” I said. “I was wearing a very valuable diamond brooch lent to me by Her Majesty for the occasion and the pin must have come loose. I realized it must have fallen off when I got out of the car and I knew how upset Her Majesty would be if something happened to it, so I’m ashamed to say I panicked.”

 

“You could have asked us to help you find it, my lady,” she said. “There’s enough servants still awake.”

 

“Actually I didn’t want word to get back to Her Majesty,” I said. “So please don’t mention it, all right?”

 

“But did the major find it for you?”

 

“Yes, he did, thank goodness.” I gave her what I hoped was a convincing smile. “And he’s taken it away for safekeeping, ready to be returned to Buckingham Palace in the morning. Now that I know the clasp is loose I won’t risk wearing it again.”

 

“Well, that’s good then, isn’t it, my lady?” She gave me an encouraging smile. “Everything’s all right and we can all go to bed.”

 

“Yes. Everything’s all right. But I would appreciate a glass of brandy to warm me up. I’m really cold now.”

 

“Of course, my lady. Would you like the brandy in hot milk?”

 

“That’s a lovely idea.” I smiled at her again.

 

“I’ll bring it up to your room,” she said.

 

“Oh, that’s not necessary.”

 

“No trouble, my lady. You go up and I’ll bring the hot milk.”

 

Why couldn’t Queenie be more like that, I thought as I trudged up the two flights of stairs. Cheerful, willing, thinking of my needs. I sighed. Queenie would probably be snoring on my bed when I got to my room.

 

I opened my door and jumped as Queenie stepped forward to greet me. “Oh, there you are, miss. I’ve been that worried about you. I heard the princess come upstairs a while ago and then you didn’t show up and something funny was going on down in the courtyard below.”

 

“Nothing to worry about, Queenie,” I said. “We were just looking for a piece of jewelry that must have fallen off when the princess got out of the car.”

 

“Oh, that was you down there, was it? Thank God for that. I thought it was one of them ruddy ghosts. They say this palace is bloody well haunted. Down in the kitchen they said there’s ever so many ghosts drifting around. In fact I think I saw one, earlier this evening. Something in white, wafting across the courtyard. Horrible it was.”

 

“Yes, I’m afraid that must have been one of the ghosts,” I said rapidly. “Princess Sophia, the daughter of George the Third, but don’t worry. She’s quite harmless. She drifts around looking for her lost child.”

 

“She might be harmless but I don’t want to bump into her. Gives me the willies just thinking about it. I sat here all evening wondering if ghosts could come up the stairs and through walls.”

 

“I think you’re quite safe, Queenie,” I said. “And anyway, I’m back now. As soon as I’m undressed you can go to bed and you know very well that no princess would haunt the servants’ quarters.”