Page 112 of Disturbing the Dead
“Because my statement has more weight if I make it immediately upon waking. Can we get another detective in to witness my statement without moving against Muir?”
“I would rather not ask another officer to participate in any delay against Muir. However, you could give your statement to a solicitor, who can date and witness it.”
“Perfect.” I lift my hand to check my watch and curse. Yep, I’ll be doing that for a while. “It’s probably too late to get out and investigate tonight, isn’t it?”
“Too late for you,” Gray says. “There is nothing that cannot wait until morning, and it is already dinner hour. If you can stomach more food, you should do that, and then I’ll have my solicitor come to take your statement before the delay seems suspicious.”
When it’s time to serve dinner, I decide I need to face the staff. It’s too awkward to have Alice and Lorna serving the meal when I haven’t even said hello yet.
I start easy, with Simon. He doesn’t know my real story, so it’s simply a matter of popping out to the stable and saying hello. He’s glad to see me and doesn’t seem disappointed that my latest injury didn’t somehow return Catriona to him. Back in the house, I nearly crash into Lorna. That makes for an even simpler—if more awkward—reunion, as she feels obligated to express her delight at the return of someone she barely knows.
Now comes Mrs. Wallace. I’d rather speak to Alice first. Like Simon, she doesn’t know my secret identity. Unlike Simon, though, she does have reason to fear the return of Catriona. Still, that will be easier than speaking to Mrs. Wallace. Yet I don’t know where Alice is, and I do know where Mrs. Wallace is, so I can’t postpone this conversation any longer.
I steel myself as I open the door to head into the basement. When I catch voices, I pause. Seems I’ve found Alice. She’s talking to Mrs. Wallace, and she’s upset about something.
About my return? Shit. I probably should have reassured Alice sooner.
“I want her gone,” Alice says.
Something inside me tightens. I know Gray reassured them it was me. Maybe that doesn’t matter—Alice has realized she doesn’t want to take the chance of Catriona returning.
“And how do you think we’ll manage that, lass?” Mrs. Wallace replies. “Mrs. Ballantyne would never let her go without good reason. Do you have a good reason?”
“I don’t like her.”
That knot tightens more. Alice and I have grown closer in the last few months, and I really thought she’d come to see me as a true “sister in service,” part older friend and part big sister. Has she been tolerating me all these months, pretending to be friendly to keep a peaceful household?
“That’s not a reason for letting her go, lass,” Mrs. Wallace says gently. “I understand it feels as if it should be. You have been here longer, and if you do not like her, then you should not need to work with her. But it’s not enough.”
“She’s nosy.”
Nosy? Okay, yes, I am overly curious. Occupational hazard. Also, when I work with someone, I like to get to know them, and I’d struggled not to push that with Alice. Still, I did invade her privacy once. Kind of.
I followed her when I was concerned over a letter she received, and I ended up getting her backstory, which she may resent.
Is she nursing a grudge over that? I certainly didn’t think so. Instead, it’d been the turning point for her to start trusting that I wasn’t Catriona.
“Curiosity isn’t a crime, Alice,” Mrs. Wallace says.
“Dr. Gray and Mrs. Ballantyne are entitled to their privacy. They are…” Alice lowers her voice. “You know how they are, ma’am. They’re not quite normal.”
Mrs. Wallace lets out a sound suspiciously like a chuckle. “None of us are.”
“I do not mean it as an insult. They are different, and being different makes people talk. You and me and Simon, we know not to gossip because people have gossiped about us. That’s why she doesn’t belong here. She is normal—too normal—and I fear she will not hold her tongue when she has interesting gossip to tell.”
Normal? That doesn’t describe me at all.
“I will speak to Lorna,” Mrs. Wallace says.
I pause. Speak to Lorna about me?
No, wait. They are talking about Lorna. That makes more sense.
I exhale in relief.
Mrs. Wallace continues, “You are correct that she does not share our histories, and so she may not see the harm in a bit of tongue wagging.”
“I do not see why I couldn’t have been promoted. I would make a better housemaid than her or Mallory.”
