English Trifle Read Online Free

Devonshire?
    Mrs. Land pushed through the double doors while Sadie pulled her thoughts back to the situation.
    “Wait!” Sadie called after her, realizing she’d just been left in charge. But Mrs. Land was gone.
    With the doors swinging shut, Sadie looked at Breanna, who was still bent over and taking deep breaths. Breanna lifted her head to look at her mother. “I’m okay,” she said, attempting to use the desk to stand. Sadie knew that Breanna’s embarrassment of appearing so delicate was bothering her as much as anything.
    Sadie hurried to her. “No, no, don’t stand yet,” she said, pushing her gently back into the chair. “Can you text Liam and tell him where to find us?”
    Breanna nodded, and leaned forward again, digging her phone out of her pocket in the process and seemingly relieved to have something to do.
    Sadie turned to face the other woman who continued to regard her with shock, tears forming in her almond-shaped eyes. Though she’d dropped her hand from her mouth, she looked pale beneath the light brown color of her skin. The two women stared at each other; Sadie tried to force a smile, though the muscles in her face resisted.
    “Hi,” she finally said after a few seconds had passed and she couldn’t think of anything else to say. She put out her hand. “Um, I’m Sadie Hoffmiller, I don’t believe we’ve met.”
    The woman remained silent, blinked once, then turned on her heel and began to run. Sadie paused a moment before taking off after the woman. On the left side of the large kitchen was a door, and Sadie was navigating her way around the butcher-block table when she realized the other woman was headed toward it.
    “Wait,” Sadie called out even as she questioned herself on why she was becoming involved. “Stop.”
    The woman reached the door just as Sadie caught up with her and grabbed her arm. The woman’s hand was on the doorknob and she made a whimpering sound in her throat.
    “Please, stay here,” Sadie pleaded in a breathless voice. She hadn’t yet recovered from the shock of finding the body and was in no condition to chase down the assistant cook. Mrs. Land’s words rung in her ears: “Don’t let her follow me.” Was it only following that was the problem? Was it alright if she left? Somehow, Sadie didn’t think so and the other woman’s desire to get out sent off yet more alarm bells in Sadie’s head. The police would be coming, they would need to talk to everyone. She tightened her grip on the woman’s arm. “Please wait for Mrs. Land to come back.”
    “I can’t,” the woman said, her accent different from Mrs. Land’s or Grant’s, but still British. Sadie had learned during this trip that in England, a person’s speech not only revealed where they were from, but also what class they belonged to—but of course Sadie didn’t know how to decipher it. The woman’s dark eyes filled with tears as she looked at Sadie. She was a petite woman, trim and young. She wore a black scarf over her equally black hair. Devoid of makeup, her complexion was as flawless as any Sadie had ever seen. “He made me promise if something happened, I’d disappear.”
    “He?” Sadie repeated. “He who?”
    “Please,” the woman begged, openly crying as she tried to twist and pull her arm away; a sob broke through. “Please, I have to go.”
    Sadie didn’t know what to do. “But—”
    “Please,” the woman said again, and this time her voice was shaking, her eyes wild as tears streamed down her face. In that moment, sympathy overwhelmed sense. Sadie didn’t know how this woman was connected to John Henry, but the absolute terror on her face made it impossible for Sadie to detain her. The woman looked surprised for the briefest moment when Sadie let go.
    “My name is Sadie Hoffmiller,” Sadie said again as the woman turned the knob and pulled the door open. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
    The woman seemed even more surprised by that, but then her face