English Trifle Read Online Free Page B

however, was fit to be tied, but she was determined to keep it together. “I think we should return to the foyer. I’m sure Scotland Yard will be here soon.”
    “Was it John Henry?” Breanna asked carefully as she looked up at her mother once again.
    Sadie nodded. “I think so.”
    Breanna stood slowly, testing her balance before taking a step. Sadie stayed by her elbow in case she was needed, but Breanna seemed to have recovered and she walked back through the double doors on her own. “I didn’t imagine one of the things I’d do in England was make an official statement to the police about the dead body of the earl’s nurse,” Breanna muttered as they headed up the concrete steps. She held tightly to the handrail, moving slowly and carefully.
    “Do you think we’ll make the news?” Sadie asked. She didn’t mean to sound excited about the prospect of being on television, but if the story made the international circuit her friends might see her. Did the Associated Press pick up international stories? What would people back home think about Sadie being involved in another murder investigation?
    When they exited the second doorway and stepped onto the main floor, Sadie expected to encounter pandemonium. Mrs. Land crying or shouting, Grant trying to comfort her while Liam directed the police on where to go and who was who. She imagined more servants would be milling about, wringing their aprons and holding back tears. Instead, they rounded the Christmas tree and found the foyer empty—as silent and unoccupied as it had been when she and Breanna left it eight or nine minutes earlier.
    They both stopped in the empty hall and looked around. For a brief moment Sadie wondered if they’d come out the wrong way, into a different foyer that looked exactly like the last one. The one thing she hadn’t expected to find was this—empty silence. She looked toward the sitting room door; it was closed. A shiver raced up her spine.
    “Hello?” Sadie called out, not wanting to move. “Mrs. Land?”
    No one answered and the mixture of fear, anxiety, and downright annoyance began bubbling. “Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Sadie marched into the center of the room so she could see up onto the balcony and down the hallways that led toward the library on the right and the formal dining area on the left. Not a single person was in sight. She took a deep breath and yelled at the top of her lungs: “Isn’t there anyone here but us?”
    Her words echoed back to her but that was the only answer she received. After a few more seconds, she looked back at the sitting room door. Maybe Mrs. Land and Liam were in there? Could the stone walls keep them from being able to hear her? Her eyes drifted to the front doors that would lead them to the car that was supposed to take them to London.
    Breanna had pulled her phone from her pocket again and dialed a number. After a few seconds, she pulled the phone away from her ear and scowled. “Voice mail,” she said, looking at her mother and pushing the phone back into her pocket. “Where is everyone?” She looked at the door to the sitting room. “Maybe they’re in there.”
    Sadie nodded, turning away from the idea that making their flight was even a possibility. Together they went to the door and Sadie pulled it open slowly, listening for the discussion between Liam and Mrs. Land that she expected to hear. When she didn’t hear any voices, Sadie poked her head around the door frame. The room was empty.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Breanna said, glancing behind them as they entered the room. They both stood just inside the doorway for a few seconds, trying to accept what they had found—or not found. In the two days they’d been at Southgate, the staff was constantly around. The feeling that they were never alone was now contrasted with the fact that they seemed to be the only people here. The butler, footmen, and maids that seemed to be hovering everywhere had now disappeared