Queen of Hearts (Royal Spyness Mysteries) Read Online Free Page B

never seen an actual ocean liner. My jaw dropped as we pulled up beside the
Berengaria
. She was enormous with three shiny red funnels, already puffing out wisps of smoke. It was like staring up at the Dorchester.
    “Come along, darling, don’t dawdle,” Mummy said, heading for the first class gangway. “And try not to gawp. You look like a country bumpkin.”
    We were welcomed on board in the effusive manner that Mummy expected, and escorted up to A deck where Mummy was to have a suite. I had once had a cabin on an overnight Channel crossing from Ostend so I was expecting something like a railway sleeping car with bunks on one side and a washbasin. Therefore I was not prepared when the steward opened the door and we stepped into a spacious sitting room with a sofa and armchairs, a writing desk between two picture windows and thick pile carpeting. There were flowers on the table and champagne on ice.
    Mummy nodded with satisfaction. “Oh yes, this will do nicely,” she said. “I suppose the bedroom is through here.” And I followed her through to a pretty bedroom with dainty white wood furniture and chintz covers. Two picture windows opened onto the deck. I observed there were two beds.
    “Am I to be sharing this with you?” I asked.
    “Good heavens, no.” She sounded horrified. “Sharing with my daughter would definitely cramp my style. You never know whom I might want to invite up to visit me.”
    I didn’t like to point out that she was on her way to get a divorce so that she could marry a rather puritanical German and news of shipboard antics wouldn’t go down well with him. Also that he was paying for this little jaunt. The steward gave a discreet cough, making Mummy break off and grin. “Thank you. That will be all,” she said. “Please show Lady Georgiana to her quarters.”
    My cabin was farther along A deck. Not a suite and not as grand but rather more to my liking with a big window looking onto the deck and the ocean beyond. It also had a lovely big bathroom and I was feeling extremely satisfied when Queenie arrived with the first of the luggage.
    “They’re bringing up the last lot now,” she said. “Cor—this ain’t bad, is it? You ought to find yourself a bloke what’s got money like her German.”
    “Queenie!” I wagged a finger. “You can start unpacking while I go and explore.”
    “Your mum’s maid is right hoity-toity, ain’t she? I had to travel all the way down in the train with her and she hardly gave me the time of day. And we’ve got to share a cabin for the next five days too—and I bet it won’t be as big as this one.”
    I had accepted Queenie’s failings, knowing that I wouldn’t find another maid for what I paid her, but enough was enough. It was about time I behaved like a proper lady of my class and didn’t let my servant treat me as an equal. I took a deep breath. “Queenie, I’m rather concerned about you,” I said. “You seem to be doing an awful lot of complaining recently. May I remind you how lucky you are to have a job with a good family, and enough to eat and a roof over your head when frankly nobody else would employ you. If you were smart you would study Claudette and see how a good lady’s maid behaves. She certainly doesn’t speak to her employer the way you speak to me or she would be out on her ear in five minutes.”
    She gave me an apologetic grin. “Sorry, miss. You’re right. My old dad said I was getting too big for me boots when I went to see them last time. He said pride comes before a fall.”
    “Then listen to your old dad,” I said. “And find an ironing board. Some of these things crumple easily.” I headed for the door. At the door I turned around. “Oh, and Queenie, one does not use a hot iron on silk. It will melt.”
    “Bob’s yer uncle, miss,” she said. I sighed. She was never going to learn and I was stuck with her.
    I left her to unpack and went out onto the deck. I stood looking down at the impossibly small