The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall (Reeves & Worcester Steampunk Mysteries Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

mother walking past a theatre and seeing the name Emmeline Dreadnought written in lights above the door.”
    Emmeline smiled. “That will not be a problem. No one in moving pictures uses their real name. And as for Henry’s love interest, no one stands a chance with Ida Spurgeon around.”
    I wondered if Henry had brought a pet fish back with him from South Africa.
    “Ida Spurgeon?”
    “She’s the daughter of T. Everett Spurgeon, the American moving picture producer I told you about. She doesn’t let anyone else get a look in with Henry. Lily says Ida deliberately tripped her during one of her scenes this morning, and then complained to Henry how clumsy Lily was!”
    “What’s Henry like?” I asked nonchalantly.
    “He’s quite sweet really ... but he’d never solve a murder.”
    I positively glowed. Say what one will about the modern woman, one can’t fault their priorities.
    A cough came from the landing.
    “Hello, Reeves,” said Emmeline.
    “Good evening, miss,” said Reeves, appearing from around the corner. “I think it may be judicious to select an alternative venue for this conversation as people will be dressing for dinner soon.”
    “There’s bags of time yet, Reeves,” said Emmeline. “And most of the rooms in this wing are empty. I think that’s why they put me here — to keep me out of the way. Are you pretending to be South American too, Reeves?”
    “No, miss.”
    “I think you should. Don’t you, Reggie?”
    I kept quiet. ‘Never antagonise the man who is about to lay out one’s clothes for dinner’ is a family motto.
    “And we’ll have to give you an interesting past,” said Emmeline. “I know! You’re an Argentinean tango instructor fallen upon hard times.”
    “I think not, miss.”
    Emmeline did not appear to be listening. “We can’t call you Reeves either. How about Reevero? Reevero Gaucho — that’s a better name.”
    I decided to intervene before Reeves popped a rivet.
    “You’ll never guess who I met in the library just now,” I said. “An orang-utan!”
    As I had hoped, an orang-utan in a library trumped a cornered valet every time.
    “Lupin!” said Emmeline. “What do you think of him? Did he look at you as though he was working out the best way to stuff your body up a chimney?”
    “I’d say he’d already worked that out and was perfecting his alibi. Is it true he has the run of the house?”
    “Completely. Some evenings he even dines with us! Henry dotes upon him.”
    The thought of dining with Lady Julia and Lupin brought a momentary tremble to the Worcester knees.
    “The thing is,” said Emmeline, suddenly looking a little serious “It’s not just Lupin. There’s something ... off about this place. I can’t put my finger on what. I just ... can’t shake this feeling that something bad is about to happen. You do know the family’s cursed?”
    “Is it?”
    “Henry told Lily all about it. It dates back to 1782 when Theodosia Baskerville-Smythe saw something unpleasant in the woodshed.”
    “Did she say what?”
    “Not a word. Though it must have been something to do with her nephew, because she cursed him and all his heirs. And she never ate a parsnip again for the rest of her life.”
    The mind boggled.
    “Ever since then she’s walked the Hall the night before the head of the family dies. And dragged him off to Hell on the very next day.”

Four
    in my room, I stretched out in a chair and settled back for a bit of pre-prandial contemplation. I prefer to contemplate with a glass in my hand, but — the room being dry — the little grey cells had to rough it.
    All in all, I thought things had progressed well. A bit of a mid-season wobble with the orang-utan, and I could have done without the ghostly Theodosia, but otherwise all was tickety-boo. I had gained entry to the Hall. The mystery of the missing letters had been explained. And Emmeline and I, although as star cross’d as ever, were still united in our desire to tie the