British Manor Murder Read Online Free Page B

the morning sunlight, the stone walls took on a golden glow. The steep slate roof was topped with several pointed towers, each ending in a massive spike that threatened to pierce the clouds.
    Lucy and Sue carefully set the boxes of chicks on the car seat, then stepped out of the car onto the graveled area in front of the stately home. They found themselves confronted with an impressive stone staircase that led to a rather forbidding set of double doors studded with black iron nail heads and strapped with elaborately curved hinges. Two crenellated towers stood on either side of the staircase.
    While they stared in awe at the huge castle, Harold busied himself extracting their suitcases from beneath the heavy sacks of feed and fertilizer. Finally setting the baggage beside them, he said a quick farewell and drove off, leaving them wondering what to do. Should they climb the staircase to that forbidding door? Was there some other, more accessible entrance?
    â€œI see only one doorway.” Sue started up the steps, awkwardly pulling the oversized roller bag that contained her precious hats.
    â€œThere must be a doorbell or something up there,” said Lucy. Pulling both of the smaller carry-on bags up the steps made her rather out of breath.
    â€œI hope so,” said Sue. “I wonder where Perry is.”
    â€œI’m down here!”
    They turned and looked down to the bottom of the stairs where the earl was standing, hands on hips, looking up at them. He was dressed casually in a sweater and jeans, and his rather long hair was loosely combed behind his ears.
    Taking in his slim build, rather like Mick Jagger’s, Lucy thought of the adage that you couldn’t be too rich or too thin.
    â€œCome on down!” he yelled, grinning and sounding like a game-show host.
    Getting down the stairs proved somewhat more difficult than going up, and Perry scampered up the stairs to help them with the suitcases. When they were all safe on the ground, he escorted them around the side of the staircase where a narrow opening led to a ground-level entrance beneath the stairs. “This is the easiest way in when you’ve got luggage,” he explained.
    When Lucy’s eyes got used to the darkness, she noticed the entrance was dimly lit by an ancient filament lightbulb.
    They followed Perry down a short ramp to a door, which he held open for them, allowing them to step inside. There, they found themselves in a narrow passage with a worn linoleum floor. The hallway was lined with doors and lit with a series of pendant fixtures that looked as if they were the latest technology in 1910.
    â€œThis is beneath the main house, which is open to the public,” said Perry, doing a neat little dance in the tight space to get around them and their suitcases. “We live in an outbuilding we’ve had modernized. It’s all connected by this underground tunnel. If I take this big boy, can you manage your cases and follow me?”
    â€œNo problem,” said Lucy.
    â€œI must apologize, but the staff these days are mostly involved with the visitors. My grandfather had a staff of eighty and never had to carry a suitcase or even get a cup of tea. We have over three hundred, but there’s never anybody around when we need a hand.”
    â€œLucy and I are used to fending for ourselves,” said Sue as she trotted along behind Perry. “I do want to thank you for inviting us.”
    â€œMe, too,” said Lucy. “This is a real treat.”
    â€œI do hope so,” said Perry. “I’m so glad you could come.”
    â€œI wouldn’t miss your hat show for the world,” said Sue.
    â€œI’m especially eager to see those Lily Dache hats you’ve brought—”
    â€œPerry! Perry! The general’s fallen!” called a woman, suddenly interrupting.
    They all stopped in their tracks and turned around to face the woman who was running along the passage toward them,