Chapter Seven
Isabella listened with one ear to the housekeeper. Most of her attention was on the kittens.
“I don’t know what to do about young Becky Brown, ma’am. Her mother has taken ill and she’s asking for leave—”
“Of course she must go! How much time would she like?”
“She asked for five days, ma’am.”
“Tell her she may have it.”
“Very well, ma’am,” Mrs. Early said in a dubious voice, as if the absence of a housemaid would cast the household into chaos.
One of the gray-striped kittens was busily licking its sister’s face.
“Is that all?”
“No, ma’am.” The housekeeper’s tone was ominous.
Isabella stopped watching the kittens. She shifted her attention to Mrs. Early’s plump face.
“I have reason to believe that one of the servants is stealing.”
“What? Surely not!”
“We’re going t
