The following morning…
Ralph Barnes stood at the roadside, waiting for Martin Poole’s carriage to approach. He hailed down the driver. “Eh there, I’m on me way to the estate. I was hired to do some work in the house. Don’t suppose ye’d mind letting me ride on with ye?”
The driver waved him to hop onto the driver’s seat.
Barnes tipped his cap and levered his large frame up. He smiled to himself as the carriage began moving again. That hadn’t been too hard. But then again, his employer told him that Martin Poole wasn’t the brightest lamp on the street. Still, it shouldn’t be this easy to earn a few crowns.
Once at the house, he helped the driver and the footman carry Miss Violette Poole’s trunks to a bedroom on the second floor. He set the trunk he’d brought down and looked around the ro
