The Housekeeper's Proposal Read online

  “Eggs! Where are the eggs?” Kate asked.

  Geraldine laughed. “Why, in the chicken coop.”

  “I have to do that first, don’t I?” Kate said.

  “Bessie always started the stove first,” Geraldine explained. “Then she ran out and got eggs. Abe or Jeb milks the cow and brings in the milk so you can separate the cream. There’s a jar for the cream on the shelf over the stove. Then, Bessie’d make the coffee and the rest of the breakfast. She always made enough for all of us, and we usually ate at the back table where we could see Mr. Walker in case he needed something. He'd sometimes ask Bessie to eat with him to discuss household matters.

  “Shall I get you the ham or fetch the eggs?” Geraldine asked.

  “You get the eggs and I’ll go down to the cellar for the ham.”

  Kate gave her a quick hug. “You’re a life saver.”

  Geraldine came in with only six eggs. “That’s strange,” she said. “We usually get at least ten eggs every morning. You’ll have to report that to Mr. Walker at breakfast.”

  “All right,” Kate said as she took the eggs and cracked one into the frying pan beside the ham. She pulled the toast from the oven. “I’ll scramble up the rest of the eggs, add a bit of butter and cream, and we can divide it up.”

  “Sounds good,” Geraldine said. “Is there anything else I can help you with? Today’s laundry day and I’ve a pile of washing.” She grimaced. “Lucky for me, it looks to be a nice day for hanging clothes, otherwise I’d have to hang them indoors, and they are ever so hard to dry that way.”

  “No, but thank you for everything, Geraldine. If I get a chance, maybe I can help you with that laundry,” she called after her retreating form.

  Just then, Jeremy Walker came into the kitchen. “I love the smell of coffee perking. Is it ready?” he asked, settling himself down at the table.

  “It is,” she said, pouring him a cup and bringing it to the table. “No one’s brought in the milk yet," she said.

  “That’s fine, I drink it black. I just need a touch of sugar or honey,” he said.

  When Kate came back with the honey he thanked her but kept staring at her oddly. “Is there something wrong?” she asked him.

  “No,” he said, “you just look different today, and I’m trying to figure out why.”

  Kate shrugged and went back for his breakfast, which she set in front of him.

  “It looks good,” he said after sipping the coffee. “And you make excellent coffee. I’ll bet your brother misses you already.”

  “He will, for sure. My aunt is due to arrive to be his housekeeper, and she’ll drive him crazy,” Kate laughed. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

  “Would you sit here while I eat this morning,” he said. “There are a few things I need to tell you. Perhaps you could eat with me, or at least have some coffee…”

  “Sure, I can.” She ran back to the stove and poured herself a cup. Lucky for her, one of the farmhands had come in with the milk. He set the bucket down on the counter, greeted Jeremy, tipped his head to her, and left.

  “I should have introduced you to Jeb, but he seemed in a hurry,” Jeremy said.

  Kate put some cream into her cup and sat down at the table next to him. “I met Jeb yesterday when I rode in,” she said.

  “We also have a gardener, Jake, and a ranch hand, Abe.” Jeremy cut into his egg on toast. “Do you have any questions or things to report?”

  “Geraldine said to tell you she only gathered six eggs this morning.”

  “What?” he asked, nearly choking on his coffee. “Only six? We usually get close to a dozen a day.” He scratched his head. “I’ll have Jeb check on those chickens. I wonder why they aren’t laying.

  “I’ve got it!” he exclaimed, pointing his finger at her.

  Kate looked at him, wondering what he'd meant.

  “Your hair. It’s down. That’s what's different about you today. It was driving me crazy.”

  “Oh, I got up a bit late and didn’t have time—”

  “It looks…um…fine. I mean, I actually like it,” he said. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t very professional of me.”

  “It’s fine,” she said, knowing she'd blushed.

  “Is there anything else I should know?”

  “No, but I’m sure when I’m here longer I’ll have more to report. I’m still a little wet behind the ears.”

  “You’re doing just fine. In fact, I’m almost ready to forget about your trial period, but we’ll see.” He winked.

  He'd actually winked at her! She hadn't minded it, but it had given her a strange feeling in her stomach. No one had ever winked at her before except for Grandfather Hammond!

  “I would like you to call Geraldine and Ethel in for a short meeting, right away.” He pulled out his pocket watch. “I have to get going.”

  Kate scurried and found Geraldine in a room off the long hallway by the back door, bending over a washtub, scrubbing on a washboard. “Mr. Walker would like to see you for a short meeting right away."

  “Oh, now what?” Geraldine muttered. “I’ll be right there.”

  Kate ran up to the second floor where she found Ethel walking, her hands full of sheets.

  When Kate told her about the impromptu meeting, Ethel sighed and said, “I’ll be right there.” When they were all gathered in the kitchen standing before Jeremy Walker, he finished his coffee and stood up. “Ethel, I’d like for you to close off the attic—it's too hot up there for a good night's sleep. I want each of you to pick a room on the second floor. Take any room except for the green one, since…that one still has Mrs. Walker’s clothes in it.”

  “Oh, thank you, Mr. Walker,” Geraldine said.

  “Yes, thank you,” Ethel said. “It will be so nice to sleep in a cool room.”

  “I’m sorry I never gave it a thought before Miss Hammond mentioned how hot it gets up there. I’m sorry for overlooking it all this time,” he said. “I’m off to the lumberyard. I’ll see you all around six.”

  The three of them watched him walk out the front door, and then they all laughed with excitement.

  “Thank you, Miss Hammond,” Ethel said.

  “Yes. What a gift you’ve given us,” Geraldine chimed in. “I think you should pick which room you want first.”

  The three of them sat and ate their breakfast together at the table, and Kate thought it the perfect time to ask a few questions, as they were in a grateful mood, which just might loosen them up a bit.

  “Why did Mrs. Walker leave all her clothing here?” Kate said. “One would think she’d need them.”

  Geraldine and Ethel exchanged looks and both shrugged. “We don’t know and we're afraid to ask. It’s a touchy subject,” Ethel said.

  “In fact, this morning is the first time Mr. Walker has even mentioned Mrs. Walker or her things,” Geraldine added.

  “I wonder what happened to her?” Kate said, almost as if she’d talked to herself out loud.

  “People think he…he…um…killed her,” Geraldine said. “Though we know she disappeared mysteriously, we find it hard to believe Mr. Walker would hurt anyone.”

  “Yes, but he didn’t like her much,” Ethel said. “You know that as well as I.”

  “I do remember their heated arguments, but Helen did most of the screaming, and Mr. Walker the listening,” Geraldine said.

  “No, the last time they argued, I distinctly heard him shout: ’Enough! There will be no more arguments! I’m finished with you and this mock relationship!’”

  As Kate cleared the table and the two maids stood and prepared to get back to work, Ethel turned and asked, “Which room would you like, Kate?”

  “Tell me the colors again?” Kate asked.

  Ethel counted on her fingers: “Blue, yellow, pink, and beige.”

  “The yellow one. Since I have to awaken in the dark each morning, I’d like to imagine the sunshine,” Kate said.

  “There’s only one problem with that room,” Gerald
ine said. “There’s a door that leads right into Mr. Walker’s room.”

  “Oh!” Kate exclaimed.

  “Both doors have been locked tightly since the elder Mrs. Walker died ten years ago,” Ethel said, “so it shouldn’t be a concern.”

  “Have you been here that long?” Kate asked.

  “No, but the housekeeper we had at the time, Mrs. Holden, told me much about the past,” Ethel said. “She’d been here for many years serving Mr. and Mrs. Amos Walker. She told me he behaved like a tyrant.”

  “I’ll take the blue room,” Ethel said.

  “I’ll take the pink, then,” Geraldine said.

  When they’d all scattered to their respective areas, Kate started the dishes, then she cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom. She spent the rest of the day making butter, baking, and cooking a plump meatloaf for Jeremy Walker. She periodically checked on Ethel and Geraldine, knowing that, as housekeeper, she was supposed to supervise them.

  She found time to help Geraldine fold the laundry, and when she went up to check on Ethel’s work, she found a man upstairs with her. Ethel introduced her to Abe and said, “I’m getting our bedrooms ready and Abe agreed to help me turn the mattresses and move a few pieces of heavy furniture.”

  Kate thanked him and went back downstairs.

  She kept so busy she wondered when she’d have time for her detective work.

  Just minutes before Jeremy Walker was to arrive home, she got the idea to make whipped cream from the leftover cream. It would be the perfect topping for the pie she’d made.

  She walked around the back of the house to the root cellar, which looked like a door built into the side of a large mound in the yard. She opened the door, turned on the lamp that hung by the door, closed the door behind her, and walked carefully down the steep steps. She held the lamp high to scan the shelves for the cream, caught sight of something on the ground that caused her to scream, and almost drop the lamp. She ran up the stairs, and slammed the door, leaning on it, breathing heavily, and shaking.

  Geraldine was working nearby, taking down the last of the laundry from the clothesline, and she swung around. “What is it, Kate?” the maid cried as she ran to catch Kate when she swayed into a near faint.

  Kate shook her head and tried to catch her breath. She gasped. “I found…there’s a body down there!”

  Chapter 6

  “Jeb!” Jeremy called. “You’d better ride in and get the sheriff.” Not that he’d be pleased to see Griff Hammond, but it would be the right thing to do, and maybe he’d realize he couldn’t have put Helen there, since he’d been at the lumberyard, or at least on his way home by the time Helen had been found.

  He took Kate’s arm from Geraldine and led her into the house. “Are you all right, Kate?”

  “All right? I don’t think I’ll ever be all right again after seeing that,” she said with a shaky voice.

  “I’m so sorry this happened. I really and truly believed she ran off with Otto, the father’s baby. Believe me, I had no idea,” Jeremy said.

  He led her to the sitting room. “Sit down. I’ve sent Jeb for your brother.”

  “Oh, no!” Kate exclaimed. “He’ll never let me stay here now.”

  Jeremy thought that might be for the best, even though he loved her cooking and seeing her pretty face every day.

  He had mixed feelings about Helen’s body having been found, and one of those feelings made him feel less than the Christian man he knew himself to be. He felt grief for poor Helen, but he also felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. He was single and no longer married, but he would still be Griff’s prime suspect. Would finding Helen’s body help him or hinder him?

  “All her clothes are in her room. If she ran off, wouldn’t she have taken them?” Kate asked.

  “Not necessarily. She had already started to increase in size a bit, and I doubt any of those clothes would have fit her anymore. I woke up one morning to discover her gone. We…that is…I...well, it wasn’t a love match. Her father forced the marriage in return for my father’s gambling debts, and we didn’t exactly get on too well.”

  “W-who do you th-think killed her?” Kate asked, still trembling.

  “Otto, maybe. I don’t even know who this man is. Her father claimed Helen was increasing as a result of a penniless farmhand’s doing. Her father held my father’s gambling debts and he told me if I didn’t marry Helen, he’d call in the debts by taking my home and land or my business, and I had no choice but to marry the girl.

  “Helen became upset because I wouldn’t…didn’t—we led separate lives. Helen didn’t like that at all,” he said.

  Jeremy squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry you had to be the one to find her. Can I get you a drink of water, tea—”?

  “No, I’m okay. I’ll feel better when my brother gets here,” she said.

  Jeremy nodded and stood. “Will you be all right? I really should go out there and make sure no one touches anything until Griff gets here.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she said, leaning her head back and sighing.

  When Jeremy went back outside, he saw everyone was still standing by the root cellar, talking. He thought they were most likely discussing the episode, since they all wore horrified expressions.

  “Has anyone gone inside besides Kate?” he asked.

  Ethel, Jeb, Jake, and Abe all shook their heads.

  “I went down and took a look to see if the body could be Helen, but I didn’t touch a thing,” Geraldine said.

  “So, you and Kate were the only ones down there?”

  “Yes, Mr. Walker,” Geraldine said. “I heard her scream while I was tending the clothes on the line, and I ran to her since I thought she’d faint. Poor Kate didn’t know who she’d seen lying down there. I thought maybe she was seeing things.”

  “I don’t want anyone else to go down there until the sheriff gets here,” he ordered. Jeremy hoped something down there might point to someone other than himself, so he’d be off the hook. He’d become tired of the whispering and staring from the town folk. If he hadn’t owned the only lumberyard in Hays, his business would have suffered as well.

  Griff arrived with two other men and moved everyone back. After giving Jeremy a scouring look, he opened the cellar door. “Where’s the lamp?”

  “Jeb, bring the lamp. Kate must have dropped it when she saw—”

  “Kate?” Griff exclaimed. “My sister found the body?”

  “Yes. She went down there for something—probably a dinner ingredient—and came out screaming and saying she’d found a body,” Jeremy explained.

  “You don’t look too upset that your wife just turned up dead, Walker,” Griff said.

  Jeb handed Griff the lamp.

  “Come on, Walker,” Griff snarled. “You’re going down there with me.”

  It was the last thing Jeremy wanted to do, but he obeyed. Griff made him go first, holding the lamp up high. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he gasped. There was Helen lying just to the left of the stairs, lifeless.

  Griff ran to the body and examined it. “She’s been dead for some time. Strangled, looks like. There’s no sign of a scuffle down here. She must’ve been killed somewhere else and dragged here. He took the lamp from Jeremy and held it over the steps. “Someone carried her down. There are no drag marks, so it had to have been a man who brought her down here.” He gave Jeremy a sideways look. “Where were you, Walker?”

  “At the lumberyard. I came home in time to see your sister standing by the door white as a sheet, with Geraldine holding her up,” Jeremy said.

  “Is she all right? Where is she?” Griff asked.

  “She’s fine, but a bit shook up, naturally.”

  “When Jeb told me about the body, I sent for the undertaker,” Griff said. “He should be here shortly. I’ll have to wire Ephraim Finch. The poor man is dealing with a dying wife, and now this.”

  Griff and Jeremy climbed the stairs and closed the cellar door.

  �
��Do you have any idea who this Otto person could be?” Jeremy asked.

  “Why do you ask?” Griff said.

  “I told you: when Helen first went missing, I thought she’d run off with the father of her baby, whom Finch said had been named Otto, one of farmhand of Ephraim’s.”

  “I’ve asked around and found that there are two Otto’s in Hays: Otto Schmidt and Otto Krause. Both are happily married men in their fifties. You’ll have to come up with a better story than that, Walker.”

  “It’s what Ephraim told me when he forced me to marry her.”

  “Oh, that’s right. The ‘gambling debts,’” Griff said mockingly. “Where’s the note, then?”

  “I burned it.”

  “How convenient.”

  “It’s the truth,” Jeremy said and then sighed. He could see Griff set his mind on him being the murderer and nothing was going to change his mind. In the meantime, the real culprit walked around free.

  “You need to look beyond me, Griff, or someone’s going to get away with murder.”

  “Tell my sister I’ll be in to see her as soon as the undertaker removes the body,” Griff barked.

  Jeremy sighed and walked back into the house. He found Kate, still reclining in the sitting room. “Your brother will be in shortly,” he said.

  “I have your dinner in the oven—”

  “I’m not hungry,” he said and walked quickly to the library and closed the door. Sitting behind his desk he was able to look out the back window and see the undertaker carrying Helen from the cellar. He wasn’t in love with the woman, but he never wanted to see her dead, either. He’d felt sorry for her and did everything he could to placate her—except getting romantic with her.

  When he saw Griff walking toward the house, he left his office and stood in the hall to watch Griff and Kate and hear what they were saying.

  Kate ran to him the moment she saw him and they hugged. “Get your things. You aren’t staying here another moment,” Griff said gruffly.

  Kate pulled away from him. “No, I’m staying. I’ve nothing to fear here. Mr. Walker has been nothing but kind to me and the maids. Whatever happened to Helen has nothing to do with us.”