Of Light So Dark and Dear

Chapter 5

The next few days in the manor had gone the same way the first had.

The morning had been filled with her going over case details and frantically scribbling down last-minute notes in her journal. At noon they convened.

No knew breaks in the case had been made. Michael had apparently gone to each of the employer's households, including that of the housekeeper, and they had been able to tell him nothing of the mysterious cook.

As she had done in their first meeting, she kept her thoughts mostly to herself in the next three, only to share them an hour later in a private sitting with the Count. She spent the rest of her days in the library, going through books on everything from emerging crime theory to witty romance fiction. She would return to her room late in the evening to take dinner, after which she would jot down a few more case notes and go to sleep.

She hadn't dared take dinner in the main dining room with Michael, Lady Alice, and Mr. Ebony. She had overheard the Count's sister explaining to Mr. Chaining that dinners at the table were 'a family matter' in what she took as a passive aggressive tone. She doubted Michael would mind her dining with them, but she could not risk Alice loathing her even more than she currently did.

And so she had Georgia bring her meals to her room every day, as she assumed everyone else had been doing. She didn't dislike the arrangement as much as she thought she would. It gave her more time to ponder over evidence in private.

Angeline and Lena had decided on Thursday as their date to go gown shopping. They would venture into the city to go to the shop run by Angeline's favorite seamstress. Lena couldn't wait to see what wonders Augsburg would have in the world of fashion.

Excitement woke her Thursday morning. She raced out of bed and let Georgia dress her in a sunny yellow gown. She wouldn't normally where a dress of the color but seeing as she would be surrounded by the brightness of the city today, she thought it fitting.

Georgia wrapped her hair up in a simple updo today, with shining yellow ribbons to keep it in place. "Thank you very much, Georgia," Lena said as she hurried out the door.

If she were to leave now, she could make it back just in time for their noon meeting.

She ascended a set of stairs ways away from the main one, eager to avoid the Wimmer family as they took their breakfast. She slipped out the manor doors without much of a commotion for them to hear.

Angeline's carriage greeted her as she trekked outside the manor. "Good morning Lena," she greeted as the coachman helped Lena into the carriage.

"Good morning Angeline, its awfully nice to see you," she responded.

"As it is you. Tell me: how has it been at Gloggerson?"

"Wonderful and traumatizing at the same time."

Angeline let out a giggle. "Well, what has made it that way?"

Where would she start? "The Count is very lovely, and the manor quite exquisite. We've made a few discoveries in the case. Not as much as I'd like, though. An Austrian detective refused to work with me, and the Count's sister accused me of trying to seduce her brother."

"Wow," was all Angeline was able to say.

"Oh, and did I mention there's a witch."

Angeline's hand flew to cover her mouth. "An actual one? Did she do any magic for you?"

"I doubt she's an actual witch. She hasn't shown us any of her 'magic'."

"You never know. I've heard many rumors that there've been witch sightings just off the coast of Austria."