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Cynthia E. Hurst mysteries
Category:
Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Lilax Books
ISBN-10: B077XBT95W
Type: Fiction
Pages: 210
Copyright: Dec. 3, 2017
ISBN-13: 9781981412358
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
In 1860s Oxfordshire, a new dressmaker is the talk of the town. Lucille DuBois is French, fashionable and ... framed?
French dressmaker Lucille DuBois brought a touch of glamour to the provincial Cotswold market town – at least until a corpse was discovered in her elegant establishment. Now she insists she’s being framed for murder, but the townspeople are saying they knew all along a Frenchwoman couldn’t be trusted. It falls to two other outsiders, clock repairer Jacob Silver and housemaid Sarah Simm, to find if Lucille is as innocent as she claims to be and help the local police sew up all the details of a puzzling case.
Excerpt
Lucille's brown eyes swept over Jacob’s expertly tailored coat and trousers, probably calculating their price to the penny, and seemed to conclude that if nothing else, he was someone who knew about quality clothing. He had no intention of disillusioning her by admitting the knowledge was second-hand and his brother had not charged him for the clothing.
“Good morning, sir,” she said.
“Good morning, Mademoiselle DuBois,” he replied politely. “I know we passed on the path before, but we have not been introduced. My name is Jacob Silver, and my companion is Miss Sarah Simm. Miss Simm would like to have you make a dress for her.”
“But of course,” she said, as if Sarah were entering the shop for the first time and had never been ridiculed there. She smiled at them both. “I can see you are a man of excellent taste, Mr Silver. And the lovely mademoiselle, très petite, très jolie, with such pretty blue eyes. I shall be pleased to make her a beautiful dress.”
She spoke with only a very slight accent and Jacob thought that she must have been living in England for some time, although the florid compliments were decidedly Gallic in flavor.
“How kind of you to say so,” he said. “Sarah, I believe you had a particular fabric and style in mind?”
“Yes, sir. The dark blue over there, I think, but I’ll take another look to be sure. And nothing too fancy, just a nice dress for church and suchlike.” She walked across the room to look at the bolts of cloth.
“Mr Silver,” Lucille said softly, moving so close to him that he caught a whiff of her perfume. “Mademoiselle Simm is welcome to order a dress from me, but you understand I am running a business, n’est-ce pas? I will ask you straight out – is she able to pay for such a dress, or will you settle her bill for her?”
Jacob fought down the wave of anger that he knew was probably not justified. After all, he would not undertake a clock repair if he thought he would not be paid for his time and expertise. Sarah was still browsing among the fabric, so he kept his voice down.
“Miss Simm will be settling her own bill,” he said calmly. “In your business, mademoiselle, you should know better than to believe all the gossip you hear.”
“Of course not,” she said, as if she had never suggested anything else. “It was only that such a charming young lady accompanied by a handsome gentleman who describes her as his companion – I thought perhaps you were her … protector. I am happy to learn I am mistaken.”
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