Winterberry Spark: A Silver Foxes of Westminster Novella (The Silver Foxes of Westminster #2.5)(7)

“Ruby!” A sharp cry split through the air that crackled between her and Gil. Mary Mull, one of the housemaids, marched toward the stairs from the far end of the hall where the door to the servants’ stairs was. “Mrs. Musgrave wants to see you at once.”

Gil dropped her hand and started up the stairs again, sending her a long, unreadable look as he went. Ruby’s heart sank. Faith wriggled and fussed against her, trying to get down, or perhaps get away from Mary’s peevish expression as she marched up to them.

“Don’t keep Mrs. Musgrave waiting,” Mary said, hands on her hips. She glanced up the stairs to Gil, her lip curling in a sneer. “Now I understand everything.”

Ruby blinked and frowned, confused. But judging by the way Mary looked at her—like she was a bug that needed to be squashed—before turning and marching off toward the servants’ door left Ruby with a gaping sense of dread.

She rushed to follow Mary, her heart racing, doing her best to calm Faith down and keep her from crying outright. She was a good baby and had learned that crying didn’t always earn attention—which was sad in its own way—but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t wail if the mood took her.

“What does Mrs. Musgrave want?” Ruby asked once she caught up to Mary.

They descended the servants’ stairs, passing from the posh, elaborate part of the house to the much simpler, much busier downstairs.

Mary didn’t answer. Instead, she turned up her nose and sniffed as though she smelled something foul, then marched around the corner into Mrs. Musgrave’s office.

Ruby’s gut turned sour as she stared into the room. Mrs. Musgrave wasn’t alone. Mary’s sister, Martha, already stood in front of the housekeeper’s desk. Ada Bell stood beside her, wringing her hands and looking anxious. She tried to communicate something to Ruby with a look as she entered the room, but there wasn’t time.

“Shut the door,” Mrs. Musgrave said, as sober as a judge about to condemn someone to death.

Ruby did as she was asked, knowing it was her death that was about to be ordered. Even Faith sensed the doom in the air and huddled against Ruby’s chest, hiding her face against Ruby’s shoulder.

“Is something wrong, Mrs. Musgrave?” Ruby asked, her voice shaking.

“Yes, something is very wrong,” Mrs. Musgrave replied, sounding exceptionally put out. She stood, but stayed behind her desk, pulling herself to her full height. “Information has come to light of a disturbing nature.” She stared at Ruby as though that alone was bad enough. Mary and Martha exchanged smirks.

“Y-yes?” Ruby stammered.

“Miss Murdoch,” Mrs. Musgrave went on. “Were you or were you not arrested, at this time last year, no less, for the crime of prostitution?”

Ruby pressed a sheltering hand to Faith’s back. “Yes,” she admitted, lowering her eyes.

Martha gasped. “See? She’s bad enough to admit it.”

“You have to sack her now, Mrs. Musgrave,” Mary added. “It’s an absolute disgrace to keep a woman like that employed here.”

“Oh, come off it, Mary Mull,” Ada burst, giving Ruby the feeling an argument had raged before she got there. “I’ve caught you in the bushes with Wat Harmon before, and he wasn’t helping you scratch your back.”

“Why, I never!” Mary shouted, her face going red.

“Just because you never took money for it doesn’t mean you’re not a whore,” Ada growled.

“How dare you speak to my sister like that?” Martha shrieked. “I’m sure we’d all like to know what you’ve been up to with Mr. Turnbridge.”

“Does he give you high marks for the things you do?” Mary snapped.

“Silence!” Mrs. Musgrave roared. Faith burst into tears, wailing and shaking in Ruby’s arms. Mrs. Musgrave sighed with impatience and marched to the door, throwing it open. “Annie,” she shouted. “Come take this wretched child at once.”

Ruby did her best to comfort Faith before the wide-eyed, pale-faced kitchen maid ran into the cramped office to take her. As loath as Ruby was to let her daughter go, the dread in her stomach warned her to do what Mrs. Musgrave said without hesitation. She sent Annie an apologetic look, but the kitchen maid wouldn’t meet her eyes. She grabbed Faith and rushed out.

Mrs. Musgrave shut the door behind her and hissed with impatience before returning to her desk. She spun to face the line of maids. “You do not deny the charge that you ran afoul of the law for the despicable act of selling your body?” she demanded of Ruby.

Ruby hesitated for only a moment before saying, “It was that or watch my baby die.”

“A bastard baby,” Martha snorted.

“It wasn’t her fault.” Ada defended her.

“Once a whore, always a whore,” Mary said, tilting her nose up.

“You’re one to talk,” Ada said, crossing her arms.

“Stop this childishness at once,” Mrs. Musgrave roared. “I have half a mind to sack the lot of you and start over.”

“A-am I being sacked?” Ruby asked, her question coming out as little more than a whisper.

“You are,” Mrs. Musgrave told her. She frowned, face pinched in frustration. “At least, you would be if it were up to me. It was scandalous for a house of our standing to hire a woman with a child to begin with. If Mrs. Croydon had not insisted….” She let the sentence fade, shaking her head in disapproval. “I was not informed of the full circumstances of your background,” she went on. Ruby could tell that being left in the dark made Mrs. Musgrave as angry as anything in her past. “I believed you were a widow with no family to take your child. Now that your true nature has been brought to light, I cannot and I will not be forced to suffer your presence here any longer. I will not have you corrupting the morals of the rest of my staff.”