In the Still of the Night

Robert pointed out. “Not me,“ Rachel said. “I didn’t even know her.”
    “But your brother did,“ Robert said.
    Rachel blushed furiously. “He did not! I want to go home, Robert. Lily, can’t somebody persuade the policeman to let us go home and forget this ever happened?“
    “I don’t think so,“ Lily said. “Mrs. Ethridge was murdered. And maybe—probably—someone here did it.”
    Rachel started sniffling and drew closer to Robert. He patted her hand, looking soulfully into her eyes.
    Dear God, Lily thought, he isn’t falling for her, is he? I couldn’t bear to have this silly girl as a sister-in-law.
    “ I think dinner is almost ready,“ she said to the group. “I haven’t put out place cards, so you’re welcome to sit wherever you like.”
    The already huge dining room table had three more extensions put in and somehow Mrs. Prinney had unearthed a lovely ivory damask tablecloth to fit and even had matching napkins at each place.
    Lily often wondered where she found these things that she always seemed to have at hand. Was there some huge secret storeroom in the mansion that Lily herself had not yet come across? It was certainly possible.
    Toward each end of the table, there were large, low crystal bowls full of wild flowers that Mimi had gathered in the woods. The ancient silverware with the elaborate engraved “B“ on the handles was brilliantly polished. The blue and white china that Mrs. Prinney said had actually come from China when Miss Flora Brewster was a girl and still had hopes of marrying, was lovely with its little Chinese scenery painted under the glaze. It was altogether a beautiful table setting.
    Everybody jockeyed for a place at the table. Most tried to get as far as possible from Julian West because he was being so surly, but Jack Summer and Dr. Polhemus took the opposite view and flanked him.
    Jack wanted an interview, at least an informal one. And Dr. Polhemus was determined to find out about the variety of war injuries West had seen. He apparently had no concept that this wasn’t suitable table talk. When Lily noticed that even Addie, who was sitting directly across from West, was getting pale, Lily finally had to ask Robert, to her left, to make an excuse to pull the doctor away from the table and explain to him that war wounds didn’t go with dinner.
    “I can’t tell him what to talk about,“ Robert said.
    As a diversion, Lily asked Mrs. Prinney to explain to the guests about the dinner. Mrs. Prinney was delighted to do so, reporting that her people had come from Amsterdam nearly two hundred years ago, and the recipes had been handed down each generation from mother to daughters.
    “Excellent food, Dutch,“ Dr. Polhemus said, tucking into his haringsalade. “My mother always cooked this way, but not as well as Mrs. Prinney, I must admit.”
    Lily and Robert exchanged a relieved glance. Robert winked.
    He took charge of keeping everyone off unpleasant subjects. He asked Jack about the circulation of the Voorburg-on-Hudson Times, and Jack got to brag about the increased subscriptions and how he had to rehire two of the delivery boys who had been let go during the former editor’s tenure. When the conversation about several recent articles started to lag, Robert asked the ladies from town about whether they’d be displaying their quilts at the fête tomorrow.
    This got them to the main course.
    When dessert was served, Robert gave the men a turn to talk about sports they enjoyed, which didn’t turn out well because many of them were hunters and the stories threatened to veer toward the bloody. He switched to what everybody’s favorite radio programs were, and dessert was saved.
    Lily was grateful to him for attempting to keep the conversations light and amusing. An outsider would have never guessed that there’d been a murder in this very home less than a day before. She glanced at Howard Walker. He’d been very quiet, merely an observer, and had made no attempt to bring up the topic. He met her gaze and smiled. She nodded her thanks.
    As Mimi and Bud Carpenter passed around the table with coffee and tea, Robert stood up. “I suppose it isn’t appropriate to toast with a coffee cup, but my sister and our maid Mimi have done a wonderful job and Mrs. Prinney has provided us with the best meal I’ve ever had.“ He tapped his fragile coffee cup against Cecil’s cup, which Cecil was just raising to his lips.
    “Here’s to the ladies!“ Robert