“Gertie!”

Cecily had raised her voice to halt the torrent of words, and Gertie sat up as if she’d been stung. “Yes, m’m. Sorry, m’m. I’ll shut up now.”

Cecily drew a deep breath. “Gertie, I’m afraid I have some disturbing news.”

The housemaid stared at her, her dark eyes widening in alarm. “Not me twins is it, m’m? They was all right when I left them this morning. Daisy’s supposed to be taking care of them and she’s a really good nanny, but sometimes-”

“Gertie! It’s not the twins.”

Gertie’s shoulders sagged. “All right, then. You’d better tell me what it is and get it over with.” She cleared her throat. “If you please, m’m.”

“It’s about Ian Rossiter.”

The alarm leapt into Gertie’s eyes again. “Ian? What’s he been up to now? I hope he’s not hanging around my twins again. I’ll cut off his bleeding head if he…” She must have seen something in Cecily’s face as her words trailed off, and she waited in uneasy silence.

“I’m afraid he’s dead, Gertie,” Cecily said, as gently as possible.

The housemaid slumped back, and her face was a mixture of emotions-shock, relief, and something Cecily hadn’t expected to see. A distinct expression of guilt that was quickly extinguished.

“Bloody hell,” Gertie muttered. “What happened to him, then?”

“We think he had been drinking, perhaps a little too much, and fell into the duck pond. He must have hit his head and drowned.”

Gertie digested this news, then nodded. “I see. Well, like they say, everything comes to he what waits. I always knew he would come to a bad end one day. I’m sorry he’s dead, but I can’t say it’s going to ruin my Christmas. Not after he tried to take away my babies.” She flicked a wary glance at Cecily. “Does that make me a wicked woman, m’m?”

Cecily let out her breath on a sigh. “Of course not, Gertie. I know you’ve been living with the fear of losing your twins ever since Ian tried to kidnap little Lillian. I can understand how you feel, now that their father is no longer a threat.”