Dangerous Diana (Brambridge Novel 3) by Pearl Darling

her back and ask where she had been.
    Melissa looked up as a shadow fell from the garden door to her crouched spot under the table. “Oh Mr. Hobbs, at last. I do hope Mrs. Hobbs is better. Please could you put another log on the fire? It is freezing in here.”
    But only a harsh boyish laugh greeted her request.
    “Mr. Hobbs? Mr. Hobbs ?” Melissa’s voice rose to a shout. Pounding steps echoed from the front of the house.
    “This was just a warning from my master.” The hurried young voice was hauntingly familiar. The shadow began to move again out into the garden. “Stay away from Earl Harding and find us the book. Things will go even worse for you if you don’t. The Viper is waiting for you. He’s always been watching you.”
    “But, but,” Melissa stammered, “what about the money?”
    Silence greeted her tremulous question. She scrabbled against the tiles, trying to gain purchase, and only succeeded in bumping her head hard as she exited from under the table. Mr. Hobbs stood at the kitchen door, red-faced and panting.
    “What is it Miss Sumner? Are you alright?”
    Melissa swallowed, and pushed her glasses straight on her head again. A headache began to pound behind her eyes. “There was someone in the house. He, he, left by the garden door.”
    Mr. Hobbs pushed open the door that swung gently in the wind. “There’s no one there now, miss. Are you sure that you saw someone?”
    “I didn’t see him,” Melissa admitted. “I was under the table, he just spoke and before I could catch him he was gone.”
    Mr. Hobbs pulled a kettle from the floor and took it outside to the garden pump. He slammed the full pot back onto the stove with vigor. “We need some tea,” he said gruffly. “Something for shock. Ginger, I think your book said.”
    Melissa nodded in surprise. Mr. Hobbs didn’t seem like a great reader.
    “The missus and I tried to keep the business going whilst you were away on your holiday.”
    “Holiday!”
    “That’s what that high and mighty gentleman said when he delivered your note. I nearly punched him, I did.”
    Silently Melissa cheered Mr. Hobbs. It was a brave man that took on Hades. “I’m very sorry for not giving you any notice. Events overtook me.”
    Mr. Hobbs grunted and lifted the boiling kettle off the stove and onto the kitchen top. He disappeared briefly and returned with a small piece of root ginger. Melissa found three cups that were still intact under the kitchen sink. The rest were in small pieces, scattered at the foot of the stove. With painstaking care, Mr. Hobbs shaved some ginger into each cup and poured in some boiling water. He handed the first cup to Melissa, and then took the second out of the kitchen.
    Melissa jumped when he re-entered.
    “What did the person say to you?” Mr. Hobbs asked flatly.
    She didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t told the Hobbs about her previous attempt to meet with the Viper, but now it seemed as if her home was as much their home too. They had attempted to keep her business running without her, and had been sadly rewarded for their efforts.
    “I should tell both of you. Is Mrs. Hobbs any better?”
    “She’s sipping her tea now, and more color has come back to her cheeks. She caught the bastards in the act and was afraid for her life.”
    Melissa nodded. It would have been terrifying to have come downstairs in the middle of the night to find intruders in your home. She wished again that she had been there. “Let’s go through to the front room. I’ll bring the kitchen stool.”
    Mr. Hobbs nodded briefly and took his tea into the hall. With the warming cup in her right hand, Melissa picked up the kitchen stool and dragged it through the hall and into the front room. Her breath caught yet again. It was a shambles. There hadn’t been much furniture after she had attempted to refurnish the house after deciding not to sell it. However, what was left had been systematically splintered, the legs torn off, or the contents