Chapter 7: Act of Violence
Leslie couldn’t stand Mrs. Crowe’s replacement, Miss Grace, as she liked to be called. Edward nicknamed her Miss Grim. She was several years younger than her predecessor but acted much older.
Over the next few days, Leslie pressured Robert to dismiss her and find someone more suitable. “A person who occasionally smiles.” Anyone was preferable to this humorless soul who served their meals with a dour expression and went about her housekeeping duties in such a cheerless manner. Surely it wouldn’t be long before visitors to the rectory complained about the unfriendly and inhospitable atmosphere.
“We’ll not find another like Mrs. Crowe,” Robert told him. “It’s wartime and we’ll settle for what we have.”
One evening Robert, Leslie, and Edward sat by the fire, rela
