The sudden quiet in the foyer made every breath sound heavy and intense.
Richard stepped off the final stair and walked slowly toward the crying woman and his daughter.
Clara tried to speak again, but Richard raised his hand to quiet the head nanny instantly.
He asked Miss Benedict why she was holding the silver chain so tightly against her chest.
Miss Benedict pulled her hand back quickly and tried to step deeper into the shadow of the hallway.
Lily held onto the old woman's skirt and refused to let her retreat into the kitchen.
The young girl looked at her father and begged him to listen to what Miss Benedict had to say.
Richard admitted that he had never really paid attention to the kitchen staff over the past ten years.
He had always assumed Miss Benedict was just a quiet worker hired by his late wife's family.
His late wife, Eleanor, had passed away during childbirth on a stormy autumn night ten years ago.
Richard had been away on a business trip overseas when the tragedy occurred.
By the time he returned home, Eleanor was gone, and a new baby girl was sleeping in the nursery.
He remembered that a quiet woman had been hired that same week to help with heavy house cleaning.
Richard asked Miss Benedict if she had known Eleanor before she came to work at the mansion.
The old woman shook her head nervously and kept her eyes fixed firmly on the marble floor.
She claimed she was just a simple worker who was grateful for the roof over her head.
Lily spoke up loudly and said that Miss Benedict was lying to protect someone else in the house.
Clara snorted softly and suggested that the child was simply making up stories to get her way.
Lily turned on Clara and revealed that she had seen Clara going through Miss Benedict's room last night.
Clara's face went completely pale as Richard turned his sharp gaze directly toward her.
Richard asked Clara why she was searching through an old maid's personal bedroom quarters.
Clara stuttered and claimed she was looking for missing silver spoons from the main dining hall.
Lily shouted that Clara was actually looking for a small wooden box under the floorboards.
Richard realized that something terrible had been hidden right under his roof for a decade.
He ordered everyone to follow him into his private study so they could clear up the matter once and for all.
Miss Benedict tried to excuse herself, saying her place was in the basement with the laundry.
Richard gently placed his hand on the old woman's shoulder and insisted that she walk inside with him.