The earl frowned, puzzling over this conundrum. “I suppose,” he said slowly, “you may enquire further if you have a good reason. If some evidence points to a person beyond these walls. But until then, I prefer you to focus your efforts onthe castle itself. It is disruptive enough to have a murder here, without ruffling the feathers of all our neighbours, too. You must be discreet, Captain, that is imperative.”
“It shall be as you wish, my lord. I believe you have a room set aside for us to use as we work?”
“Yes, yes. Let me ring for Simpson. He will show you the way. So glad you are here, Captain, and your colleague, too. You are very welcome to stay here, naturally. Erm, do you wish to dine with us?”
“That is entirely a matter for you and Lady Rennington to decide, my lord,” he said smoothly.
The earl gave a nervous little smile, clearly not sure whether a former captain of the East India Company Army was a fit person to dine at an earl’s table, but Simpson appeared just then, and Michael and Sandy bowed themselves out of the earl’s presence, and followed the butler in silence.
***
Winnie jumped when someone knocked at the door of the old nursery. Simpson entered and bowed.
“Captain Edgerton and Mr Alexander, sir.”
“Thank you, Simpson,” Sir Hubert said.
Captain Edgerton was not in uniform, but there was no mistaking the military bearing in his manner, nor the businesslike sword he wore. He bowed with a flourish, and after passing his eyes briefly over Sir Hubert and Uncle Alfred, they lingered on Winnie.
The golden-haired Mr Alexander stepped forward. “Sir Hubert, Mr Strong, Miss Strong, may I present Captain Michael Edgerton, formerly of the East India Company Army and Tattersall’s, and now of Edgerton, Alexander and Associates? Captain, this is Sir Hubert Strong, the magistrate here and aneighbour, his brother, who lives with him, Mr Alfred Strong, and his daughter, Miss Winifred Strong.”
Winnie curtsied, as the captain bowed again to each of them in turn.
“A lady here?” he murmured, with a pleasant smile. “Do you have an interest in this matter, Miss Strong?”
“My daughter has some skill with the pen, so she has been helping us by taking notes,” Sir Hubert said. “Hers is the plan of the castle pinned to the wall over there.”
The captain turned towards it. “Ah, how very useful. And these names written on the various rooms?”
“They show where all the castle residents were at the time Mr Nicholson’s body was discovered,” Winnie said. “Or where they were supposed to be, anyway.”
The captain chuckled. “An astute observation. Just the three floors?”
“There are a few attic rooms, where the footmen sleep. I have listed them at the side here. Access is by this spiral stair. The original plan, from which I copied this, is framed and hung on the library wall, and the original architect’s drawings are in the library, too, in case you need to know where all the chimney flues lead.”
“Unless anyone discovered a quantity of soot where it should not be, we can probably eliminate the flues,” he said, but he was impressed by her attention to detail. “And there are just these two doors at ground level, by the bridges?”
“Yes,” Winnie said. “They are locked and bolted from the inside at eleven every night by Simpson and Wellum, unless the family are still out, or there are guests for dinner, neither of which was the case on the night in question. On the lower level, there are four doors, here, here, here, and here. This one leads directly to the wine cellar, opened only when the vintner delivers, and locked and barred within otherwise. The kitchendoor, here, is locked and bolted whenever the kitchen shuts down for the night. This one is the nearest door to the stables, and is locked whenever the outdoor servants retire for the night. It is not bolted, however, because the footmen on their days off and sometimes the young gentlemen of the family stay in the village until quite late and come back in that way.”
“They would have to have a key, of course.”
“Yes. Several keys are kept on a hook in the butler’s pantry, and anyone could take one. The fourth door is the one the gardeners use, or the gentlemen who come in from shooting with muddy boots. It is directly by one set of service stairs for convenience, and it is supposed to be locked and bolted at nightfall, but no one knows whether it was locked on the night in question. Over there on the chalkboard is a list of all the castle residents on the night in question. I have only talked to the servants, but they generally know what is going on.”
“How thorough!” the captain said. “Miss Strong, if ever you want a more adventurous life, I should engage you in the twinkling of an eye for my little band of associates.”
Winnie laughed out loud at that, and bobbed him a curtsy. “I thank you for the compliment, sir, but I am not looking for adventure. I like order, that is all. My mama says that if I am asked what day of the week it is, I should have to make a list before I could answer.”
“Your ability with lists is beyond compare,” the captain said.
“Whoareyour associates, Captain?” she said. “Apart from Mr Alexander. No ladies, I presume.”
“Ah, now there you would be wrong, for my wife is one of my merry band, and there is also a lawyer by the name of Willerton-Forbes, who is not adventurous at all, but has a similar liking for order as yourself. He deals only with legal matters, however, so he will not be joining us on this particular adventure.”
“But your wife will? I look forward to meeting her. When will she be here?”
“The day after tomorrow, all being well,” he said, and his smile changed from a slightly roguish one to something altogether softer. “Forty-eight hours,” he added, with what sounded suspiciously like a sigh.
3: Breaking In
