Reginald points to a wooden panel with a button on the wall beneath the light switch. “This is the call button. You will find one in all the rooms in the house that have electricity. I am used to my lord’s chaotic whims, but you may wish to keep a more regular schedule. If you are ever hungry, or if you need anything at all, please ring for me and I shall come running.”
He says this in a friendly way, but his eyes flicker over my face, and something like fear bristles there.
“Thank you, Reginald.” I set down the second pastry I was about to devour. A cold sense of unease settles in my chest, pushing out my excitement at meeting the beautiful Lord Valerian again and the challenging job he has for me.
Nothing about this house or this job or my new boss makes sense.
How has Lord Valerian had time to acquire all these hobbies, all this stuff?
Why would a young, beautiful toff lock himself away in this castle like a vampire hiding from the light?
How did he stop me from falling on that terrarium?
Why is he afraid of his mother?
Why does he keep “nocturnal hours”?
And, most importantly, how did he leave the pub last night without me seeing him?
No,actuallymost importantly, does he want to kiss me again?
Why do I feel like Jonathan Harker when he first arrives at Dracula’s castle? I feel as though I’m being lured into a trap, like a fly caught in a web. But maybe there’s a part of me that is excited to meet the spider …
THE NEVERMORE MURDER CLUB AND SMUTTY BOOK COVEN GROUP CHAT
Celeste: Does anyone know what all the commotion is about over by the pub? There’s quite a crowd gathered. I want to go over but I can’t leave the bakery until these sticky buns are glazed.
Isis: Komal found us a new murder to solve.
Celeste: WHAT? Who got murdered?
Maisie: Danny O’Hare. Komal found his body!
Komal: I did. It was awful. I was taking the shortcut behind the pub to yoga class, and there he was, sprawled out behind the bins. This is going to be terrible for tourism, and we have the Midsummer Festival coming up.
Beth: Hmmmph. The things Komal will do to getout of my yoga class.
Celeste: Oh, well, no need to solve his murder. Simply an act of public good.
Mina: Did he have a woman’s stiletto jammed into his eye socket? That’s always how I imagined he’d go.
Maisie: Nope, but he was wearing an expression of abject horror, which honestly looked similar to the expression most women in this village had after they spent any time with him.
Maisie: I’m on the scene now, trying to get some details out of the cops for the paper. They’re being awfully evasive, and there’s something strange and possibly supernatural that I’ll tell you about at the next book club meeting. We can decide if it’s worth our effort to investigate further.
Celeste: Maisie, do you need me to bring the coppers some sticky buns? That usually gets them talking.
Dora: You’re all going to hell.
Komal: As long as I can get Celeste’s sticky buns in hell, I’m fine with that.
CHAPTER SEVEN
WINNIE
Faye: Hi Win, are you at the new client’s house? You’re an absolute star to take on this job. You know how much I detest the countryside. I’m having lunch with Jennifer from ITV tomorrow and I’m telling her all about how amazing you are. Don’t forget to get some great photos for the gram! And can you get the accounts done by tomorrow? I know it’s supposed to be my month to do them, but I’m flat out. Ta, doll!
Reginald leaves me in my room. I scarf down the pastries and skull a bottle of raspberry-infused water and feel a hundred times better about life.
