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“And do you think Anne was right about something else too, that LaRusse’s drink has affected his judgment? It is indeed perplexing that a skilled artist might gaze upon the face of one person and yet paint another. And his behavior is erratic in other ways too. The grand speeches he made last night, the mood shifts I witnessed today, the fact he slapped the girl. It doesn’t add up to a stable personality.” “Dorinda claims that the lead content of white paint drives people mad,” Rayley said. “But of course LaRusse doesn’t mix paint – she does it for him when she mixes her own. And she takes great care with the stuff, for I watched her. We climbed to the top of the turret to make sure we had proper ventilation during the process.” “Strange,” Trevor said. “Poison in the paint and poison in the roses, alcohol – and a man whose behavior is notably erratic. Emotional young girls, their distraught families, and, I’d venture to say, more than one John Paul running about the place. You know, a younger man who resents LaRusse’s control over the group and his way with the ladies, who might be eager to dethrone him. Even after less than a day here at Hever, we’ve stumbled across any number of people who might want to destroy LaRusse, and any number of ways they might do it.” “Well, if he’s being poisoned, he isn’t likely getting it through the food,” Rayley said. “You saw the way they fell upon our offerings last night, even that single jug of dreadful ale. ‘To share and share alike’ is the motto of the colony and half the time they didn’t even use glasses or spoons. It would be very hard to administer a toxin to one diner in that room without taking the lot of them down.” “So if Anne is right, which she most likely is, LaRusse is drinking to excess,” said Trevor. “But I’ll wager it isn’t the local brew. If you’ll recall, he made a great show of eschewing the jug last night, passing it along to the fellow next to him with the upmost fastidiousness.” Trevor pushed to his feet. “I’d say he has his own bottle stashed away somewhere. That his philosophy is only to be applied to lesser mortals, and behind closed doors it’s to hell with ‘share and share alike.’ He has brought something fine with him from London, perhaps a few bottles of brandy, nicked from a middle-class home while he was likewise taking their daughter.” “But where would he keep it?” Rayley asked. “If we have hypothesized that LaRusse is drinking, and most likely in private, after less than a day in his company, there are doubtlessly others in the colony who suspect as much as well. And they may have concluded this private drinking is their best route to effectively poisoning the man. There’s a cellar, but that’s not the place.” “Why do you say that?” “Because everyone in the colony knows about it and apparently wanders in and out at leisure. It’s the trysting space where John Paul tried to lure Dorinda. Oh, and there’s to be a party tonight, by the way. Bonfires and revelry, while we all dance about in costume worshipping the full moon or some Druid goddess or somesuch.” “In honor of the solstice?” “Quite. Good thinking, Welles, for I had forgotten entirely. But back to LaRusse and his secret bottle. The rooms in Hever Castle stand open all the time, affording no privacy at all, by his own
edict. And with so many windows looking out in all directions, he is unlikely to have a hiding place outside, which leaves us with…” Rayley and Trevor looked at each other and said in unison “The gatehouse.”
Page 2 and 3: The Angel of Hever Castle A City of
Page 4 and 5: and Tom had decamped to his family
Page 6 and 7: and her long-deceased father was no
Page 8 and 9: “I agree with you that costumes a
Page 10 and 11: Chapter Two The countryside of Kent
Page 12 and 13: “Some women are like that,” Ray
Page 14 and 15: Chapter Three The porridge was wret
Page 16 and 17: joke. “But I take care to mix bes
Page 18 and 19: against the stone wall and swallowe
Page 20 and 21: place a jar of red-orange huge on t
Page 22 and 23: had added a woman to her scene, a w
Page 26 and 27: Chapter Five LaRusse Franklin Chapm
Page 28 and 29: that Hever is full of secret activi
Page 30 and 31: half-naked girl, just as expected f
Page 32 and 33: Chapter Six Even before she got Tre
Page 34 and 35: the telegram had said. It sounded l
Page 36 and 37: had at last firmly closed, leaving
Page 38 and 39: Melly lifted her chin. “He says h
Page 40 and 41: you have come like all the others -
Page 42 and 43: and she never has.” “I can see
Page 44 and 45: Chapter Nine “So let us suppose t
Page 46 and 47: At the name “Mary,” Emma’s he
Page 48 and 49: in danger. A woman you showed inter
Page 50 and 51: Chapter Ten Despite Rayley’s trep
Page 52 and 53: devised to lift water….I recogniz
Page 54 and 55: Chapter Eleven “Let me make sure
Page 56 and 57: “It would appear my leisure is to
Page 58: course I did. Was there ever any do

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