“Why don’t you take a length of each one? That should cover it.”
“That would be great, thanks.”
While Aunt Lucy was cutting the ribbon, I told her what Grandma had done. She was every bit as angry as I was.
“That woman gets worse. How dare she go behind your back and do something like that? You must be livid.”
“I am. It’s not just that she showed Florence a new spell after I’d specifically told her not to, but of all the spells she could have chosen, it had to be that one. What was she thinking? I dread to think what could have happened if Florence had got over the fence. It doesn’t bear thinking about.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to have a word with Grandma, a very strong word. In fact, as soon as I’ve taken this ribbon to Florence, I’ll pop back and have it out with her. There’s no time like the present.”
“I’m afraid you’re out of luck. I saw her leave the house early this morning.”
“Any idea where she was going?”
“No, sorry.”
“Not to worry. I’ll catch up with her later.”
***
When I arrived at the office, Mrs V was humming to herself and beaming from ear to ear.
“Good morning, Mrs V. You’re looking particularly happy this morning. Have you won the lottery or something?”
“No, dear. I really shouldn’t smile. I’m being very unfair.”
“What’s happened?”
“You know how Armi laughed at me when I was hit on the head with the acorn? Well, last night, I was looking through the kitchen window when Armi took out the rubbish. He was just on his way back to the house when he was hit on the head by an acorn.” She dissolved into laughter.
“Mrs V, that’s not very nice.”
“You’re right, dear, but it did feel a little like Karma.”
“Those squirrels of yours sound positively dangerous.”
“They are.”
“What are you going to do about them?”
“I’m not sure. Do you think I should shoot them?”
“You mustn’t do that, or you’ll land yourself in a whole heap of trouble.”
“You’re right. Armi and I had better put our thinking caps on to see what we can come up with.”
“Will you be able to wear caps with your poorly heads?” I laughed.
“Not funny, Jill.”
“Sorry. In other news, I bumped into our new neighbour from down the corridor.”
“Is it a hairdresser?”
“Actually, no. She’s a dog groomer.”
“How lovely. That’ll mean we’ll have lots of cute dogs coming in and out.”
“It’ll certainly be an improvement on the clowns. And, talking of dogs, we have one now.”
“Since when?”
“A couple of days ago. Florence has a little Chihuahua called Buddy.”
“How lovely for her. Are the two of them getting on alright?”
“Florence loves Buddy to pieces.”
“And Buddy?”
“He puts up with her. I think that’s the best we can hope for.”
“You’ll be able to take Buddy to Bubbles.”
“That lazy dog doesn’t go outside long enough to get dirty.”
Winky was sitting on my desk, and he had a face like thunder. Thankfully, though, there was no sign of the freaky eye patch.
“Good morning, Winky.”
“What’s good about it?” he snapped.
“What’s wrong with you? Did you get out of bed on the wrong side this morning?”
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong with me. I’m not happy about having a dog groomer down the corridor.”
“Why not?”
He rolled his eye. “In case you hadn’t noticed, cats and dogs are sworn enemies. Having that place down the corridor will make my life very difficult.”
“I don’t see why. Most of the time you come and go through the window. Anyway, I’m pleased to see you’ve got rid of that horrible eye patch.”
“I haven’t. It’s in the wash. In fact, I’m going to buy another three.”
“The same as that freaky one?”
“Yes, but in different colours.”
“But they’re horrible.”
“Says you.”
***
Rather than have me travel around the country to interview her relatives, Caroline had insisted they come to the manor house. The first of those interviews was with Caroline’s brother, Ransom Tyler, who Mulgrave always referred to as Mr Ransom.
Mulgrave met me at the door and led the way across the large hallway.
“Lady Tweaking has designated the Marble Room for your interviews, madam. It’s to the rear of the property.”
He opened the door onto what was a small, rather bland room.
“I don’t see any marble, Mulgrave.”
“There isn’t any, madam. When the children were young, they used to play marbles in this room, and the name stuck. Do take a seat. Mr Ransom should be with you shortly.”
I had a choice between a worn-out sofa or a couple of worn-out armchairs, so I opted for the one closest to the window, which was the best of a bad bunch. The room was slightly warmer than the hallway, but nowhere near as warm as the dining room where I’d met with Caroline on my previous visit.
I’d only been waiting for a few minutes when in walked a tall man who looked about the same age as Caroline. He had a pale complexion, striking blue eyes, and more than his fair share of hair.
“I assume you’re Mrs Maxwell.”
“That’s right. Call me Jill. And you must be Mr Ransom?”
“It’s Ransom. Just Ransom. Only Mulgrave calls me Mr Ransom.”
“Thank you for agreeing to speak to me today.”
“I didn’t have much choice in the matter. I honestly don’t know why it was necessary for me to drive halfway across the country for this meeting. Surely you could have come to me?”
“I’d have been more than happy to, but your sister—”
“I might have known this was her idea. Typical of her. Alright, I suppose we’d better crack on with this. What is it you want, exactly?”
“I’m trying to establish what happened
