spotted hemlock
the man who grew tomatoes
say it with flowers
the nodding canaries
my bones will keep
adders on the heath
death of a delft blue
pageant of murder
the croaking raven
skeleton island
three quick and five dead
dance to your daddy
gory dew
lament for leto
a hearse on may-day
the murder of busy lizzie
a javelin for jonah
winking at the brim
convent on styx
late, late in the evening
noonday and night
fault in the structure
wraiths and changelings
First published in Great Britain by Michael Joseph Ltd., 52 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3EF
© 1978 by Gladys Mitchell
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Copyright owner.
ISBN 0 7181 1689 5
Phototypeset by Granada Graphics Ltd. Printed and bound by Redwood Burn.
“A hoop of gold to bind thy brothers in,
That the united vessel of their blood,
Mingled with venom of suggestion…
Shall never leak, though it do work as strong
As aconitum…”
Chapter 1
Three Houses in Cornwall
^ »
‘A full family reunion can be a very chancy business,’ said Maria Porthcawl.
‘This one looks like being a chapter out of Ivy Compton Burnett,’ said Fiona Bute. ‘Mrs Plack has already thrown a fit of hysterics and retired to her bed with a migraine at the thought of all the cooking involved.’
‘
‘They need not sit next to one another.’
‘Then what about Gamaliel? Does she know he’s black?’
‘I doubt whether she even knows of his existence. Anyway, it’s a legal adoption, so he counts as one of the family. Then there are Quentin and Millament, Diana’s twins.’
‘But they’re only twelve years old. Surely they won’t be expected to dine with the rest?’
