“I don’t know why Mr. Roach fired old Harry,” Darcy said. “He knew everything there was to know about horses, and he had a way with them too. Almost as if he knew what they were thinking. He taught me to ride and to jump. I wonder if he still lives around here.”

“Interesting that he was sacked right after that horse doping, wasn’t it?” I said.

“You mean that he might have been responsible?” Darcy asked sharply.

“Quite the opposite. I mean that he might have deduced what really happened, or seen something he shouldn’t.”

“So what do you think happened?”

“I’m just surmising, but what if Mr. Roach himself had the horse doped to make it run faster, only it died before it reached the finish line. Perhaps Harry witnessed someone injecting the horse, or suspected what had happened.”

“Possible. I wonder if he got another job. Not easy at his age. But we can ask at Punchestown Racecourse when we drive into Dublin. Someone there should know what happened to him. And someone there might even be able to shed some light on the horse doping.”

So it looked as if we had a busy day ahead of us!

We were just reversing out of the stable forecourt when there was a loud noise above our heads.

“What the devil . . .” Darcy began.

A small aeroplane dropped from the sky and skimmed over us, just missing the treetops, then landed in the field, bouncing over the turf and sending the horses racing off in panic.

Darcy was out of the motorcar in a second, running toward the five-bar gate and vaulting nimbly over it. “The bloody fool,” he shouted. “What does he think he’s doing?”

The plane was now taxiing toward us and came to a halt. The pilot climbed down and headed toward Darcy.

“Are you mad? You’re on private property,” Darcy shouted. “And you have frightened the horses. You should leave immediately.”

The pilot now removed goggles and helmet and shook out luxurious dark hair. “Is that any way to greet an old friend who has come all this way to help you?” said the Princess Zamanska.

Chapter 20

STILL TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4

The princess has arrived. I can’t say I’m thrilled with this new complication! Too fond of Darcy for one thing. But I can’t ask Darcy to make her leave without seeming jealous—which I am, of course.

“Zou Zou, what are you doing?” Darcy exclaimed. “Have you lost your senses?”

Princess Zamanska advanced on Darcy, her arms open. “I couldn’t stop worrying about you so I decided I had to come in person to rescue you and offer my help. And I did want to see if my new toy could make it over the Irish Sea—which it did beautifully, I have to tell you. So stop looking so cross and give me a kiss.”