“I think you’d better hear this,” said Marcel. “We’d all better sit down. It looks like we’ve made a dreadful, dreadful mistake.”

Marcel took Hazel’s arm gently and they both went and sat on the sofa. Raven followed them but remained standing, with Buttons still on her shoulder.

“It’s a long story,” said Raven. “But Jupiter Peacock has been psychologically abusing your daughter ever since he’s been in this house. And possibly worse; I’m not sure. He’s threatened Buttons, and told Lexy that if she didn’t do what he said he’d hurt him. Buttons doesn’t understand much English, but he sensed that Peacock made it impossible for Lexy to tell you anything. I don’t know how he would have done that. Do you have any idea?”

“Oh God,” said Hazel, tears beginning to run down her face. “The stupid competition. I was so determined to be Host of the Year, I drummed into Lexy that she had to do whatever JP wanted. He was our honored guest and she had to make him welcome and not upset him in any way. . . . But she wouldn’t have taken all that seriously, surely? She must have known that her safety was more important than anything . . . ?”

“Lexy never likes making a fuss or troubling anyone,” said Raven. “She probably thought you’d be angry with her, or wouldn’t believe her. Coach Bruce gave a talk the other week at school and he said people who’ve been abused don’t want to upset the people they love by telling them something so horrible.”

“If I’d known . . .” Marcel Bottle also now had tears in his eyes. “I’m a peaceful man, but I would honestly have ripped him apart. My little daughter! My beautiful, innocent—”

“Well, now he’s taken her somewhere,” said Raven. “And I think he intends to use her as a human sacrifice. We don’t have much time. We have to find her.”

Lexy opened the locket and took out the dried remains of the Orlov’s viper. No doubt JP had had bigger plans for this extremely rare magical artifact, but he should have thought of that before locking Lexy in a stable and threatening to kill her.

In recent days, Jupiter Peacock had insisted on reading Lexy most of the introduction to his translation of “Galloglass.” It had been boring at first, but eventually it had started to make an impression on her. Maybe there was something to be said for acting in your own interests. It had to be better than agreeing to be a maiden sacrifice, anyway. So Lexy would use JP’s precious objects entirely selfishly to free herself, and she wouldn’t care in the slightest about the consequences for him or anyone else. The thought was extremely liberating.