“A family member, then? Someone who didn’t want him to inherit the title?”

“I suppose so.”

“A lot of family members, are there?”

“Not really. The dowager duchess—well, she wouldn’t kill her own son, would she?”

He looked at me sharply. “Wouldn’t she?”

“Granddad, surely not!” I exclaimed in horror.

“I’ve heard there are people to whom title and honor mean everything. You said he was threatening to adopt his French valet? And put a theater on the grounds?”

I tried to consider this: Could Edwina possibly have killed her own son to prevent him from adopting his valet and disgracing the family name? She was the one who told Jack to put the knife in the tack room, after all. She knew where to find it. But her own son? I shook my head.

“Surely not,” I repeated.

“Who else then? Any other children?”

“One daughter, Irene. Only she was upstairs in a stupor at the time—it seems someone had given her an overdose of sleeping medicine.”

“Tried to kill her too, you mean?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Another family member, you think?”

“There are only two old aunts, and they’d have no reason to kill Irene. She’s as penniless as I am and will inherit nothing. And I can’t believe either of them could have stabbed Cedric with that huge knife. Not strong enough, and they didn’t even know where it was kept. Besides, he gave them a home. That’s rather biting the hand that feeds you, isn’t it?”

“So that’s all the family? Anyone else in the house?”

“Three young men who were Cedric’s followers—all artsy types.”

“So they’d have no reason to want him dead?”

“They were seriously upset when they heard he was going to adopt his valet and not one of them, but one can never tell how seriously they take anything. And I don’t think stabbing is their style. Too indelicate.”

Granddad smiled. I took a long drink of tea. It was very strong and very sweet and went down well.

“So that’s it then?” Granddad asked, refilling my cup without asking.

“Apart from some children in the nursery and their tutor and nanny. And the servants, of course. I don’t know much about them but the house runs like clockwork.”

“So it comes back to your boy, or the former servant who was sacked. Sounds to me like this Inspector Fairbotham is on the right track.”

“Oh, dear. I wanted you to come up with something brilliant we had all overlooked. But I must say, I’d be relieved if it was William. It’s rather unnerving living in a house wondering who might be a murderer.”