“We must not give him time, Mama. We must stop it before it’s too late. You must go to the House of Lords, if necessary. Daddy’s old friends. They will surely help, and Cedric won’t be able to oppose the might of the English parliament against him.”

“I said give him time, Irene. We do not need to expose this family to ridicule unnecessarily. It will be hard enough to live down the shame of an heir from Australia, but an heir who is a French valet—it would be unendurable.” Edwina’s voice wavered just the slightest. Then she shook her head violently, as if to gain control of her emotions. “I will speak with the boy. Make him see sense, if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Séance!” Princess Charlotte stood up and clapped her hands excitedly. “That’s what we need to cheer us up. Our séance. The room is all set up for it.”

“I hardly think that most people find séances cheerful, Charlotte,” Edwina said.

“But Jack will have a lovely chat with his father, and maybe the spirits will be helpful in suggesting a way to get rid of this Marcel. They have the wisdom of the ages, remember.”

“Then I’m in,” Adrian said, glancing at Julian. “How about you, Jules? Let’s see if the spirits can tell us how to bump off Marcel without being caught.”

“Adrian, you’re terrible,” Julian said. “But it might be fun. There’s certainly no point in trying to talk to Ceddy tonight. Come on, Simon. Stop sulking. He’d never have adopted you anyway.”

“I’ve just remembered what a gorgeous Polish officer and I once got up to during a séance in Vienna,” Virginia said dreamily. “So naughty. Such fun.”

“Then come along, everyone. It’s all set up in Lady Hortense’s sitting room.” Princess Charlotte tried to herd everyone out of the dining room.

“Who is Lady Hortense?” I asked as we filed out of the dining room.

“The wife of an eighteenth-century duke,” Charlotte replied. “A very powerful medium, apparently. Had ectoplasm floating around all over the place, and violins playing themselves in midair. I have felt her presence most strongly in that room, and I’m sure she’ll help with this dreadful Marcel business.”

“I am certainly not attending your ridiculous séance,” Edwina said. “Come, Irene.”

“But, Mama, what if the spirits do have a suggestion for making Cedric see sense?” Irene hesitated, unsure whether to disobey her mother then followed her aunts in the other direction, with the Starlings in hot pursuit.

Jack glanced at me. “Are you going along with this mumbo-jumbo?” he asked.

“I’ve never been to a séance before,” I said. “I played around with a Ouija board at school and it was rather frightening, so I have to confess to being a teeny bit curious. What about you?”

“No, thanks. I don’t go for stuff I can’t explain.”

“Don’t you want the chance to connect with your father, perhaps?”

“You really believe that could happen?”

“But if it could—wouldn’t you want to hear his voice once?”