The Starlings had also risen to their feet and watched him go, half wanting to run after him, but not daring to.

“That conniving little minx Marcel.” Julian sounded near to tears. “Pretending to be so humble and subservient, when all this time he’s been plotting against us.”

“He can’t really do it, can he, Mama?” Irene asked. “I mean, one can’t really adopt someone who is over twenty-one, surely?”

“I have no idea,” Edwina said. “And we don’t actually know that he is over twenty-one, do we? Your brother selected him. I know nothing about him.”

“If he was going to adopt anyone, he should have adopted Nick.” Irene glared at the doorway through which Cedric had departed. “If anyone deserves to be the rightful heir, it is surely one of my children. We have the blood of the dukedom in our veins, don’t we? But a common valet, and a Frenchman at that—it’s too much to bear. Get on to our solicitor now, Mama. Summon him here immediately, before something awful happens.”

“I will telephone our solicitor in the morning and ask him to come down and meet with us, Irene. The wheels of the law move slowly. Cedric can’t just adopt someone overnight. And it may just be an idle threat. It wouldn’t be the first time your brother did something stupid out of spite then regretted it. Give him time to see the absurdity of his threat.”

“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.”