“That is not our butler. It’s my grandfather. He’s come to keep an eye on me since he thinks my life might be in danger.”

“Your grandfather. Well, I’m damned.”

“So what brings you here this morning? Good news, I hope. You’ve found the real killer?”

“I’m afraid to disappoint you in that, my lady. In fact I come on a quite different matter today. One of great delicacy.”

“Really?” I couldn’t think what he could be talking about. “I suppose you’d better take a seat.”

We sat.

“You are familiar with the home of Sir William Featherstonehaugh on Eaton Place?”

“Of course I am. Roderick Featherstonehaugh was one of my dancing partners when I came out.”

“I regret to inform you that several items of considerable value were found to be missing from that house when Lady Featherstonehaugh arrived last weekend.”

“How terrible.” I could feel my heart thumping and hoped he couldn’t actually hear it.

“It transpires that Lady Featherstonehaugh hired a domestic agency to open up the house for her. Coronet Domestics, I believe the name is. And following up on the advertisement in the Times, it appears that Coronet Domestics is owned by none other than yourself, Lady Georgiana. Is that correct?”

“That is correct.”

“Interesting. May I ask if you have any input in the day-to-day running of this service or are you merely the titular head?”

“No, I am involved.”

“I see. So I would be grateful if you would supply me with the names of the staff members who were working at Lady Featherstonhaugh’s that day. I trust you have checked all their references thoroughly before you employed them?”

I swallowed hard, trying to think of a plausible lie, but couldn’t come up with one.

“This is strictly between ourselves, Chief Inspector,” I said. “I’d appreciate it if it didn’t go any further than necessary.”

“Go on.”

“The truth is that I am Coronet Domestics. As yet I have no staff.”

He couldn’t have looked more shocked if I had told him that I danced naked on the tables at the Pink Pussycat. “You clean other people’s houses? Yourself?”

“Strange though that may sound, I do it out of necessity. My allowance has been cut off and I need to survive on my own. This seemed a good way to start.”

“I must say, I take my hat off to you,” he said. “Right. Well, this should make it much simpler. I am going to read you a description of the objects and maybe you can tell me whether you noticed them while you were doing your domestic duties.

“A Georgian silver coffeepot. A large silver salver. Two miniatures of the Moghul school from India. A small Chinese figurine of the Goddess of Mercy.”