I couldn’t let him get to the light switch. Was there anything here I could use as a weapon? My hand touched the nearest mannequin’s cold arm. Did it come off? I tugged gently but it didn’t move. Then I felt the parasol in her hand. A parasol was dainty and probably not much use but it was better than nothing. And it had a solid handle of some kind of stone. I eased myself down from the podium and crept toward the sound of his breathing. There he was, his back toward me, still fumbling for the light switch. I lifted the parasol and brought it crashing down over his head. He cried out, staggered and reeled, but he didn’t fall. Bugger.

I fled back through the doorway and out onto the landing. He’d catch me. Of course he’d catch me, but I had to try and run anyway. If I could make it across the landing and down the hallway on the other side, I’d hammer on Princess Alice’s door. I’d scream. Someone would hear me. His feet were pounding close behind me. I was halfway across the landing when suddenly there was a gust of cold wind. It became icily cold. A shape appeared out of nowhere—a white shape that formed itself into a young woman. She swept past me, even before I realized exactly what was happening. I froze. The major had come out of the royal rooms and was advancing toward me across the foyer with a look of grim determination on his face. He stopped short at the top of the stairs as the apparition advanced on him. As she came closer she seemed to glow. The major took a step back. Still she approached.

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” he said loudly. “You’re not real. You can’t hurt me.”

Then, from his other side and horribly close, came a burst of wild, maniacal laughter. It was so sudden that my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. The major reacted too. A boy had appeared, clad in green, his hair a mass of unruly curls, his face wild and excited. The major took another step backward as the boy leaped at him. It was his fatal mistake. He stepped into nothing at the top of the staircase, lost his balance and fell. I could hear the cries and thuds as he bounced down the stairs. The boy shot me a delighted look and vanished. The white woman also looked at me as she vanished into a wall. It was a look of recognition, of one family member to another.

Chapter 31

LATE AT NIGHT, NOVEMBER 11

KENSINGTON PALACE

I rushed to wake up Princess Alice’s servants.

“Come quickly. The major has fallen down the stairs,” I shouted. Princess Alice herself appeared in her nightclothes. “Call an ambulance, Hettie,” she said to her maid.