“I think that won’t be necessary,” I said. One of the maids had turned on the main lights in the chandelier. I could see the major’s face staring up at me, his head at a strange, unnatural angle.

Suddenly I wanted to cry. It was all for the best really, wasn’t it? All so stupid that people had died like this. I was taken into Princess Alice’s suite and given a brandy. I told her about the ghosts and how the major had been on his nightly rounds when one of them had appeared from nowhere and so startled him that he had stepped back and lost his footing. I didn’t add that he had been trying to kill me.

“A wild child who laughs?” she said. “That would be Peter, the Wild Boy. I saw him once. He was a favorite of George the First, who had him brought back from the forests of Germany. I gather he’s very protective of the royal family.”

And she looked at me long and hard.

Police and ambulance men came. I wanted to suggest that they summon DCI Pelham but I couldn’t think of a reason to do that for what I was claiming to be a horrible accident. It was fortunate that I could say with complete honesty that I had seen Major Beauchamp-Chough at the top of the stairs when one of the ghosts had appeared from the wall. He had stepped back and lost his footing. It was terrible. So tragic. Nothing more was asked of me.

As soon as I could I slipped away, found a telephone and dialed Sir Jeremy’s number. He told me to stay put. He’d come immediately. Then I rang the number Darcy had given me. Nobody answered there. I was on my way back to my own apartment, wanting nothing more than a hot drink and bed, when I heard running feet behind me. Darcy came charging up and grabbed me.

“Are you all right?” he said. “I got a garbled message from Sir Jeremy that the major had fallen down the stairs. Was anyone else involved? Was it really an accident? And why the major?”

I told him as calmly as I could. “Remember that one photograph I said looked like him, only younger and minus the mustache? It must have been him with a group of his, um, friends.”

“So you put two and two together and went looking for him? At this time of night?” He was shouting now.

“No. Nothing like that,” I replied. “Princess Marina asked me to deliver a message to the major. It was only when I was at his front door that I saw his card and realized his name was Gerald—the name in that love letter, remember? And the Black Cat is where . . .”

“I know what the Black Cat is,” he said curtly.