“Please do take a seat, Lady Georgiana.” Sir Jeremy indicated the armchair by the fire where he had been sitting, then drew up a wooden chair from the desk in the corner for himself. “So you were the one who actually found the body, I understand?”

“That’s right,” I said.

“What time was this?” the chief inspector asked.

“I would say about ten thirty last night. We left Buckingham Palace a little after ten, that much I know.”

“And how did you happen to come upon this body, Lady Georgiana?” the chief inspector continued. “Since the place where she was lying was nowhere near the door to the apartment where you are staying?”

“Well, there was a puddle outside the front door,” I said, “so the chauffeur had to stop the car quite a way farther along, so we didn’t get our feet wet. Princess Marina got out of the motor first and walked straight to the door. I was about to follow but as I got out of the car I thought I saw something under the archway and went to look closer.” I had been going to say that I saw a strange sort of glow and I wanted to see if it was the ghostly light, but that would have sounded silly.

“But surely the body wasn’t visible from where the car stopped?” the inspector asked sharply. “And I don’t know how you could spot a body in that kind of darkness.”

“I’m not quite sure what made me go and look,” I said. “I thought I saw some kind of light first and it was only when I came close to the archway that I saw something lying there.”

“Some kind of light? Like a torch shining, you mean?”

“No.” I shook my head. “More like a gentle glow.”

“I suppose a light could have been shining out from a window,” the major said. He was still standing beside my chair, ramrod straight, a military man to the core. “There are a couple of windows that look onto that courtyard. Lady Georgiana’s room, for example. And my own bathroom.”

“And you didn’t hear or see anything, Major?” Detective Chief Inspector Pelham asked.

“I’m afraid I’d been out all evening—our usual monthly regimental dinner in mess. Can’t miss that, you know, even for a visiting princess.” He gave an apologetic smile. “I had literally just come in when I was given a note from Lady Georgiana. And frankly even if I’d been here, one hears plenty of strange noises in an old building like this.”

“If there were windows without the curtains drawn then someone might have seen something,” Sir Jeremy suggested, looking up at the major.