They lit all the lamps in Rose’s room and looked around. ‘What made you think someone had been in here?’ asked Daisy.

‘There was the smell of sweat.’

‘Can’t smell anything. Why would anyone come into your room?’

‘I’m worried about that new footman. Remember how those letters were hidden in my luggage? Perhaps someone has tried to hide something incriminating.’

Daisy stifled a yawn. ‘All the trunks and hatboxes are down in the storage room.’

‘Think, Daisy. If you wanted to hide something, where would you put it?’

‘In the wardrobe there, among your clothes. What about your jewel box?’

‘It’s locked and Hunter has the key.’

Daisy longed to go back to bed, but Rose looked so frightened that she said, ‘I’ll look in the wardrobe and you look under your pillows and places like that.’

‘Nothing here,’ said Daisy after awhile.

‘Try the pockets. Oh, let me.’

Rose searched feverishly through the pockets of various costumes and coats. She came to an old tweed coat she often wore when she was walking along the cliffs and plunged her hand into the pocket. Her fingers encountered something hard and smooth. She pulled it out. ‘Look at this, Daisy!’

It was a necklace of black pearls, smooth and heavy.

‘Isn’t it yours?’

‘No. Oh, Daisy, what if it belonged to Dolores? I remember they said certain items of her jewellery had been stolen. Don’t you see? Someone is trying to implicate me in the murder again. I’m sure it’s that footman. I’d better rouse Aunt Elizabeth.’

Aunt Elizabeth was annoyed at being awakened. At first she tried to persuade Rose that it was merely a piece of jewellery she had forgotten about but Rose had pointed out that no woman could forget the possession of a genuine black pearl necklace.

‘I am sure it’s something to do with that new footman,’ she said. ‘Please, please rouse the servants and have him brought here. The police will need to be called.’

‘Very well. Anything so that we may get back to sleep.’ Aunt Elizabeth pulled on the bell rope beside her bed. The first to arrive was her lady’s maid, Queen.

‘Rouse all the servants from their beds and bring them down to the drawing room,’ ordered Aunt Elizabeth.

They waited until all the servants in various stages of undress had gathered. ‘Now,’ began Aunt Elizabeth, ‘did one of you put a pearl necklace in the pocket of a coat in Lady Rose’s wardrobe?’

The head footman, Jamie, stepped forward and said crossly, ‘We’ve all been in our beds, my lady.’

‘Where’s that new footman, what’s-his-name?’

‘Charlie. He’s here. Step forward, Charlie.’

But Charlie, who had been standing at the back of the group, had disappeared.

Now thoroughly alarmed, Aunt Elizabeth cried, ‘Search the castle, search the grounds. Get the stable staff up and the keepers and water bailiffs. Get them out on the moors. I want him brought back here. Tell John keeper to ride over to Inveraray and tell the police to come here immediately.’