“And the other thing I didn’t find is that any of the gentlemen had sent shirt cuffs for washing. Only Mr. Yoxall and Mr. Keynes have gentlemen’s gentlemen with them. Mr. Keynes’ man says all his linen is accounted for. Mr. Yoxall’s man wasn’t receptive. Took offence, he did. What I will say, miss, is that it wouldn’t be hard to hide a pair of bloodstained cuffs in this great barn of a house if I may be so bold, but they’d be less easy to destroy. Nobody had a fire lit in their bedroom yesterday, nor anywhere in the house except the kitchen.”

“So there may be a pair of bloodstained cuffs hidden somewhere,” Pat said. “I suppose the police will look. Or perhaps it wasn’t a messy job.”

“Would that make a difference?” Fen asked, then answered herself: “I suppose it would remove the question of the killer having to wash his hands, as Jack said. Hmph. If you find out anything more about bloodstained things, let us know, Travers. Excellent. Now, could it have been anyone in the servants’ hall?”

Travers raised both brows in reproof. “Miss Fen!”

“Well, they have lives and secrets too. Suppose Haworth was blackmailing the butler? And I expect it would be easier for a servant to get around without the guests noticing than vice versa.”

“You may think servants spend all day as idle as you, but I can assure you, we are not,” Travers said crushingly. “Nobody had the time to sneak off, steal a knife, murder a man, clean up, and get back to work, not with lunch for ten to put on the table and this house understaffed as it is, so that all the visiting staff have to pitch in. I’m sure as I can be that everybody’s accounted for between eleven and one. Mary, the parlour-maid, was the only one running around when she went out to collect the tea things for Miss Singh, and then to fetch the Countess later, but she was straight back in no time: I saw her come and go myself.”

“All right, then.” Fen hopped off the bed. “Thank you, Travers, you’re a wonder and that was awfully useful. We’ll go down to join the others now and see if we can get anywhere.” She nudged Pat. “And you need to have a talk with your brother.”

***