“Find out if anyone in the servant’s hall has seen him this afternoon,” the Countess directed. “Or if anyone knows if he has left the house, or had any plans for the day.”

The footman cast a glance at the windows. “Not much of a day to go out, surely. Yes, my lady,” he added at her look, and withdrew.

“He can’t have gone anywhere,” Lady Anna said. “It’s pouring. He probably doesn’t want to spend time with people he finds uncongenial. You can hardly blame him for that. It’s not as though you’ve tried to make my husband feel welcome in this family.”

Fen’s eyes opened wide at that analysis of the situation, but nobody replied, and they sat in brittle silence until the men joined them perhaps five minutes later, bearing brandy glasses. “Has anyone discovered Maurice?” the Earl asked.

“I’ve asked the staff.”

“He was around this morning,” Jack Bouvier-Lynes said. “Has nobody seen him since?”

“When did you see him?” Bill asked.

Jack gave a gesture too elegant to be called a shrug. “Mid-morning. We had a brief chat about this and that, and then he looked at his watch and left me somewhat abruptly. Perhaps an hour before lunch?”

“Fen and I saw him going into the East Wing at half past eleven,” Pat said. “We didn’t stop to speak to him. Did he say anything to you about going out?”

“In this weather? Good heavens, no.”

“He must be somewhere,” Jimmy said. “If he’s not in the house he must have gone out. I’m not sure why this is difficult.”

The footman returned a moment later. “My lady,” he said. “I’m afraid nobody in the servants’ hall has seen Mr. Haworth since breakfast or is aware of any plans he may have had. The horses, bicycles, and car are all accounted for.”

That fell into silence. The Earl said, “What on earth?”

“If he’s gone out in this weather he’ll catch his death,” Fen said. “Suppose he did and hurt himself, twisted his ankle?”

Lady Anna sighed audibly. The Countess shot her a look of open dislike. “Dennis, see if his coat is there, and if any oilskins or galoshes are missing.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“We can’t send out a search party,” Jimmy said. “It’s dark as Hades and blowing a gale, the ground is flooded, and if we don’t know when he left, we can’t possibly judge how far he might have got.”

Pat waited for someone to protest. Nobody did. “But if he’s injured...?” she felt compelled to say at last, without enthusiasm.