“I don’t normally, but right now I really do need one,” she said and took a big gulp. “He wants Stella next,” she said and there was a glint of malicious glee in her eyes. I suspected she’d taken delight in giving Stella an excellent motive for his murder. Stella looked pale but regal and resolute as she walked from the room. I watched her go, still wondering. Darcy obviously still had reason to suspect her or he’d never have come here. And she had left the room to order another pot of coffee. How long had she been gone? Long enough to sneak into the library and bludgeon her lover to death? And then make off with one candlestick? I shook my head. This made no sense to me. If she wanted to steal the candlesticks she had ample opportunity. Presumably she knew the combination to Mr. Goldman’s safe. She could drive up alone whenever she wanted. And as for killing him in such a brutal manner—there was no reason that I could see. They had been very chummy on the ship. She was still the star of his pictures. They had driven to the castle in the same car. And she didn’t seem the volatile type. But then who else in this room would have wanted Cy Goldman dead—apart from his wife?

I looked around them, one by one.

“Do you want me to go up to your room, miss, and get your nightclothes ready?” Queenie asked.

“I don’t think you can do that,” I said. “We’re not staying in the house. We’re all in bungalows dotted around the grounds.”

“Well, I expect I can find the right one if you show me where it is,” Queenie said. “Someone will have a torch, won’t they?”

“Queenie, we’re a long way from the house and the grounds are full of wild animals,” I said.

“Go on.” She nudged me. “You’re pulling my leg.”

“I’m certainly not,” I said. “Mr. Goldman imported exotic animals for his park—giraffes, zebras, and God knows what else.”

“Cor blimey,” she said. “And to think I was trying to get in through that gate. I might have come face-to-face with an elephant. So what do you want me to do? It don’t feel right for me to sit here among your lot.”

“I suppose you’d better join the other servants in the kitchen,” I said.

“And how do I find where the kitchen is in this ’ouse of ’orrors?” she demanded. “I’ll be bound to get lost and meet a boa constrictor or something.”

I looked up and saw one of the groundsmen still lingering near the front door. I beckoned him over. “Could you possibly drive my maid over to the cottage where I’m staying?” I asked. “She’s afraid to walk on her own in the dark.”

“Of course,” he said. “Follow me, miss.”