“Nothing at the moment. Why don’t you get yourself settled and I’ll introduce you to Nanny. She bakes wonderful scones. Then you might want to take a walk around the estate. See the lay of the land.”

He put a hand on my shoulder. “Look, you take care of yourself, my love. I don’t want you putting yourself in harm’s way and if you ask me it’s ruddy cheek of this Sir What’s-His-Name to ask you to get involved.”

“But I am involved, Graddad, whether I like it or not. I was the one dangling on that rope yesterday and my brother has a crushed ankle. This person has to be stopped before he kills one of us.”

Granddad made a tsk-tsk noise with his tongue. “Then you leave the stopping to the trained professionals—those blokes in the special branch. Why aren’t they up here, doing their job?”

“I expect they are,” I said. “Or at least one of them is. I was told that someone was in position at Balmoral and would introduce himself to me.” My mind immediately jumped one stage ahead as I said this. Was it possible that Darcy was that person? Why else would he be up here?

“Well, the sooner you pop over to Balmoral and find this bloke, the better,” he said. “I don’t want you sticking your neck out again. This sounds to me like a spiteful, twisted kind of person—the sort of person who gets his pleasure out of other people’s suffering. That trap, for example—just downright nasty.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be extra careful,” I said, as breezily as I could manage, but as I walked back to the house I began to wonder. How could I be extra careful when danger could be lurking anywhere around me and I didn’t know whom to trust?

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Castle Rannoch
August 20

When I returned to the castle, after having made sure Granddad was comfortable in the cottage, I noticed that the shooting brake had already left for the day’s grouse shoot at Balmoral. I also remembered that I hadn’t yet had breakfast. I found the breakfast room empty, so I tucked into a plate of bacon, kidneys and fried bread, plus a couple of slices of toast and Cooper’s Oxford marmalade. It’s amazing what country air does for the appetite.

Then I went into the library and sat down with paper and pencil. First I made a list of everyone who had been staying here, or in the area, then I checked what connection they might have to the British throne. I was half expecting to discover that Babe was a long-lost relative, but she wasn’t. Gussie had distant connections, as did Darcy, through his mother. But I couldn’t come up with anybody in the direct line in the top hundred or so.