“What must I do, Liebchen?” he asked, the word “faint” being beyond his English vocabulary. Probably also the word “catch.”

I moved past her to see for myself. Hugo Beasley-Bottome was lying, staring up at the sky with a look of utter surprise on his face. There was a considerable amount of blood splashed around him. Kneeling beside him were Darcy and an older man with a neat little gray mustache. Darcy stood up quickly as he saw me.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I came over to visit the queen,” I said. “What happened?”

The older man stood up a little stiffly, as if he’d been kneeling too long. He was tall and of a military bearing. “I said we should not have gone out in this kind of weather,” he said. “Too risky with the mist coming and going. Young fool must have wandered ahead and got into the line of fire. That’s what happens when you introduce newcomers who don’t know the damned rules. Did you know the fellow?”

“He was staying at Castle Rannoch,” I said, staring down at him with pity and revulsion, “but I’d never met him before.”

“I’d never come across him until a few weeks ago either. He showed up at the house a couple of times,” the man said. “Believe he was rather keen on my daughter.” He came across to me. “I’m Major Padgett, by the way. We have met before. I’ve known your family for years. We’re neighbors.”

“Yes, of course. Georgiana Rannoch. How do you do?”

“And you know this young man?” He indicated Darcy.

“Yes, I do.” Darcy’s eyes met mine. “Hello, Darcy.”

“I was friendly with his father at one time,” Major Padgett said. “Owned a dashed fine stable of racehorses.”

“Not anymore,” Darcy said. “Joined the ranks of the paupers, I’m afraid.”

“Haven’t we all?” Padgett said, and there was bitterness in his voice. “Haven’t we all? Forced to live on the proverbial crust these days. Bad times, what?”

“Look, I don’t think Georgie should be up here,” Darcy said. “Not a suitable place for a woman. Why don’t I take her back to the castle?”

I was about to protest that I could stand the sight of a dead body as well as anybody else, but I saw Darcy’s look. He was trying to tell me something.

“Good idea,” Major Padgett said. “Take all the women back in the first of the motorcars, but we chaps should probably stick around until the local constable gets here. I don’t know what he’ll be able to do—decent fellow, but not the brightest—but one must do the right thing and there has been a death that needs to be officially ruled accidental.”