We piled into the hallway but of course there was nothing to be seen. Ghosts don’t usually wait around for an audience. The men opened doors, one by one, but there was no sign of a ghost.

As we turned to come back down, Fig drew me aside. “Well done, Georgiana,” she said. “Brilliant, positively brilliant.”

“It would have been brilliant,” I whispered back, “but it wasn’t me.”

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Castle Rannoch
Late evening, August 18, 1932,
followed by early morning August 19.

It was a subdued group that assembled downstairs in the drawing room. Countess Von Sauer was sipping brandy and recounting her horror to anyone who would listen.

“It was coming down the hall toward me—a white disembodied face and light hair and hands, that’s all I saw—and it was sort of wafting. Then I suppose I screamed and it just—melted away. Vanished. I won’t feel safe sleeping here again, I can tell you that. Fritzi, you’ll just have to find us a hotel.”

“At this time of night, in the middle of nowhere, Mama?” Fritzi looked worried. “I tell you what. I’ll sleep on a mattress on the floor of your room and we’ll look for a hotel in the morning.”

“I’m sure you’re quite safe, Countess,” Binky said. “Georgiana and I have lived here all our lives and have never met a hostile ghost yet.”

“But that’s because you’re family members,” the countess wailed. “Everyone knows that family ghosts are only hostile to strangers.”

“If you ask me, it was someone playing a practical joke,” the Prince of Wales said, looking around at the assembled group. “And if it was someone here, it would be the honorable thing to own up right now.”

Our guests looked at each other but nobody spoke.

“Then let us think back to see if anyone was missing from the room when the countess screamed,” the prince went on.

“Mr. Simpson, for one,” my mother couldn’t resist saying.

“Well, honey, he had a headache and went up to bed,” Mrs. Simpson said, smiling serenely. “And I don’t think he could be mistaken for a white lady, even in the poorest light. He’s rather tall, you know. And he has dark hair.” Her gaze fell on me. “But I did notice Lady Georgiana leaving the room . . . with Mr. O’Mara.”

“I can assure you we had other things on our mind than playing at ghosts,” Darcy said. I felt myself blushing like a schoolgirl.

I looked around the room. “And where’s Hugo?” I asked.

“Yes, where is he?” someone else said. “He was dancing in the Paul Jones a little while ago.”

We looked up as footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. All eyes watched as Hugo came down. He did have very light hair, worn rather long.

“Where have you been?” Earl demanded.