At least today she had been brave enough to do the right thing. She was trying to be a person who isn’t scared all the time. She had kept her hands in her pockets when she talked to the policeman, so that he wouldn’t see they were shaking. That part worked. He took her inside the prison yard, into a little house, so that she could make her statement. She was so frightened, she couldn’t see. If anyone asked her now what the room was like, she wouldn’t be able to describe it. Some kind of fog came between her and out there.

She made herself give the account exactly, and say why it couldn’t be Stephen Walmsley who killed Mrs. Farrar.

When she had to sign her statement, her hand shook. She had to hold her right wrist with her left hand to keep it steady.

Back at Thorpefield Manor, the first person she saw was Alec Taylor. He was tinkering with a car, which he was not supposed to do on a Sunday.

He once told her that Mrs. Brockman didn’t like that he went to Holy Trinity, but if Mrs. Brockman didn’t like it, she could lump it. He worked for Mr. Brockman.

Even before Alec told Milly that the top floor where she slept was haunted by a maid, murdered and hidden in the eaves, she had been afraid in this room.

She had pushed the chair against the little door that opened into the eaves, but a chair would be no good. She couldn’t move the chest of drawers so had taken out the three drawers, one at a time, and put them on top of each other against the little door. The top drawer toppled off and landed on her toe, making her yelp with pain.

Just her luck that the housekeeper chose that moment to do one of her inspections, walking along the corridor. She came to see what the noise was.

She told Milly it was only thanks to stout boots that she hadn’t broken every bone in her foot, and not to believe a word that Alec said. He was a silly boy. Milly knew he wasn’t a silly boy. He took care of the horses. He was sent once a week to a garage where he learned about looking after cars. He could drive. Nothing silly about that.

The housekeeper had put the drawers back. Milly should be grateful for a good room, all to herself and nicely done out. Look at that lovely jug and basin, decorated with such pretty tulips. It used to be in the mistress’s room,