‘I didn’t know, sir. I asked him what time he’d like to be called this morning and he told me not to bother because he was an early riser and wanted to go to the church first thing. He didn’t even want morning tea, and I got the impression he preferred to be left alone. Some guests are like that. They don’t want the fuss.’

‘And Mrs Hartley?’ The housemaid who responded was similarly unforthcoming, except to say that Mrs Hartley was a nice lady, whose only difficulty had been in making up her mind about her clothes. ‘What about the other guests? Did anyone see Mr or Mrs Lancaster after dinner? Or someone in a part of the castle that seemed strange to you?’ There was silence around the table and Penrose knew that he was wasting his time. ‘Which of you have bedrooms overlooking the north terrace?’ he asked, and three housemaids raised their hands, glancing nervously at each other. ‘Did you see anyone coming and going to and from the church last night?’ Two of them shook their heads immediately, but the third girl – the one who had been waiting on Mrs Hartley – hesitated, and Penrose looked at her. ‘Did you see something out of place?’ he asked again.

‘Not really out of place …’ She broke off, torn between honesty and discretion, and Penrose waited impatiently as she looked to Mrs Pendean for guidance. 214

‘Is it me you’re thinking of, Rosie?’ the housekeeper asked, and the girl nodded vigorously, obviously relieved to have the decision made for her.

‘You were at the church last night, Mrs Pendean?’ Penrose asked, trying to keep a note of judgement out of his voice as he wondered why she hadn’t said anything before.

‘Yes. I always go last thing on Christmas Eve, just to make sure that everything’s ready for the following morning. The church is my responsibility, you see – always has been.’

‘And what time was this?’

‘Oh, quite late. Just after midnight, I’d say. Would that be about right, Rosie?’

‘Something like that, Mrs Pendean. I saw you as I was drawing my curtains, so it must have been around then.’

‘Thank you, Rosie,’ Penrose said. ‘Does anybody else have anything to say? In that case, I’ve kept you from your work long enough, but if I could have a private word with you, Mrs Pendean?’

‘Yes, of course.’ He waited while she dismissed her staff and instructed one of the kitchen maids to bring him some breakfast, which arrived almost immediately. ‘How are you?’ he asked, when she had settled again. ‘It must have been such a shock for you.’ She stared at him, thrown by the change of tone. ‘To see the vicar’s body this morning?’

‘Oh, yes. Yes, of course. It’s a terrible thing to have happened here. This is a quiet place these days, in spite of its history. We’re not used to violence.’

How inconsiderate of Richard Hartley to have brought it here, Penrose thought cynically, but he wasn’t surprised that the islanders’ first thought was for the impact on the Mount’s tight-knit community; things would no doubt be different if 215one of their own had been killed. ‘Were you in the church for long last night?’ he continued.