Suddenly she heard a scream outside, coming from the south terrace and growing in hysteria. It was so surreal that for a moment she doubted herself, but one glance at Archie’s face was enough to confirm that she hadn’t imagined it. ‘Keep an eye on Marlene,’ he said as he left his seat and headed 163out of the church, followed quickly by Hilaria, and Josephine wondered if their reaction was connected to the tensions over dinner; it was as if they had been waiting for trouble, and now it had arrived to confirm their worst fears. Not everyone had heard the scream above the music, but the conversation gradually subsided as the urgency of Hilaria’s departure sunk in, and when it came again, there was no mistaking it. Marlene looked across at them and stood up, clearly determined to follow the more curious members of the congregation outside, and Josephine and Marta joined her.

They hurried round the former lady chapel to the other side of the church, where Mrs Pendean was standing near the door to the smoking room with a man whom Josephine assumed to be her husband. It was obviously she who had screamed, because she was sobbing uncontrollably, and neither Archie nor Hilaria seemed to be having much success in calming her down or making sense of her distress. It was left to her husband to explain, which he did with a simple gesture towards the tower. Josephine looked up and saw, to her horror, the motionless figure of a man in the left-hand corner, slumped precariously on the stone seat with his legs hanging over the edge. It was unmistakably the Reverend Richard Hartley.

Her stomach lurched as she saw in her mind’s eye the sheer drop from such a height, and she felt for Marta’s hand. There was a stunned silence as everyone tried to comprehend what they were looking at, and next to her, Josephine heard the quiet despair in Hilaria’s voice as she said softly: ‘Please God, no.’ The obvious futility of her words seemed to act as a catalyst for the horror to take hold, and Mrs Pendean’s anguish spread quickly through the assembled onlookers, 164threatening to spiral out of control. Archie responded immediately, singling out the butler who had been one of the first members of staff to follow Hilaria from the church. ‘Stop anyone else from coming round to this side of the terrace,’ he said urgently, ‘and get everyone back into the church. Tell them to stay in their seats and wait there until I’ve been up to the tower to see what’s happened – and under no circumstances is anyone to follow me.’

‘Very good, sir.’

Archie turned to Hilaria, but she pre-empted what he was going to say. ‘The telephones aren’t working, so we can’t call for help. The wires have been down since last night. We’re completely cut off.’

He swore under his breath. ‘All right. I’ll go and see what we’re dealing with. Will you take care of Mrs Hartley?’