‘Go to Lee,’ he repeated, ‘and tell Josephine and Marta that I’ll come and see them as soon as I can. Tell them to stay together.’

The implications of his warning weren’t lost on Hilaria, who looked more horrified than ever. ‘What about the villagers? Can they go home?’

‘Yes, that’s fine. The castle is my priority for now.’

She left him alone, but was back in no time at all. ‘Right,’ she said, with a new sense of purpose, ‘what would you like to know?’

‘Let’s start with who might have had access to the church last night?’

‘Anyone. It’s always left open over Christmas.’ 174

Penrose’s heart sank. ‘You mean anyone can go up there whenever they feel like it? They don’t have to get a key?’

His alarm made his tone more judgemental than he had intended, and Hilaria reacted sharply. ‘Yes, Archie – that’s precisely the point. It’s a place of worship, not a high-security prison that you have to be checked in and out of. It’s been like that for years – centuries – and I’m not about to stop my staff or my guests enjoying a moment of prayer and contemplation on the off chance that one of them is murdered on St Michael’s Chair. It’s not a hazard that we’ve ever had to consider before, so don’t be so damned ridiculous.’

‘No, of course not. I’m sorry.’ Penrose forced himself to control his temper, while mentally calculating the number of people – staff and guests – who would now have to be questioned. ‘But the castle is locked?’ he asked tentatively, fearing that he was going to have to add the fifty or so villagers to his inquiries.

‘Yes, of course. Lee locks the east and west doors at half past eleven every night.’

‘Does anyone in the village have keys?’

‘Mrs Pendean, as housekeeper, holds a set, and another is kept in a safe at the estate office on the mainland, just in case of emergencies.’

‘When did you last see Richard Hartley?’

‘At about eleven o’clock, when the party broke up. He and Angela have adjoining rooms on the same landing as Josephine and the Lancasters. I walked part of the way with them on the way back to my own room, and said goodnight at the head of the staircase. The last thing I said to him was how pleased I was that he was taking the service in the 175morning, and how much I was looking forward to it. He said he hoped he would do it justice after all this time.’

‘What did he mean by that?’

Hilaria shrugged. ‘I didn’t really give it any thought. I suppose he just meant that it was many years since he’d preached here. I know it meant a lot to him to be asked again.’

‘And why did you ask him?’

‘Quite simply because our usual chaplain was unavailable and Richard was coming for Christmas anyway. He and Angela responded immediately when I first mooted the idea of raising money for the refugee fund. They’ve been involved in children’s charities for as long as I’ve known them. I’ve always assumed it was because they didn’t have any of their own, but perhaps I’m reading too much into it. They made a very generous donation.’