She came into the room. “Mrs. Summers has requested a tray in her room tonight. That being so, might I suggest that you do not change for dinner, but that I serve a simple supper—some soup, cold meats, pickles and a pudding?”

“Thank you. What a good idea,” Belinda said.

Mrs. Mannering gave her customary little bow and retreated. The moment she had gone Belinda turned to me. “Do you think she was outside the door listening, or does she just read our minds? She really is the most unnerving woman I have ever come across. I bet she really is a witch.”

“Shh, if she hears you she might turn you into a frog,” I whispered.

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised,” Belinda retorted. “In fact nothing that happened in this house would ever surprise me again.”

Chapter 22

OCTOBER 18, LATE EVENING

TREWOMA, CORNWALL

Still waiting for the inspector from Scotland Yard. It feels like waiting for doom to fall.

I was just thinking that I was feeling a little peckish when there was a loud knocking on the front door. Belinda reached out and grabbed my hand. “Don’t leave me, Georgie,” she whispered.

“Of course not.” I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

We heard voices, but after a long pause there was still no sign of a visiting inspector. I motioned to Belinda to stay put and I went down the hall, around the corner and to the foyer. Mrs. Mannering was standing at the top of the stairs and I could hear male voices coming from farther down the corridor, presumably from Belinda’s bedroom. The inspector was viewing the crime scene for himself.

I went back to Belinda. “I think you and I should request some dinner first, don’t you? We need to fortify ourselves before the interrogation.”

“How can you think of food at a time like this?” Belinda asked. “I don’t think I could swallow a morsel.”

I felt that I could swallow quite a few morsels. “A little soup, perhaps. You should eat something.”

I rang the bell—something that had felt strange and uncomfortable to me all my life—and Mrs. Mannering appeared almost immediately. “My lady?” she asked.

“I presume that the inspector has arrived,” I said. “We heard voices. May I suggest that we have something to eat while we can, in case the inspector wants to talk to us at length later?”

“Certainly, my lady. I’ll have James bring your supper immediately. Would you perhaps prefer to eat in here, by the fire? I can bring you trays.”

“That would be very nice, thank you,” I said.