I slipped out of the nursery without being seen, returned Jonquil’s two evening dresses to her wardrobe and went back to my own room, where I packed my own suitcase. Should I try to find what had happened to the wagon? But if I did, what would it prove, unless there were bloodstains on it? It must have been disposed of, possibly out of that window, or one of the staff would have reported seeing it in an unlikely place. Why had it not been returned to the nursery? Either because there were bloodstains or because Tony had been so heavy he had damaged it. Either way it would be something to present to the police, a small piece of evidence that Tony had not come naked into Belinda’s room of his own free will.

I felt a glimmer of hope. Should I leave quietly now and spend the night in Truro? Maybe be allowed to see Belinda? Or should I search the grounds to see if I could find any evidence of that wagon—perhaps being burned at this moment on the bonfire? I realized I ought to do that. And my excuse would be that I had decided to join Rose and her mother after all. Out I went into the blustery afternoon. The wind had now picked up, driving a great bank of dark cloud from the ocean. Already I felt the first spots of rain. I reached the kitchen garden and saw no sign of Trevor, the young gardener. The bonfire was still smoking and was piled higher than my head with dead leaves. I took a stick and dug into it but could not feel any large object. With so many acres of wild grounds it would be easy to hide the wagon elsewhere. I started to wander through the more heavily wooded section until the rain arrived with a vengeance and I was quite soaked by the time I made it back to the house.

“My dear lady Georgiana. I rather fear that an expedition was quite unwise given the inclement weather,” Mrs. Mannering greeted me as I took off my sodden overcoat. “I hope you have not caught a chill. I will have Elsie run you a bath right away.”

An image of that large bathtub flashed into my mind. “That won’t be necessary,” I said. “I grew up in Scotland. I really am quite hardy and I feel that I should perhaps take this opportunity to leave Mrs. Summers and her mother in peace. I really am not comfortable being an intruder at this awful time.”

“I do understand,” she said, “but may I suggest again that you leave in the morning. The conditions tonight will not be suitable for driving. Some of the lanes around here flood very easily.”