‘Grand finale?’ Isobel asked. ‘He didn’t mention anything to me. What does the schedule say?’

Juliette shrugged. ‘Not much. Just that there’d be a closing ceremony, or something. But some of the volunteers told me that he’d been talking for days about how it was going to ‘knock everyone’s socks off’ or something equally stupid. But I can’t find anything about it in Clementine’s notes.’

Caro glanced across the table at Rosalind, then Posy. Something else to look into. But first, the Gate House.

As soon as this interminable dinner was over.

Finally, the miserable group retired to the library for digestifs and conversation. It was easy for Caro to manoeuvre her way to Posy and Rosalind and decide which back way out to take.

‘There’s a side door on the lower ground floor, from the kitchens,’ Rosalind murmured. ‘We’ll go that way.’

‘We can’t all leave at once,’ Posy argued. ‘Won’t that be suspicious?’

‘I don’t think anyone is going to want to linger too long over drinks tonight,’ Caro said. But Posy did have a point. ‘We’ll make our excuses and retire, then meet in the kitchens. Okay?’

With three nods, they separated to make brief conversations with the other guests. Rosalind spoke with Hugh and Isobel, before retiring with a faint smile – the sort that suggested she was an older lady who needed her rest after a challenging day. It was a lie, of course, but people bought it because that was what they expected.

That could be a problem. People who knew her expected Caro to be the last one propping up the bar on a night like this. She was not one to walk away from a free drink, let alone a fully stocked drinks trolley.

Posy disappeared next, with a whispered conversation to Anton, Libby and Kit, and a furtive look in Caro’s direction. They weren’t the only ones to leave, Caro realised, as Libby and Anton also made their excuses.

‘Another?’ Hugh asked Caro, holding a bottle up for inspection.

‘Do you know, I don’t think I could,’ Caro said with an apologetic smile. ‘Today has pretty much taken it out of me.’

‘I’ll have one, Granddad,’ Juliette said, popping up beside them with an empty glass. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glassy.

‘I think you’ve had plenty,’ Hugh replied. ‘Besides, you know I don’t waste my good brandy on people who don’t appreciate it.’

Juliette rolled her eyes. ‘And how am I supposed to learn to appreciate it if you never let me drink it?’

Caro used their argument as cover, backed away, and darted out of the door into the hallway and towards the kitchens where she found Rosalind and Posy waiting for her.