That made Isobel tut good-naturedly. ‘Of course. Marcus and his tea. Do you know,’ she said, leaning towards Posy as she murmured the words, ‘the first time he came here for a meeting about the convention, he couldn’t believe I didn’t still keep his particular favourite tea in the kitchens. He actually sent his assistant … you know, Clementine? He sent her out to the nearest shop, five miles away, to buy some. Honestly! I did feel for the poor girl. You’d think he’d carry it with him, if he’s that particular, wouldn’t you?’

‘Do you need more coffee, miss?’ the maid asked, and Posy shook her head.

‘It wasn’t mine. It was—’ She turned to indicate Libby, but she was gone. ‘Libby’s. I guess she must have gone to get changed.’

‘Ah, Isobel!’ Marcus approached them, sipping from a white china cup just like all the others. ‘Good to see you still have my special tea in. Have to drink it quickly now though. Almost time for the murder mystery!’

‘That sounds like fun,’ Posy said. Actually, it sounded kind of excruciating. Hundreds of wannabe detectives racing around the grounds trying to solve a contrived murder before everyone else. ‘I’m looking forward to watching it.’

‘Oh, you’ll be doing more than watching, my dear!’ With an extreme jollity Posy felt was unfounded, Marcus grinned and leaned in close enough for her to smell the gingery tea on his breath. ‘You’ll be taking part. We’ve all got our parts to play in the murder mystery!’

‘Really?’ Posy asked, weakly. ‘What, exactly, am I going to need to do?’

Tapping the side of his nose, Marcus grinned again, showing yellowing teeth in his red face. ‘Just you wait! All will be revealed …’

‘I can’t wait,’ Posy lied. ‘Um, I meant to ask you. Do you know where Clementine is? I needed to speak with her about … something.’ She finished, lamely, realising that it probably wasn’t a good idea to mention wanting her phone back in front of Marcus and Isobel. But Clementine had said to find her ‘this afternoon’ and it was now, officially, after noon, and Posy’s fingers were starting to twitch.

‘Oh, I imagine she’s over at the stables already.’ Marcus reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a slimline pill organiser, popping open the correct section and tipping two tablets into his palm. He tossed them into his mouth and swallowed them with a mouthful of his tea.

‘The stables?’ Posy asked. Maybe she could find her there …

‘Yes! She’ll be getting ready for her big part as the victim in our murder mystery by now.’

Or not. Posy’s shoulders sank. ‘I suppose I’ll catch her after that, then.’

Across the way, she spotted Anton and Kit entering the ballroom. ‘Sorry, I just need to …’ She smiled apologetically, and left Marcus to Isobel.