” What house?” asked Celestine with great interest.

” This one. Miss Jansen has been to Cotehele and has been comparing their squint, in the chapel, with ours. She says ours is quite unique.”

” Oh really! That’s very interesting.”

” It’s bigger, she says I mean ours is. And there’s some thing about the construction of the walls.”

” Celestine is aching to go down and have a look at it,” said Peter.

She smiled at me.

“We’ll look at it together sometime. You’re going to be the Mistress of the house, so you ought to take an interest in it.”

” I’m becoming more and more interested. I’m going to ask you to teach me lots about it.”

She smiled at me warmly. ” I’ll be glad.”

I asked Peter what train he was catching, and he answered that it would be the ten o’clock from St. Germans.

” I’ll ride to the station,” he said, ” and stable the horse there.

The baggage has gone on ahead of me. I shall go alone. I don’t want any fond farewells at the station. After all, I shall no doubt be home this time next year . with a fortune. Au revoir, Miss Leigh,” he went on. ” I’ll come back one day. And if you do feel like coming with me . it’s not too late even now. “

He spoke flippantly, and his eyes were full of mischief, I wondered what he would say if T suddenly agreed to his proposal, if I suddenly told him that I was filled with terrible doubts about the man I had promised to marry.

I went down to the porch to say my last farewells. The servants were there for he was a great favourite. I guessed that he had bestowed many a sly kiss on Daisy and Kitty, and they were sad to see him go.

He looked very handsome in the saddle and beside him Celestine seemed insignificant. We stood waving to them. His last words were: ” Don’t forget. Miss Leigh … if you should change your mind!”

Everybody laughed and T joined in with them. I think we all felt a little sad that he was going.

As we were going back into the house, Mrs. Polgrey said to me: ” Miss Leigh, could I have a word with you?”

” But certainly. Shall I come to your room?”

She led the way there.

” I’ve just had word,” she said. ” The result of the autopsy.

Death through natural causes. “

I felt floods of relief sweeping over me.

” Oh, I’m so pleased about that.”

” So are we all. I can tell you, I didn’t like the things that were being said … and him dying after he’d had supper here.”

” It seems as though it was all a storm in a teacup,” I said.

” Something like that, Miss Leigh. But there you are-people talk and something has to be done.”

” Well, it must be a. great relief to Lady Treslyn.”

She looked a little embarrassed and I guessed she was wondering what she had said to me in the past about Connan and Lady Treslyn. It must have been disconcerting to discover that I was going to be Connan’s wife. I decided to sweep aside her embarrassment for ever, and said:

“I hoped you were going to offer me a cup of your special Earl Grey.”

She was pleased and rang for Kitty.

We talked of household affairs while the kettle boiled, and when tea was made she tentatively brought out the whisky and when I nodded a teaspoonful was put into each cup. I felt then that we had indeed resumed the old friendly relationship.

I was glad, because I could see this made her happy, and I wanted everyone about me to be as happy as I was.

I kept on telling myself : If Lady Treslyn really did attempt to kill me by sending that boulder crashing down in front of me when I was mounted on Jacinth, Connan knew nothing about it. Sir Thomas died a natural death, so there was nothing to hide; he had no reason to ask me to marry him except the one which he gave me; he loves me.

It was nine o’clock and the children were in bed. It had been a warm and sunny day and there were signs of spring every where.

Connan was coming home either tonight or tomorrow and I was happy.

I wondered what time he would arrive. Perhaps at midnight. I went to the porch to look for him because I had imagined I heard horses’ hoofs in the distance.

I waited. The night was still. The house always seemed very quiet at times like this for all the servants would be in their own quarters.

I guessed that Peter would be on his way to the station by now. It was strange to think that I might never see him again. I thought of our first meeting in the train; he had begun by playing his mischievous tricks on me even then.

Then I saw someone coming towards me. It was Celestine, and she had come by way of the woods, not along the drive as usual.

She was rather breathless.

” Why, hallo,” she said. ” I came to see you. I felt so lonely.

Peter’s gone. It’s rather sad to think that I shan’t see him for a long time. “

” It does make one sad.”

” He played the fool a great deal, of course, but I am very fond of him. Now I’ve lost both my brothers.”

” Come in,” I said.

” Connan’s not back, I suppose?”

” No, I don’t think he can possibly be here before midnight. He wrote that he had business to attend to this morning. I expect he’ll arrive tomorrow. Won’t you come in?”

” Do you know, I rather hoped you’d be alone.”

” Did you?”

” I wanted to have a look at the chapel… that squint, you know. Ever since you gave me Miss Jansen’s message I’ve been eager to see it. I didn’t say so in front of Peter. He’s apt to laugh at my enthusiasm. ”

” Do you want to have a look at it now?”

” Yes, please. I’ve a theory about it. There may be a door in the panelling which leads to another part of the house. Wouldn’t it be fun if we could discover it and tell Connan about it when he arrives?”

” Yes,” I agreed, ” it would.”

” Let’s go now then.”

We went through the hall and, as we did so, I glanced up at the peep, because I had an uncanny feeling that we were being watched. I thought I saw a movement up there, but I was not sure, and said nothing.

We went along to the end of the hall, through the door, down the stone steps, and were in the chapel.

The place smelt damp. I said; ” It smells as though it hasn’t been used for years.” And my voice echoed weirdly through the place.

Celestine did not answer. She had lighted one of the candles which stood on the altar. I watched the long shadow which the flickering light threw against the wall.

” Let’s get into the squint,” she said. ” Through this door. There is another door in the squint itself which opens on to the walled garden. That was the way the lepers used to come in.”

She carried the candle high and I found that we were in a small chamber.

” This is the place,” I said, ” which is bigger than most of its kind.”

She did not answer. She was pressing different parts of the wall.

I watched her long fingers at work.

Suddenly she turned and smiled at me. ” I’ve always had a theory that somewhere in this house there is a priest’s hole … you know, the hidy hole of the resident priest into which he scuttled when the queen’s men arrived. As a matter of fact I know that one TreMellyn did toy with the idea of becoming a Catholic. I’ll swear there is a priest’s hole somewhere. Connan would be delighted if we found it. He loves this place as much as I do … as much as you’re going to. If I found it it would be the best wedding present I could give him, wouldn’t it? After all, what can you give people who have all they want?”

She hesitated, and her voice was high with excitement. ” Just a minute. There’s something here.” I came dose to her, and caught my breath with amazement, for the panel had moved inward and shown itself as a long narrow door.

She turned to look at me and she looked unlike herself. Her eyes were brilliant with exdtement. She put her head inside the aperture and was about to go forward when she said: ” No, you first. It’s going to be your house. You should be the first to enter it.”

I had caught her exdtement. I knew how pleased Connan would be.

I stepped ahead of her and was aware of an unrecognisable pungent odour.

She said: ” Have a quick look. It’s probably a bit foul in there.

Careful. There are probably steps. ” She held the candle high, and I saw there were two of them. I went down those steps and, as I did so, the door shut behind me.

” Celestine!” I cried in terror. But there was no answer. ” Open that door,” I screamed. But my voice was caught and was a prisoner too—Celestine’s prisoner.

The darkness shut me in. It was cold and eerie—foul, evil. Panic seized me. How can I explain such terror? There are no words to describe it. Only those who have suffered it could understand.

Thoughts—hideous thoughts—seemed to be battering on my brain. I had been a fool. I had been trapped. I had accepted what seemed obvious, I had walked the way she who wished to be rid of me had directed; and like a fool I had asked no questions.

My fear numbed my brain as it did my body.

I was terrified.

I mounted the two steps. I beat my fists against what now seemed to be a wall. ” Let me out. Let me out …” I cried.

But I knew that my voice would not be heard beyond the lepers’ squint.

And how often did people go to the chapel?

She would slip away . no one would know she had even been in the house.

I was so frightened I did not know what to do. I heard my own voice sobbing out my terror, and it frightened me afresh because, for the moment, I did not recognise it as my own.

I felt exhausted and limp. I knew that one could not live for long in this dark, damp place. I pulled at the wall until I tore my nails and I felt the blood on my hands.