bedrooms and the main rooms downstairs in shape. All the rest of the house is shambles, just shambles, sheets over the furniture and dust an inch thick on the chandeliers. But weâve held onâtaxes are abominable. Thieves in the government. Why should I pay for planes and missiles? Donât you agree?â
âIndubitably.â
âWeâve held on. Remarkable, in this day and age. I would die before Iâd open the place to tourists. So many of our best familiesâfor half a crown they think they can litter the place with orange peels and paper cups and stick wads of chewing gum on William Morris paper. Not in my house, thank you!â
âItâs a fascinating place,â I told her rather breathlessly. We were practically running down the corridor.
âNaturally. The tales these walls could tell! Youâll learn a lot when you type up the memoirs, of course. I do adore your hair, child. Itâs the color of sunset over the desert. Now we turn here. Watch your step. Do you like towers?â
âIâve never been in one.â
âThatâs ridiculous. Not even in London? All that talk about the little princes. Rot! He didnât do it. Not with those eyesââ
âI adored Olivier,â I said.
Andrea Hawke stopped abruptly, so abruptly that I almost ran into her. She whirled around to face me. There was a curious twinkle in her blue eyes. A strange little smile played on her bright pink lips.
âYou are sharp, arenât you?â she said. âNot many people are able to follow me. They say Iâm scatterbrainedââ
âNot at all,â I replied soberly. âTowers, the little princes, Sir Laurence as Richard the Third. Itâs a matter of mental reflex, wouldnât you say? I suppose most people are rather slowââ
âRemarkable,â she said, âabsolutely remarkable. You and I are going to get along famously. Why didnât Derek want you to work for me? I would think heâd be delighted to have a gorgeous creature like you about the place.â
âI donât think he trusts me,â I replied.
âOh, well, he doesnât trust anyone. Ever sinceâbut thatâs in the past, yet one would thinkââ
I waited, curious to learn what had happened to cause Derek Hawke to be so wary of everyone. Andrea merely shook her head, privately reflecting on the incident and clearly not intending to discuss it with me at the moment. I curbed an impulse to question her about it. It would not be wise to be too pressing just yet. I was going to stay at Blackcrest, and there would be plenty of time to uncover all the family secrets. I expected Betty to be a great help.
âTowers? Yes, I was going to tell you about the tower. Itâs mine. I mean, of course all of Blackcrest is mine, naturally, and will be until Derek takes over, but the tower is particularly mine. The cats, you understand. Betty and Agnes wonât abide them, and Jessie would toss a grand fit if one of them pranced into the kitchen. I have to keep them away, and the tower is ideal. Itâs a ruin, but cozy. I think youâll like your room.â
âIn the tower?â I asked.
âYes, over the cats and the study. I have the master bedroom. Itâs Regency and rather dull, but I have to stay there. I couldnât sleep in the tower. People would think me peculiar.â
I remained discreetly silent on this point.
âBut I spend most of my time there,â she continued. âCome, Iâll show you.â
We walked down a dark, narrow little hall and came to a flight of flimsy wooden stairs that led down to what I assumed was the basement. I felt drafts of cold air swirling up to meet us as we descended. I understood the fur coat now. We reached the concrete floor. I could barely see the damp walls with pipes running along them. We seemed to be in a vast subterranean dungeon.
Andrea Hawke fumbled along