The Shadow at Greystone Chase (An Angela Marchmont Mystery Book 10) by Clara Benson

that house. Whoever it was had shoved her body in a cupboard and then, perhaps in the dead of night, had brought her out here and hidden her in the woods at the bottom of the meadow. What had motivated such an attack?
    ‘Your brain is revolving, I can tell,’ said Freddy. ‘What is it?’
    ‘Oh, nothing useful,’ said Angela. ‘It’s just that strangling is such an awfully violent way to kill a person. I can’t help thinking that whoever did it must have truly hated her at that moment.’
    ‘I dare say he did,’ said Freddy. He gave her a glance of what might have been pity, although she did not see it, and then turned to ask the gardener a question.
    As Angela continued to gaze absently at the house, she suddenly realized that someone was standing at one of the downstairs windows, looking out. From that distance she could not tell whether it were a man or a woman, but she had the impression of a lowering, brooding face and a kind of stillness. After a moment the face disappeared and did not reappear again.
    They returned to the front of the house and were just about to take leave of the gardener when they saw another motor-car approaching up the drive. It stopped next to the Bentley and a man got out, whom Angela immediately recognized from his portrait to be Godfrey de Lisle. He looked completely unlike his brother, having the same tawny hair and light brown eyes as Roger de Lisle, although he lacked the imposing build. He came over to them and introduced himself, then begged their pardon for his having been unable to show them around the place in person.
    ‘Business took me to London yesterday,’ he said, ‘and I didn’t expect to be back until this evening. As it happened, it did not take as long as I thought it would, and so I came back as soon as I could. I see I am too late, however. I hope you have seen everything you wished to see.’
    He had an unsmiling, almost haughty manner, although his words were perfectly polite.
    ‘Oh yes, thank you,’ said Freddy. ‘It’s a splendid house you have here. It seems just the sort of thing I’m looking for, and in the right part of the world too. Close to the sea, you know, but at the same time not too far from London.’
    ‘Yes, it is very convenient,’ said Godfrey de Lisle. There was a slight frown on his face as he looked at Freddy, and Angela wondered if he was entirely convinced of the truth of their story. She now spoke up.
    ‘Are you leaving Kent?’ she said.
    ‘We intend to,’ said de Lisle. ‘We live here only occasionally. Our home is in France, where we have a wine-making business. Our estates were severely damaged during the war, but we have been rebuilding them and would like to expand further, and so it is convenient to us now to sell Greystone Chase. My wife is French, you see, and is happier at home.’
    ‘Quite understandable,’ said Freddy.
    They took their leave of Mr. de Lisle, promising that he should hear from them soon, and returned to the Bentley. As they expected, William had not much to report since, as Mrs. Smith had said, none of the present household had been at Greystone when the murder took place. They had all heard about it at second-hand, however, and had seen fit to embellish as they wished. The story of the servant who left without notice had been worked up into a fine tale. It was said that Jemima had always been a little simple, but after the murder she had gone quite out of her mind and jumped out of a window in the dead of night, never to be seen again. No-one had any real information to give, however.
    ‘You didn’t say much,’ observed Freddy to Angela as they returned to the hotel. ‘Are you all right?’
    ‘Yes, thank you,’ she said. ‘You were doing such a good job of things I didn’t feel the need to interrupt.’
    In reality, she was feeling somewhat drained and had been only too pleased to leave all the talking to Freddy. Still, the visit was over with now. She had done it as she said she would,