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

and it had not been as bad as she had expected, although they did not seem to have learnt very much up to now. It was still a mystery why the de Lisles had appeared to abandon their younger son to his fate. There was no indication that they had felt a particular animosity towards him for any reason, and so it appeared to her that their failure to speak up for him pointed in only one direction: they must have had some additional knowledge or proof of his guilt, and had withheld it in the hope that the case against him would look weaker in court. It seemed the only possible explanation. But if that were the case, then her continued investigation could not unearth anything to his advantage. On the contrary, it would most likely do nothing except to confirm his guilt once and for all, and would certainly do little to help Angela shake off her gloom. The logical thing to do now would be to step back from the case, but oddly enough the thought of there being some hidden proof of Valencourt’s guilt made her even more determined to pursue the investigation, for the events of the past few days had caused a little doubt to creep into the back of her mind. What she wanted was certainty, and to find that she would have to keep going.

A FTER THEIR VISIT to Greystone Chase, Angela and Freddy agreed that if they were to investigate the matter properly they needed more information about the exact circumstances surrounding the death of Selina de Lisle, and so the next morning Freddy took himself off, intending to go and speak to his tame sergeant in the Kent police, to see if he could furnish them with more details of the events of that day. While he was gone Angela intended to try and catch Colonel Dempster alone, to see what he could tell her about the family. Fortunately for her, Mrs. Hudd and Miss Atkinson had spent a tiring day in Ramsgate the day before, and were just beginning a late breakfast as Angela was preparing to go out. Once outside, she took the path along the cliff top instead of descending the steps to the beach, hoping that the colonel would be a man of regular habits and that she would find him on the same stretch of sand as the other day. She was in luck, for as she walked briskly down the path to the promenade she spied the familiar figure, his dog by his side, strolling close to the water’s edge, and she bent her steps in that direction herself, in order to meet him apparently by chance.
    As it happened, however, the colonel wanted to speak to her just as much as she did to him. He brightened when he saw her and greeted her heartily.
    ‘Mrs. Hudd was telling me your son has come to visit,’ he said. ‘Isn’t he out with you today?’
    ‘Not today. He has gone to visit a friend,’ said Angela. ‘He said he would be back in time for luncheon.’
    The colonel harrumphed.
    ‘Must say, I was most surprised to discover you had a son of that age,’ he said. ‘Shouldn’t have thought you nearly old enough.’
    Angela acknowledged the compliment graciously. He tapped his nose.
    ‘And I’ve found out what you’re up to,’ he said.
    ‘What do you mean?’ she said in sudden fear.
    ‘Saw you both leaving Greystone Chase yesterday in your car. Was curious, so I spoke to the gardener. He says you’re thinking of buying the place.’
    ‘Oh, yes!’ said Angela, relieved. ‘We did go and see it. My son has just come into his inheritance, and I am trying to encourage him to put some of it into property. He’s a good boy, but rather young to have the charge of so much money, and so I thought an estate would be just the thing to teach him some responsibility.’
    This was quite patently nonsense, but the colonel seemed not to have noticed.
    ‘I dare say,’ he said. ‘Did you like the place?’
    Angela spoke in praise of its beauty, and he nodded.
    ‘Not a bad old house,’ he said. ‘I used to visit often before the whole scandal came out. But after Evelyn died it all rather came to an end.’
    He looked