"It was no fault of yours. Your method was right. How did you guess that girl would drink the milk? If you had attempted to stop her as you suggest you should have done that might have been even more disastrous.
"No, stop blaming yourself. Get away and I will finish this project and then we'll be free.
"We have had great success with our plans and if this one is a half success, that is good enough for us.
"You will soon be with me. As soon as you can leave without arousing suspicion come to this hotel. I shall be here for some little time. Until I can say finis.
"In deepest affection, dearest sister,
Your ever loving Brother.
"PS It will be good to have my sister with me. You will be able to comfort me in my `bereavement."'
Daisy and I looked at each other.
"It's true," cried Daisy. "The wickedness! And Fiona ..."
"Fiona is in the gravest danger," I said. "But look, we have the address."
"But not the name."
"The address is what is important. I think I should take the letter at once to Sir Jason."
She nodded and within ten minutes I was riding to the Hall.
When Jason read the letter he was deeply shocked. "What will you do?" I asked.
"I shall go to London. There I shall see the police, and then I shall myself go to this place. There must be no delay. Who knows what will be happening to Fiona."
"Oh Jason," I said, "God go with you."
He paused for just a second; then he put his arms round me and kissed me.
"I must go at once," he said; and I left him.
Two days later a man called at the school and asked to see Miss Hetherington. He was closeted with her for a short time and when he left Elsa went with him.
"They have been most kind," said Daisy. "They did what had to be done with as little fuss as possible."
"Is it an arrest?" I asked.
She nodded. "She is arrested on suspicion of being an accomplice to murder."
We went to her room. In her cupboard we found an array of bottles and some dried herbs.
Daisy smelt them and said: "She must have made her own poisons. She was a clever girl. It's a pity her talents were so misguided."
The Merchant of Venice was quite a success and those parents who had come to see it were very impressed.
We waved the girls off for the Christmas vacation. Teresa and I were going to Moldenbury the next day.
"I thought last term was the most extraordinary I have ever known," said Daisy, "but this one goes even further than that. I wonder how Sir Jason is faring. Oh dear, I do wish this dreadful business was over. So far, fortunately, the school remains unscathed. I hope there is not going to be too much publicity about that girl working here. When I come to think of that I can't look forward to next term with much comfort."
Teresa was in high spirits speculating as to which hat Aunt Patty would be wearing and what cake Violet would have baked for tea.
In the train which was taking us to Paddington, as we had a compartment to ourselves, I talked to Teresa. I thought she looked a little uneasy and I asked her if she was worried about something.
"Not now," she said, "I think it's going to be all right now. It is wonderful that we are going to Epping for Christmas."
"I am sure we shall enjoy it."
"Aunt Patty, Violet, you and I ... John and Charles. It's going to be lovely."
"I can't think why, with such a prospect before you, you were looking quite sad a moment ago."
She was silent for a few seconds, biting her lips and looking out on the fields speeding by. "There is something I ought to tell you. It won't matter now. It's over. Perhaps ..."
"You'd better get it off your conscience," I said. "Yes," she said, "it's safe now. There are Epping and John ... and I think he's lovely. He's just right." "Please tell me, Teresa."
"I didn't fend that earring by the ponds." "What?"
"No. It was in Eugenie's room. She had found it in the stables at the Hall and was going to give it back to Mrs. Martindale but forgot. It was in the drawer in her room for a long time. So I took it."
"Oh Teresa ... you lied."
"Yes," she said, "but I think it was a good lie really. He's a wicked man, Cordelia, and we all knew that he wanted you."
"Teresa. How could you?"
"Well, people said he'd got rid of her. And they didn't know about the earring. That was only for you. To stop you, to show you ..."
I was silent.
"Are you very angry with me?" Teresa watched me anxiously. "I did think that you liked him rather ... and he is wicked. There's the devil in him. Eugenie said so. She said that you and he ... That was why I threw my shoe at her. You don't want anything to do with him, Miss Grant. And there are Epping and John ... and Violet says she wouldn't be surprised if he popped the question pretty soon."
I said: "We shall be in Paddington shortly."
"Are you very angry with me?"
"No Teresa," I said. "What you did you did for love. I suppose that excuses most things."
"Oh good. Shall I get the bags down?"
Aunt Patty embraced us with affectionate delight.
"We're going to Epping the day after tomorrow," she said. "I thought you'd want a little time at Moldenbury to get things ready."
"It'll be such fun," said Teresa. "I wish the snow had stayed."
"Not so easy for getting about, my dear. It might have been so bad that we couldn't have travelled," Aunt Patty reminded her.
"Well, I'm glad it's gone."
"Mind you," went on Aunt Patty, "the forest would have looked very pretty."
Violet greeted us with gruff affection and the statement that we must all be gasping for tea.
"There's hot toast over a basin of water so that the butter soaks well in, and keeps it hot at the same time," she explained. "And there's lardy cakes to follow because a little bird whispered to me that they were Teresa's favourites."
The same cosy homeliness. It was hard to believe that it could exist side by side with horrible death.
The next day the letter came. As soon as I saw the Austrian stamp I began to tremble and for a few seconds I was afraid to open it.
It was in a strange hand and it informed me that there had been an accident. Sir Jason Verringer was unable to travel and he was asking for me. His condition was such that I should lose no time.
It was signed with a name I could not decipher but it had the word Doctor underneath it.
Aunt Patty came in. She stared at me and then took the letter from my hand.
I said: "Something terrible has happened. I know it."
She understood at once because the previous night I had told her everything. Now she looked at me steadily.
"You'll go," she said.
I nodded.
"You can't go alone."
"I must go," I insisted.
"All right," she replied. "I'll come with you."
It was a long and tedious journey across Europe and seemed longer than it actually was, because I was impatient to arrive.
It had not been easy getting away from Moldenbury. Violet was nonplussed and said we were mad - and on the eve of Christmas too! Teresa was angry and sullen.
We tried to explain but it was not easy until Violet grudgingly said that she supposed if Patty thought it was right then it must be. Aunt Patty said that Teresa and Violet should go to Epping without us. There was a great deal of argument, but finally it was agreed that that was what they should do.
Aunt Patty was wonderful during that journey. She said little because that was how she knew I wanted it. She left me with my thoughts and they were all for Jason Verringer.