< “Emily Brightwell continues to brighten the well-being of her fans with entertaining mysteries.” — Midwest Book Review “It’s murder most English all the way!” — The Literary Times INSPECTOR WITHERSPOON ALWAYS TRIUMPHS . . . HOW DOES HE DO IT? Even the Inspector himself doesn’t know—because his secret weapon is as ladylike as she is clever. She’s Mrs. Jeffries—the determined, delightful detective who stars in this unique Victorian mystery series. Be sure to read them all . . . the inspector and mrs. jeffries mrs. jeffries dusts for clues the ghost and mrs. jeffries mrs. jeffries takes stock mrs. jeffries on the ball mrs. jeffries on the trail mrs. jeffries plays the cook mrs. jeffries and the missing alibi mrs. jeffries stands corrected mrs. jeffries takes the stage mrs. jeffries questions the answer mrs. jeffries reveals her art mrs. jeffries takes the cake mrs. jeffries rocks the boat mrs. jeffries weeds the plot mrs. jeffries pinches the post mrs. jeffries pleads her case mrs. jeffries sweeps the chimney mrs. jeffries stalks the hunter mrs. jeffries and the silent knight mrs. jeffries appeals the verdict Visit Emily Brightwell’s website at www.emilybrightwell.com. Also available from Prime Crime: the first three Mrs. Jeffries mysteries in one volume Mrs. Jeffries Learns the Trade MRS. JEFFRIES and the SILENT KNIGHT � EMILY BRIGHTWELL c BERKLEY PRIME CRIME, NEW YORK THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr. Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. MRS. JEFFRIES AND THE SILENT KNIGHT A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author Copyright © 2005 by Cheryl Arguile. Interior text design by Stacy Irwin. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. ISBN: 1-4362-7249-1 BERKLEY ® PRIME CRIME Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. The name BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the BERKLEY PRIME CRIME design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc. In loving memory of Robert Eugene Lanham C H A P T E R 1 �� �� �� �� “It’s not my fault the cat has gone missing,” Nina Braxton said to her sisters. “I don’t know why Father always assumes that everything that goes amiss in this house is my responsibility. I’ve nothing to do with the wretched animal.” She put the copy of the Financial Times she’d been reading down on the table and stood up. Nina was a woman of medium height and frame. Her eyes were blue, her complexion pale, her features ordinary, and there were a few strands of gray in her light brown hair. She glanced around the small drawing room, staring at her two sisters as they finished their morning coffee. Lucinda Braxton, the oldest of Sir George Braxton’s three daughters, shrugged her shoulders. “None of us have anything to do with the beast,” she said. “And personally, I don’t care if the stupid creature ever turns up. But I suspect it’s in all our interests to make sure he does.” She glanced at 1 2 Emily Brightwell the third woman in the room. Charlotte Braxton, the middle sister, was reading a novel and appeared to be taking no notice of the conversation. “Father will want to know if you’ve seen Samson,” Lucinda said, raising her voice to get Charlotte’s attention. Charlotte sighed and put down her book. She had more than a few strands of gray in her dark auburn hair, and there were fine lines around her brown eyes. She was a bit shorter and heavier than her younger sister, but not as short or heavy as Lucinda. “This is becoming tiresome. I’ve already told you, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of the stupid cat. Have you asked Mrs. Merryhill or either of our houseguests?” “Of course I’ve asked Mrs. Merryhill,” Lucinda snapped. “She hasn’t seen him, and neither have any of the other servants. Father had them out searching this morning at the crack of dawn. I don’t care if you find this tiresome or not, I’ll not have Raleigh disturbed over this matter because you don’t want to get your nose out of a book long enough to discuss it properly.” “Have you spoken to cousin Fiona?” Nina interjected. “Perhaps she’s seen Samson.” Lucinda glared at her sister. The question sounded quite reasonable, but she knew Nina was being malicious in bringing Fiona into the conversation. “You know very well I haven’t spoken to Fiona. I’ve no idea why she’s even here. I certainly didn’t invite her to spend Christmas with us.” “Father did,” Charlotte snickered, “and you really ought to be nicer to her. You’ve barely spoken to her since she got here.” “If I’d had my way, she’d not be here at all,” Lucinda cried. “I don’t know why Father insisted on inviting her this year. It’s not as if he’s overly fond of her.” “Father isn’t overly fond of anyone,” Charlotte said softly. Mrs. Jeffries and the Silent Knight 3 “Not even us.” She picked her novel up and commenced reading again. “Put down that book,” Lucinda ordered. “We’ve got
