Chapter 11
11
JUNIPER, JIMMY,
A mighty ship, the sea, stars, and wind his venue.
My upmost point in life shows that which is true.
Zephyrus! Boreas! My points reckon thirty-two.
Thus, on parchment I am what skilled artists drew.
Yet in gardens, where they were born, then grew,
A different variety has a pricklier, thornier purview.
In giddy anticipation, Elizabeth changed direction and lightly tripped down the stairs. At the bottom she turned right and hurried along the vestibule. Decorum restricted her from breaking into a run but just barely.
I have it! I have it! Good grief, I sound like Mr Hadley. But she knew the answer and remembered seeing such an engraving on the flagstones in the great hall.
How many more puzzles must she solve? How close was she to winning? Please let this next conundrum be the penultimate one.
She entered the chamber and rushed straight for the very heart of the hall. The closer she drew to the central point, the slower her steps became and the faster her heart pounded.
Yes! Amidst myriad red and buff-coloured flagstones, the circular engraving was just as Elizabeth remembered.
But she simply stood there staring at the compass rose. Now what am I to do? Where is the puzzle? Must I lift the entire flagstone to find it?
Kneeling, she tried prying free the slab. Fiddlesticks! All she had managed to do was break two fingernails. Sitting back on her heels, Elizabeth studied the graduated circle with its thirty-two directional points. Aha! The engraving’s circumference had a sizeable groove, large enough for the tip of a finger.
With the compass rose successfully lifted from its flagstone bed and set aside, Elizabeth peered into the cavity. Hurrah! The hoped-for, twice-folded foolscap was snatched from its hiding place and the piece of art put back where it belonged.
Cheerful and full of energy thanks to her triumph, Elizabeth was about to leave the great hall when she heard echoing voices.
“And if you do not cooperate, believe me, I shall know how to exact revenge.”
That is Miss Kensett. Where is she? Elizabeth explored the screens at the back of the room but saw no one. The voices must be coming from the peep-hole. What was the word Mrs Vincent used? Squint.
As she walked towards the dais, she dithered between leaving directly or staying and listening. I shall remain only long enough to identify the male voice .
The argument became more heated and the voices louder and clearer the closer Elizabeth came to the peep-hole.
“Do you dare threaten me, madam? You do not want me as your enemy.”
That is Mr Fordham’s voice. He and Miss Kensett must be in the library.
“Pshaw!” said the lady. “We, all five of us, already are adversaries. And if you will not assist me with my first puzzle and every subsequent one, I shall tell Mr Monroe how you have been?—”
“Hush, harridan, or I shall silence you myself!”
Elizabeth had heard enough. Miss Kensett was threatening Mr Fordham with extortion. And Mr Fordham was threatening the lady with… What exactly?