doing.”
Julian transferred his gaze from the centrepiece of roses to their host. “In case he had a lead you didn’t?”
Connaught nodded, swirling his glass of wine. He seemed to have caught Miss O’Flaherty’s good spirits, taking the question without his usual defensiveness. “Yes, but mostly to see what angle they’d given the story. We wanted to make sure we offered our readers something fresh.”
“Angle—fresh?” Mrs O’Flaherty shook her head. “Is this journalistic language, James?”
“If I were to guess, I would suppose that angle is the interpretation a journalist gives to the facts of his story,” Cross said. “Rather like an actor chooses what motivation to give the character he depicts. By fresh, I infer Lord Connaught desires to give his readers something they have not read before.”
Connaught raised his glass in a toast. “Right on both counts! I’d wager you would make an excellent journalist.”
Pip felt for his leg beneath the table. “Lord Cross does most things excellently.”
Cross placed his hand on Pip’s, squeezing it. They would talk soon. “This old dog is not about to learn any new tricks… Though I would like to see you young pups try it. Julian, Miss O’Flaherty. How about penning a newspaper?”
Julian narrowed his eyes, clearly wondering what Thomas was playing at. Miss O’Flaherty gave the suggestion consideration. “Pen a newspaper… Could we? What would we write about?”
“Local news.” Connaught’s lips quirked. “You could write a review of the baker’s buns.”
She stuck her nose in the air. “A story about the unfair maligning of local baker by an American import, you mean.” Her eyes sparkled, and there was no bite in her voice.
Connaught laughed. “Very good! And what about you, Mr Westaway? No theatre performances for you to review here.”
“No,” Julian agreed. “Though I fancy I could throw together a column of advice for gardeners. ‘How to care for your roses.’”
Miss O’Flaherty clapped her hands together. “Why, this is going to be fun.”
After dinner, the three ‘journalists’ retired to Connaught’s study together to discuss their newspaper in more detail. The older generation was barred from joining them.
“The young folk must have their amusements,” Mrs O’Flaherty said. “In my day, it was charades.”
“Mine too,” Pip said mournfully. His suggestion of an article on phasmatological investigations had been vetoed. “Well, as long as it keeps them busy. Speaking of busy, Lord Cross, could I trouble you to join me a moment? I want to review some correspondence I’ve received.”
Cross concealed his smirk. He’d been expecting a request of the sort since he’d seen Miss O’Flaherty’s smile. “I’m entirely at your disposal.”
There was not a letter to be seen in Pip’s room. Cross leaned against the door. “Have you solved the mystery of your non-wailing banshee?”
Pip ran a hand through his hair. “Yes—though how you knew that is beyond me.” He lowered his voice. “Miss O’Flaherty confessed everything. The banshee we witnessed on the terrace is the result of a misunderstanding.”
Cross took a moment to make sure that his voice was suitably sympathetic. “Is that so? How disappointing.”
“Yes,” Pip agreed. “Though naturally I am relieved to know that I was never in danger of dying, I confess that I am a tad let down… To lose a banshee! Still, it is a relief to know that my instincts were correct. I knew it was odd that the banshee did not scream… And I am more eager than ever to unpack her secrets.”
Cross looked at him quizzically. “Her secrets? Surely Miss O’Flaherty told you all.”
Pip waved a hand away. “Miss O’Flaherty owned up to the first appearance. She claims no knowledge of the second appearance—and was shocked to learn of our sighting of the banshee beyond your window.”
“Embarrassment. No doubt, having found herself cast in the role of the banshee, she could not resist playing it up. Now she has been found out, she is too embarrassed to own up to it.”
Pip shook his head, patting his vest until he found his notebook. “You didn’t see her expression when I told her about the third sighting. She was well and truly shocked.”
“She is an actress—or she aspires to be.”
“I don’t believe it. That was a genuine reaction or—or I’ll eat my notes.”
Cross said nothing. Of the two of them, Pip got on better with people, but that did not make him an accurate judge. Look at his belief in Julian’s innocence! “There’s another possibility. Either she was put up to the later appearances by someone else, or she knows who is responsible for those and is shielding