A nest of VIPERS

As Pamela closes in on the would-be killer, it seems her own life is now in danger

- Steve Burford

THE STORY SO FAR: The 1860s, England. Edgar Reedham invites Pamela CarringtonJones – under the guise of being his fiancée – to Reedham Hall to uncover who has been trying to kill his uncle, Lord Reedham. In one incident, someone pushed a stone gargoyle from a parapet, narrowly missing His Lordship. Within hours of Pamela arriving at the Hall, Cedric, Lord Reedham’s nephew, is killed in a shooting ‘accident’, and Pamela saves Lord Reedham from a mantrap. At dinner, Ivy Reedham, Edgar’s cousin, almost dies after taking poisoned smelling salts. Hunting for clues, Pamela talks to the staff and learns of an attempt to kill Edgar with a poisoned kipper, and the earlier dismissal of Dan the footman for theft. When she returns to Ivy, Edgar asks Pamela to remain with his cousin to protect her, and gives her a gun. Later that night, Pamela is woken by the approach of a shadowy figure, with something silver glinting in their upraised hand.

The figure stepped closer and a shaft of silvery moonlight fell across their face. Pamela gasped. ‘Mrs Reedham!’

Ivy Reedham stopped in her tracks. Slowly, she lowered her arm, and with it the hand mirror she held. ‘Miss Carrington-Jones? I feel… very strange.’

She looked around. ‘How did I get here? The last thing I remember was receiving some terrible news.’