“Everyone Mrs. Polgarth spoke with yesterday, I imagine,” said Margaret. “Mrs. Polgarth, who did you encounter yesterday, after purchasing the bag of sweets? Who knows you were bringing them to Lydia?”
“Well, I didn’t tell anyone direct-like,” said Mrs. Polgarth. “I just said they were for the little girl staying at the keep. I mentioned it to Mrs. Turnbull, and old Widow Tremaine when I passed her in the street, and maybe, yes, I’m sure, Letitia Farquhar in the yarn shop, and Mr. Greengage the grocer when I put in your order, ma’am, and Mrs. Davies at the pub, and some nice young ladies who were staying at the inn, but they were visitors, and didn’t know anybody in Marazion.”
“What did the young ladies look like?” asked Margaret.
“Well, just ordinary young ladies,” said Mrs. Polgarth. “One had light brown hair, and the other had dark brown hair, and a darker complexion. The first was fair and a little sallow. They were both nice young ladies, and meant no harm, I’m sure. In fact, they wanted to visit the keep, but I told them there were no visitors allowed, on account of you being home, ma’am.”
Margaret turned to Helen. “Do those sound like the girls you captured? Mary Jekyll and—who were the others?”
“Diana Hyde and Justine Frankenstein. Not particularly. Mrs. Polgarth, was one of them very tall, taller than most men? Or very short, with wild red hair and a tendency to swear like a sailor?”
“No, ma’am. They were both perfectly ordinary, wellspoken young ladies. It must have been some sort of accident, that trinket getting into the sweets.”
Margaret frowned. “I don’t believe in accidents. Mrs. Polgarth, you may leave early today, and you need not come tomorrow either, although of course I’ll pay you as usual. We expect to be out all day, so we will not need our meals cooked. We shall see you again on Friday.”
“Very good, ma’am,” said Mrs. Polgarth, looking at them doubtfully, as though not at all sure she approved of the situation. Then she curtseyed and left the room.
Margaret turned back to Alice. “Lydia, one more time, do you know what these markings mean?”
“No,” said Alice. “I’ve never seen them before.”
“She is lying,” said Queen Tera, stepping forward. “I can see it in her energic field. There were two girls on the path this morning, searching for something. They passed one way, and then the other. I could sense their presence, so I altered the energic field around the house and hid it from their perceptions. When they passed a second time, I told Margaret and she observed them from the window of her father’s room. Perhaps they were trying to find the child.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this?” asked Helen sharply. “I should have been told as well. What did they look like?”
“Just ordinary girls,” said Margaret. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time, or I would have found my father’s binoculars and observed them more closely. I thought Tera was being too suspicious. Now, I’m not sure. And I have a vague recollection that one of them had red hair. They could have been two of those meddlesome girls you captured in Soho. Alice, do you know who they might have been? Is someone trying to contact you?”
Alice shook her head. What could she say that would not cause Tera to accuse her of lying again? She did not know what the pendant was, not really. And yet, if she remembered the little Greek she had learned from Beatrice…
Tera walked over to Alice. As she crossed the room, the bells on her beaded cap tinkled. “We have more important things to do than attend to such trifles. And this particular trifle has already taken too much time.” She took Alice’s chin in one small, bony, seven-fingered hand, and raised it until Alice was looking directly into her eyes. They were so dark that they were almost black. “You do know… something. Tell me, child, or I shall send a bolt of energy through you that will stop your heart.”
“No!” said Helen. “You can’t do such a thing to my daughter.”
Tera looked at her calmly. “I can and will if she does not tell us what she knows.” She turned back to Alice. “What do you say, Lydia?”
Tera’s hand was so cold and hard! It held her chin with such strength that she could not turn her head, but had to stare into those dark eyes. “The letters are Alpha, Theta, and Epsilon,” she said, her voice quavering. She tried to steady it. “They are the first three letters of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. And the owl is the symbol of Athena.” Beatrice had taught her that, when she was learning the Greek alphabet. She had not learned much Greek yet, but she recognized the letters. It must be a signal—members of the Athena Club must be in Marazion! Those girls Mrs. Polgarth described, and the girls passing by the house—perhaps the Athena Club was searching for her? Whatever she did, she could not betray them. “Other than that, I don’t know.” Tera let go of her chin—thank goodness, because it was beginning to hurt—and took the pendant from Margaret so she could examine it more closely.
“These symbols appeared on the Athenian drachma,” said Tera. “I have not seen one in two thousand years. If someone is attempting to signal Lydia, then she cannot be trusted. It would be safest to dispose of her now.”
“You can’t do that!” said Helen.
Tera looked at her with raised eyebrows, the way she might have regarded a surprising new species of beetle. “I will not be told what I can and cannot do.” Then she held out her hand, index finger pointed toward Helen, just as she had when she was about to blast Justine.
Without considering the possible consequences, Alice stepped between the two of them. “You leave my mother alone!” She was not at all sure how she felt about Helen, but she knew that she did not want her mother blasted by a resurrected Egyptian mummy.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, we don’t have time for this,” said Margaret. “Tera, if those girls were nosing around here today, they’ll be back. I think we should take the boat to St. Michael’s Mount tonight rather than tomorrow morning. We can spend the night in the harbor of St. Michael’s Mount, and then implement our plan before the Queen’s yacht arrives. I don’t think they’ll notice one more boat, but we’ll simply have to take that chance. We have a busy day tomorrow. Once our plans have been carried out—once the Queen is here and Tera has taken her place—we can get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, I suggest we put Lydia in the dungeon with Mr. Holmes. Helen, it’s only temporary, until we can establish that she really is on our side. I can make sure she has decent bedding, and some food.”
“The alternative I suggested is both easier and safer,” said Tera. “Long ago, I was merciful, as you are. Because of it, I lost Egypt to my own daughter. I do not trust this girl. I think we should kill her now.”
“No!” said Helen. “All right, I’ll take her down myself, and see to her bedding. Lydia, let’s go to your room and gather up your bedclothes. I’ll find you a warm blanket—the dungeon will be cold tonight. And we’ll stop in the kitchen to get some food. This is ridiculous, but it’s just for one night. It will all be over tomorrow, and then things can get back to the way they were before.”