Play@YSDC

“They hate our family!” snarls Amanda. “Those damned villagers!”

Her fury is barely suppressed and she looks on the verge of losing control.

“They can’t be allowed to harm us again!”

Isolde gives her colleagues a warning glance.
"Your Ladyship, my colleagues and I will have a meeting after dinner to discuss our findings. We will give you a report in the morning. Until then, I can only suggest you seriously consider the option of taking Ursula away for a few months. Prehaps the Riviera."
She looks at the others again for their acquiescence.

Captain FitzWilliam kept quiet. He didn’t think they knew what the cause was and didn’t think that taking Ursula away was any guarantee of her safety.

Alexander nods, surprised by how much he finds himself agreeing with Isolde considering their disparate views.

Amanda goes to the window and looks out to the frozen moor.

“Perhaps you’re right. It might be good to get Ursula away from here for a while. But the snow is coming now. We may be stuck here.”

"Aye, we'll have to see what the weather holds on the morrow," says Alexander. "We canna control it." Yet, he thinks.

Isolde listens to the storm building up.
"If you are unable to leave the hall then at least no one will be able to reach it to make trouble either. Let Ursula sleep with you tonight and let's hope the railway is still open on the morrow. I hope you sleep well enough, Lady Amanda." To everyone else she says,
"Shall we adjourn in the library; it has a nice fire and the servants can clear away the dinner."

"Aye, let's," says Alexander.

After dinner is over the companions collect in the library. The fire is blazing, which helps to shut out some of the intense cold which is seeping through the walls. The house begins to settle down for the evening, as family and staff retire to bed.

"It seems as though every avenue of investigation we try is a dead end," says Alexander. "Does anyone have any ideas for what we can do tomorrow?"

Isolde sits down by the fire.
"No, nothing. Personally, I think there are no supernatural causes to this case. We've detected no paranormal disturbances and no disruption in the energies here or Hobs field. I do agree that it was an occult murder but it was purely mundane.

Other than trying to track down the local Druid society I can't think of any other avenues.
Her Ladyship is not going to be impressed though."

”The only thing that occurs to me is that we move that accursed stone,” said Captain FitzWilliam. ”I fear nothing but ill would come of it, but I’m not sure what else to suggest.”

"Aye, that would be a way to flush out whoever raised it back," says Alexander, "as they'll no doubt want to do so again. If we keep watch on the stone, we can see who it is - and how they do it."

Percy is doubtful. "How would you move the stone without hiring those workers? And how would you keep watch without freezing to death?"

"The stone seems the most likely catalyst for a reaction but, I agree, it is too beastly cold. Lady Amanda is sure that the disturbances at the house are connected to the murder. I personally haven't seen or heard anything during the night and only that mandela on the kitchen floor, apparently, was proof in the morning.

Again, we've seen nothing supernatural and I can't think why these disturbances occur; why anyone would bother. If indeed they are happening. I think Ursula's dreams would stop if she was taken away from here. Lady Amanda had been reading occult books; maybe they have been giving her flights of fancy." Isolde finishes darkly.

"We may not have found evidence of anything supernatural but we have found evidence of occult activity," Percy replies consideringly. "We know the stone has arcane significance and didn't you say that occurrence of the horses' tails being tied in a pattern also does, Isolde? So these occurrences could be linked to the stone and that could mean someone who has access to the house was involved in the murder."

"I assumed that the gypsies made the witches knots in the horses manes and that they'd easily gain access to the stables but not so much the house. Did you ask them about the horses' manes or if any of them practiced witchcraft?" Isolde looks at all her companions. "Or if any of them were druids?"