The funeral was a solemn event held at the graveside. A pastor led everyone in a hymn, said a few words, then invited anyone who wanted to say something to come forward and do so.

Jess Walker, the gardener, stepped up first.

“I had been in the brig of the Manitau. Most of you know that. Dishonorably discharged, for striking an officer. I got the lash, and they let me go at Liverpool. I had no idea what to do. And there was a gentleman standing on the docks with four or five trunks, looking around for a biter. He saw me and offered a coin if I’d help.”

Jess looked at the crowd and smiled, sadly.

“Well, you all know the rest. He insisted I come to help load them onto the train, too. Got to talking to me on the way, wouldn’t let me ride up top with the driver. Before I knew what was happening, I told him my life story. He found out I had a thing for plants . . . ”

A single tear trickled down the man’s face. Jess wiped it away.

“I told him I liked flowers. He didn’t bat an eye, the governor. He just said, ‘I’m in need of a gardener, Jessie. Get on the train with me.’ And so I did.”

A few more tears streamed down his cheeks.

“He was the best man I ever knew. And I’ve been his gardener ever since.”

Everyone seemed to have a kind word about Sir Winston. They all shared similar stories. It seemed to Rip that many of the servants had been found and rescued by Blair’s father.

Her tutor growing up, an elderly woman named Gisela, told the story of losing her husband shortly after immigrating to Ethinium. She found herself in a boarding house, about to be kicked out because she could not pay the bill, when Sir Winston showed up on the doorstep asking for her by name.

She was a polyglot and a former teacher in Prussia. He had heard of her plight and offered her a job tutoring his daughter. He paid her bill on the spot, much to the landlady’s delight, and gave Gisela a hefty advance along with a one-way train ticket to Ravenwick. Years later, she married a local man in the village and remained in the area.

A dozen stories like this followed. A farmer shared the time his wife took ill and Sir Winston paid for a doctor to stay with them, nursing her back to health at great expense over two months.

And evidently no one who lived in or near Ravenwick had paid for childbirth in decades. The midwife’s bill was always picked up by Sir Winston.

Rip came away wondering how the old man ever made any money. He seemed to pour it all back into the people of Ravenwick. In return, the manor’s servants, those who worked the land and seemingly everyone in town remained fiercely loyal to him. They were all sad to see him go, and Rip heard more than a few muttered imprecations denouncing Luddites.

At last, when everyone had their say, the grave tenders lowered Sir Winston’s coffin into the hole they dug for him. Blair brought Rip along with her, and together they dropped a fistful of dirt on top of the coffin. It fell and made a thunking sound on the wood.

Everyone else followed, each person dropping a handful of dirt. Then Blair invited all present to a meal back at the manor.

Late that evening, the last guest finally left after bidding Blair a good night.

She flopped down in a chair in the mansion’s ballroom, exhausted. The maids cleaned up everything around her, picking up cups and saucers.

Jonesie appeared, still looking immaculate despite the hour.

“There are several items requiring your attention, milady. But they can wait until the morning, so long as you attend to them before heading back to Ethinium.”

“That’s fine, Jonesie. I’m going to bed. Let’s show Ripley the upstairs and you can find him a room.”

Jonesie bowed and said, “If milady and sir would follow me . . .”

Rip held his arm out for Blair and she took it. He thought she looked emotionally and physically exhausted.

They walked up a massive flight of stairs, spiraling up to the third floor. Here, Jonesie waited for them at the top.

“If you need anything, milady . . . ”

“I will ring for someone. Thank you, Jonesie. I’ll see you for breakfast, Ripley. I’m going straight to bed.”

She wandered off, taking a hall to the left.

When she walked out of sight, Jonesie said, “This way, sir.”

To Rip’s amusement, the butler led him to the far end of the mansion, in the other direction from where Blair headed.

The bedroom he showed Rip was large, with a four-cornered canopied bed and an elegant writing desk with matching chair. All three looked to be from the 1700s, he thought. Also the room had a sink, a mirror and a door leading to a water closet.

Another giant painting hung on the wall next to the bed, its frame almost reaching to the floor. The scene depicted a fox hunt, the party on horseback in hot pursuit of hounds in the distance. To one side, a fox peered out of a bush, missed by all.

“Should you need anything, please pull this cord, sir.”

The butler pointed to a pull cord hanging near the door.

“Thanks. I think I’ll be fine. Honestly, this is better than some of the hotels I’ve stayed in.”

Jonesie gave him an odd look for a second before resuming his blank butler face.

“I will be in a room nearby, ready to assist in anything necessary all night.”

The tone he said this in seemed to indicate he would hear if Rip tried to sneak over and visit Blair.

Rip gave the butler his best smile.

“Thanks, Jonesie.”

He shut the door and turned to survey the room again. Rip sat down on the bed and sighed in relaxation.

He heard a slight click behind the giant painting and watched as it swung outward like a door.

Blair stuck her out and smiled at him.

“Hi!”

“Hi.”

She apparently had been faking the exhaustion, at least partly, Rip thought.

“Would you like to go on a tour of the house’s secret passageways? I’ve been exploring them since I was a little girl. But I’ve never brought a boy along before.”

Rip smiled back at her. He thought he could see some girlish enthusiasm returning, despite her recent loss.

This was a way to release everything that had built up over the last couple of days.

“I’d be delighted. Does Jonesie know about the secret doorways and passages?”

“Not all of them, no. And not this one, or he would have put you somewhere else. Come on!”

She held out her hand.

Rip stood and went through the hidden doorway with her. They explored secret rooms and passages together late into the night.