Erzsebet steps from the blood-bath into a shower contraption that removes any sanguine residue. She then clothes herself behind a backlit screen. The shadow play sets fire to my senses; I ache for the promised rendezvous. "Shall we say midnight, in the master's bedroom?"

"Have you taken leave of our senses, Edmund?" Erzsebet spurts in a horror-struck whisper. She fears Eleanor, as we both have for many years.

The roles are now reversed. I am the very essence of tranquility, and she is the unsettled one. Moments such as these are few, and I relish them. "We've nothing to fear from Eleanor, darling," I coo in my danger-loving tone, inching closer to where she hides behind the screen. "Let the Lady hear and see whatever she wishes. I have the promise of the good priest, Father Crispian, that as of tomorrow night, she will cease to be a nuisance to us. Until then, I defy her to act against us." I punctuate my revelation by snuffing out the candle with my fingertips. The housekeeper catches her breath and we kiss once again.

“Edmund, you take such good care of me,” she says at the parting of our lips, gazing at me with what I expect to be a craving as strong as my own. “Hopefully Felix won’t need me long, and I can show you just how much I appreciate it.” All too quickly, she is dressed and on her way down to the dining room. My vigour returns suddenly; I am reassured and confident.

Stuffing Lady Delbeath's letter into my coat pocket, I retreat quickly - undetected - into Victor's private library, where I scan across the top row of books. There it is! Pulling back on a worn, leathern volume of works by Ben Jonson, a spring is released, a gear turns, and a pulley is set in motion. A moment later, the door to a secret passage is revealed within the bookcase. It is a dusty and stale corridor, though it has received more use lately. I have found that it is one of the few places in the house invisible to Eleanor. One would assume that, in life, she never knew of its existence. Candle in hand, I pull the lever that restores the bookshelf to its proper place. My steps echo through the stone stairwell that leads to the wine cellar, where there is another secret passage below the ground.

The outlet opens into the old smithy. It is here that the blood-drained bodies of Erzsebet's virgins are incinerated. Today it is where I find John Spindler enjoying the charms of a lifeless young woman. "Spindler!" I cry in dismay. The valet clumsily releases the corpse and stares at me like a scolded child. "This one hasn't even been through the blood-letting yet. They're of no use to to Miss Erzsebet if they have already been rudely beset by you! Only after she has made use of them are they yours. And then only for an evening. They must be incinerated the very next morning. We can't afford to take any more chances, especially with Master Felix returned home and the greenskeeper already suspicious. Now get you to the master bath and fetch Chloë." I point to the broken, drenched ragdoll with him. "And burn this one with her!" Spindler doesn't say a word as he hurries with embarassment toward the house.