...is very like December in the rest of the Cotswolds. There are no windows in the library, but the pellets of rain echo through the expansive, hollow chamber. I take comfort in knowing that we yet live in the real world and remain connected to all the beautiful things our realm contains. It is very easy to feel disconnected in Drakesheath, and I have often felt that I was nailed into a coffin, suffocating. The surrounding moors are perenially curtained by thick, impenetrable mists, a maddening sensation I have often found. I wonder if Amalie now feels this way. Frequently she looks up from her book and shivers, as if called by a voice no one else can hear. I, too, have heard that voice.

It has been a month since the Deceiver was banished from the house. That same night Beran disappeared. Determined to take back control over the house, I discharged the servants and many unwanted guests. I've no intention of ever feeling helpless again. My return to Drakesheath has empowered me to take responsibility for my estate and my family, including my distant cousin Amalie. I must confess, her presence the night of the gala gave me a strength I never knew I possessed.

Now I surround myself only with those whom I know to be virtuous and loyal. I have found valuable allies in the Earl of Delbeath's daughter. Her servants have also been invaluable in keeping house and hiring on new help. The Van Hasdings are also here more often than they are at St Mary's, faithful bodyguards, determined to prevent their ever having to hunt down those on the list of names. I regret that Carmilla will only be with us a short time, as she has family business in the Netherlands.

Mrs Blatand, Cidwm and Julian are also at the house frequently, examining the flora, fauna and ley lines found on the estate. Julian's daughter Valenta and their friend Charlie are particularly interested in the architecture of the house, curious as to the nature (or artifice, rather) of its construction. The lot of them spend a goodly portion of the day in the abysmal catacombs, wherein they are most intrigued.

Felix and Miss Gepid keep to themselves, most often taking their meals at the Cross & Cowl.

These books tell very little, comes the soft voice in my head. I look at Amalie and see her shivering again. Sabine, her poor, exhausted maid is curled up on a sofa, fast asleep. Taking a wool blanket from the back of a chair, I let it fall open and wrap it round my cousin's shoulders. "I found the same to be true," I answer her. "When it came to uncovering family secrets, I had to look beyond the village, beyond England. Bear-hunting became tiresome, but I learned what I needed to know. Not all the riddles are solved; some nursery rhymes still have no meaning. Beran says the curse is broken, but can we know peace as long as our Adversary lives? Yes, there are still mysteries. But between the two of us, we shall sort them out, eh?"

Amalie nods confidently and pulls the blanket tightly around her. "Perhaps..." I begin, suddenly remembering, as if from a dream. "Perhaps we might find something along the frieze."

The frieze? Amalie inquisitively muses. "A quirk of the architecture," I explain. "The frieze is a pictorial history of the Godwinsons, from the birth of Godwine to the present day, and it runs throughout the house in various forms. How it continues to record history is beyond the understanding of a sober Englishman, and yet it is so. An enchantment put upon the house when it was built is the only explanation I can afford you. Whether it came to be by magic or by some other unexplained means, it can be found anywhere and everywhere in the house. In all likelihood you have encountered sections of it at some point in your wanderings through the house, unaware of what you were looking at. There are vignettes to be found in nearly every room, I should think - marginalia carved from the mouldings and scrollwork along the tops of the wainscot. Sometimes one must hunt for them, as it is rare luck that you should stumble upon the event in history which you are looking for.

"I have managed to locate the frieze of the present day, currently in the natatorium. I last looked upon just after the party, when my son Desmond's body was found. I sought to find how it was that Beran brought about his end. But as for finding the point in time that our families were divided, when the curse was brought upon our families, that will take some work. And even should we find a vignette of that time, there is no guarantee that we will decipher the meaning of the carved images."