"Maxwell did those things because he didn't want another man to have the woman he loved and desired so deeply," Julianne said softly. "His pain was so palpable, I could feel it, and my heart broke for him. They both knew that in spite of their feelings, their circumstances rendered them unable to truly be together."

Yes, circumstances no less impossible and unsolvable than those between her and the man she could not stop thinking about.

In an effort to banish thoughts of that which she could not have, Julianne sought to change the subject back to her séance idea of catching the robber. "Certainly if one is going to be haunted by a ghost, Maxwell is the sort to have-"

"Oh, I agree," interjected Emily. "Much preferable to the ghost that haunts my aunt Agatha's Surrey estate. His name is Gregory. According to Aunt Agatha, he's old, paunchy, suffers from the gout, and is wholly unpleasant."

"What makes your aunt believe she has a ghost?" Sarah asked in a dubious tone, pushing her spectacles higher on her nose.

"She's seen him," Emily responded. "And heard him. He groans a great deal. She calls him Gregory the Groaner."

"But how could she hear him?" Julianne asked. "Your aunt Agatha, although a dear lady, is deaf as a tree stump."

"Apparently Gregory flits about in the corridors, complaining of his aches and pains loudly enough for even Aunt Agatha to hear."

"Have you seen Gregory?" asked Carolyn.

Emily shook her head. "No, but I did hear some odd groaning sounds the last time I visited."

"Hearing groaning sounds, seeing ghosts, that's one of the things I wanted to discuss," Julianne said. "Based on our book selection, I think we should conduct a séance, similar to the one Lady Elaine held. Only instead of trying to conjure a lover, we'll attempt to summon this Mayfair ghost."