Antonia asked, ‘Hasn’t Corinne got any idea as to who might be sending her the death threats?’

‘If she has, she didn’t tell me. All she said was “anonymous notes”… So annoying, isn’t it? Who do you think it is, my dear? You are the expert.’

‘I am nothing of the sort.’ Antonia said.

‘Poor Corinne reminds me of the man who walks on a lonesome road in fear and dread,’ Lady Grylls said.

‘Because he knows a frightful fiend doth close behind him tread

…’ Payne murmured.

‘Is that The Ancient Mariner? Awfully gruesome… Hate poetical effusions.’ Lady Grylls paused. ‘Who could it be?’

Major Payne stroked his jaw with a thoughtful forefinger. ‘It could be someone from Corinne’s past.’

‘Corinne hasn’t got a past! Not in the sense I think you mean. All she’s ever done is sing. La chanson, c’est moi. That’s Corinne’s motto. She’s had it embroidered on her sofa cushions and handkerchiefs and things. I don’t think Corinne’s ever had time for a private life.’

‘Could the death threats have something to do with Corinne’s singing then?’ Antonia frowned. ‘No – that’s silly.’ We must talk about something else, she thought.

‘Shall we explore possibilities?’ Lady Grylls looked round. ‘Such fun. Do let’s.’

2

Look to the Lady

‘Well, the whole thing might turn out to be something silly and trivial,’ Antonia said after a pause. ‘The death threats may have been written by a fan whose request for an autograph Corinne ignored.’

‘Or it might be something really twisted and diabolical,’ said Payne. ‘The Machiavellian Maginot may have done it in order to tighten the screws on Corinne – to increase Corinne’s dependence on her?’

‘The Machiavellian Maginot, that’s right.’ Lady Grylls nodded approvingly over her cup of tea. ‘I like it when an unsympathetic character turns out to have done it. Maginot strikes me as exactly the type… Have you ever hated someone without ever having clapped eyes on them?’