The Attenbury Emeralds
Page 28
I shall ask Bunter in the morning what the words on the sundial say – he will know. He always knows everything.
But by then this letter will at last be in the post.
PPPS: You really will have to come to visit, Cornelia, if only to see the sundial for yourself.
Always your loving friend,
Honoria
By Jill Paton Walsh and Dorothy L. Sayers
A Presumption of Death
By Dorothy L. Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh
Thrones, Dominations
Detective Stories by Jill Paton Walsh
The Wyndham Case
A Piece of Justice
Debts of Dishonor
The Bad Quarto
Detective Stories by Dorothy L. Sayers
Busman’s Honeymoon
Clouds of Witness
The Documents in the Case (with Robert Eustace)
Five Red Herrings
Gaudy Night
Hangman’s Holiday
Have His Carcase
In the Teeth of the Evidence
Lord Peter Views the Body
Murder Must Advertise
The Nine Tailors
Striding Folly
Strong Poison
Unnatural Death
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
Whose Body?
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following for help in the writing of this novel. First the trustees of Dorothy L. Sayers, for allowing the use of her characters; Anne Louise Luthi for lending me books about jewellery and putting me in touch with Diana Scarisbrick and Judith Kilby-Hunt who generously advised me on the subject of heirloom jewels. To Mr Christopher Dean I am particularly indebted for making available to me his dramatic transcript of the proceedings of the trial of the Marchioness of Writtle; my account of that trial is substantially derived from his. Phyllis James made a very fruitful suggestion to me about the line of the plot. Sir Nicholas Barrington found and translated for me at a moment’s notice the lines from the Persian poet Hafez which are used in the narrative. The fate of Bredon Hall is modelled on the fate of the Manor House at Hemingford Grey. I have constantly consulted Stephen P. Clarke’s Lord Peter Wimsey Companion, and have enjoyed the support and encouragement of Dr Barbara Reynolds and of Mr Bruce Hunter.
As always my debt to my husband is beyond acknowledgement and I offer him my heartfelt thanks.
JPW October 2009
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE ATTENBURY EMERALDS. Copyright © 2010 by Jill Paton Walsh and the Trustees of Anthony Fleming, deceased. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, NewYork, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
ISBN: 978-1-4299-1856-5
First published in Great Britain by Hodder & Stoughton, an Hachette UK company