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lived," Lady Royce said, unlocking a door and leading them up a narrow staircase. "I seldom come here; with just Phillip and myself in residence there are many rooms that are unused. But I promised you a look at them, so here we are! What do you all think?"
    "Very pretty," Chat said.
    "Very," agreed Cassie, looking about her. The round tower room was large and high-ceilinged, furnished in the style of almost two hundred years ago, with a massive carved bed and looped draperies at the tall windows. Another portrait hung over the marble fireplace of Louisa and a stern-faced man with long dark hair.
    He looked a bit like the current Lord Royce, Cassie thought. She went over to take a closer look.
    There was a gilt-framed mirror next to the painting, and Cassie thought she saw a brief flash of blue in the glass. But when she glanced over her shoulder, there was no one there who should not be. Only Aunt Chat and Antoinette, examining some little china figurines while Lady Royce pulled the elaborate draperies back from the windows. None of them were wearing blue.
    Oh, really! she thought, with a little irritated tap of her foot. If there was a ghost in here, she wanted very much to see it. Why would it keep running away?
    Then she looked back to the portrait, to the man who looked so much like the doubting Lord Royce.
    Maybe Louisa had a good reason for hiding after all, if her husband had been half as pigheaded as this Lord Royce. She probably felt one lifetime tolerating him was quite enough.
    "Yes, Louisa did have a sad history," Lady Royce sighed, tying back the last of the draperies with their gold cords. "So very lonely, out here all alone."
    There was a small sound that echoed in the air like an irritated huff.
    "I am surprised she would wish to stay here, then, at the site of her unhappiness," Chat commented uncertainly. "I certainly would wish to move on."
    Cassie smiled at her aunt. Chat did not always believe all this business about ghosts, but at least she tried. She did not scoff and make fun, like some people.
    Antoinette, who stood beside the bed with one hand on the satin hangings, said, "Perhaps she cannot move on. Perhaps the sad events of her life keep her here. But she is not sad now. And she is interested in our activities."
    "She is here, then? In this room?" Lady Royce asked eagerly.
    "Oh, yes. Most assuredly." Antoinette closed her eyes and placed her fingertips lightly at her temples. "But she is not sure about showing herself yet. She doesn't wish to be misunderstood, as she was in her life."
    The others crowded in closer around her.
    "What was misunderstood about her?" Lady Royce whispered.
    Antoinette shook her head. "I do not know. My powers are limited without my books and guides, unlike my mother, who could see things very clearly. And the daylight is too harsh."
    "But I want to know!" Lady Royce cried. "I want to understand her."
    Cassie quite agreed. They only wanted to talk to Louisa, to understand her. And anyone else who might be about.
    She thought Louisa was behaving like a little brat.
    Antoinette touched Lady Royce's arm reassuringly. "We will soon find out. If you like, we can come back here at night, with my mother's book of incantations. We will discover more then."
    Lady Royce and Cassie enthusiastically agreed, even though Chat still looked doubtful. As they left the East Tower and walked back to the inhabited sections of the castle, Antoinette said, "Tell me about Lady Lettice, Lady Royce. The one who has not been seen here of late."
    "I fear I do not know much about her," Lady Royce said in a regretful tone. "She has not been seen since my husband's parents' time. She was the daughter of the earl, and served as a maid of honor to Queen Elizabeth. She never married or had children. I do not know why she would come back here after her death, or why she would leave."
    "Hmm," Antoinette said, tapping her finger thoughtfully on her chin.
    "Do you sense her presence?" Cassie asked.
    "Not