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and its…occupants?" I asked during a lull in their conversation.
    "Oh, Hannah, do we have to talk about it?" Sylvia said on a sigh. "I suppose we do," she added before I could respond.
    "We know nothing about demons." I glanced at each of my fellow diners as well as Tommy, standing by the sideboard. "Until we hear from Mr. and Mrs. Beaufort, we ought to concentrate on what we do know, and that is the Frakingham estate and history."
    "Freak House," Sylvia muttered. "I hate this place."
    "Actually, I like it," I said.
    She screwed up her pretty nose. "It's so gloomy."
    "It's better than being locked away in the attic at Windamere."
    She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Of course it is. I'm sorry, Hannah"
    I glanced at Samuel. Although we'd told him about my past at Lord Wade's house, I still felt awkward that he knew the entire story. I didn't want him to think of me as a closeted innocent. I might be in awe of the new things I saw and heard every day since Jack had abducted me and brought me to Frakingham, but I was educated and, I liked to think, quite normal. If one didn't take the fire starting into account, and the fact that I was a cured narcoleptic.
    "Are there any records?" I asked.
    "What sort of records?" Jack said.
    "Letters or diaries would be ideal, but it was so long ago that those things are probably lost, if they ever existed. If we could find some records of the children's births, that would be a good place to start. At least then we'll have names."
    "I'm not sure what finding any of that would achieve," Sylvia muttered.
    "Perhaps nothing, but it has to be better than waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Beaufort to respond. Or would you rather think up names for Jack's and my talent?"
    "There's no need for sarcasm, Hannah. I'm capable of doing both."
    Tommy cleared his throat. "Mrs. Moore may be aware of any personal documents that have been stored away."
    "Excellent," said Samuel. "And Langley may know what was included with the purchase of the house."
    Both Tommy and Samuel seemed quite energized by the prospect of seeking out historical documents, but Jack did not. He eyed me carefully. "It may involve looking through the attic," he said quietly. He sat on Sylvia's other side, and she sat next to me, cutting her meat as if she'd not heard his pained tone or seen him wince.
    "Honestly, Jack, did you have to mention attics at all?" she said.
    I looked past her to Jack and smiled my gratitude. "It's kind of you to worry about me, but I'm not claustrophobic. I'll look forward to seeing what's up there. Shall we begin tomorrow morning?"
    "I'll look forward to it," he said.
    "I'll wear my oldest dress," Sylvia declared. "I wouldn't want to get dust over anything nice."
    ***
    The police widened their search for the "wild dog" while we began our search through the Frakingham attic for anything that might be linked to the earl who'd locked his children away. I felt a twinge of apprehension as I followed Jack into the dark room with the high vaulted ceilings on the undamaged southern side of the house, but it was soon extinguished. The attic was nothing like the rooms in which I had lived at Windamere Manor. While those walls had been covered with woolen rugs to prevent me setting them alight, they were at least bright and airy. The Frakingham attic was dimly lit and smelled as if it hadn't been opened up in years. It was crowded with chests and trunks, some of them spilling their contents onto the floor, as well as furniture and an alarming number of preserved dead animals.
    "I think the previous owner enjoyed hunting," Samuel said, testing the sharpness of a set of antlers with his finger.
    Sylvia held her lamp up to a stuffed badger's body perched atop a table. "Thank goodness Uncle saw fit to remove all of these from downstairs."
    "And put up your pictures instead," Jack teased. "Lucky us."
    Sylvia poked her tongue out at him.
    Samuel ran his finger along an old brass lamp base. It came away filthy. "It seems you ladies had