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Previously

…The corridor was empty. At the far end, the west-wing doorway stood slightly open. A thin line of light escaped from the darkness beyond it. I stepped into the corridor. "Hello?" No answer. I walked a little farther. The light disappeared. I stood there for several seconds, listening to the silence. Then I heard something. A door closing. Not somewhere downstairs. Not outside. Inside the west wing. I looked down at the brass key in my hand. For the first time, I wondered whether my grandmother had given it to me to open a room. Or whether she had given it to me because it was the one thing Richard had never managed to take away. To be continued...