Free The Imbroglio at the Villa Pozzi (An Angela Marchmont Mystery Book 6) by Clara Benson

curiously. It was a flat, wooden board, rather chipped and battered, with rounded corners, on which the alphabet was printed in large, black letters in two curved rows, with below it the numbers from one to ten. On the board the medium placed a smaller, heart-shaped piece of wood which was mounted on three little casters.
    ‘Why, it’s a talking board,’ said Angela.
    ‘That’s right,’ said Mrs. Quinn. ‘You can buy these in the shops, but I had mine made especially to my own design. It’s ash, which I always find is the most powerful wood for clearing a channel between this world and the next.’
    ‘Oh,’ said Angela, glancing at Elsa again.
    ‘Are we ready to begin?’ said Mrs. Quinn, sitting down. Miss Quinn followed suit and perched upon the end of the bed.
    ‘What do we have to do?’ asked Elsa.
    ‘Oh, it’s easy enough,’ said Mrs. Quinn. ‘First of all I’ll summon Thutmose—always assuming he’s in the mood to join in, of course. He can be a bit mischievous at times, I’m afraid, and sometimes he flatly refuses to help. There used to be another guide who came occasionally—a Roundhead from Norwich, he was, and much more sensible—but I haven’t seen him recently. Anyway, I shall ask Thutmose if he knows of anyone who would like to give you a message, and then we’ll see what happens after that. It’s best to give the board its head, by the way,’ she went on. ‘I don’t say you ladies would do it, naturally, but there are some people who think it’s a good idea to try and direct the planchette to their own advantage, so I’m just giving you a friendly warning to advise you not to do that, as no good ever comes of it.’
    The sitters promised solemnly that they would not attempt to influence the board in any way, and Mrs. Quinn nodded in satisfaction.
    ‘Very well, then, let’s start. Now, everyone place two fingers on the planchette, please, and let’s see if Thutmose is nearby.’
    Angela did as instructed and waited as Mrs. Quinn closed her eyes and began to sway gently. After a minute or two her eyes snapped open and she said, ‘Nothing there yet. Let’s try again.’ She closed her eyes again and this time began to hum tunelessly under her breath.
    Angela was so busy watching her that she was caught completely by surprise when the planchette jolted suddenly and began to zigzag wildly across the board—so much so, in fact, that her fingers lost contact with it altogether.
    ‘Connection’s lost,’ said Mrs. Quinn briefly. ‘Let’s try again.’
    Angela looked at Elsa and saw that she looked as startled as Angela felt. They all placed their fingers back on the planchette and Mrs. Quinn began again. This time, when it began to move Angela was more prepared and kept her fingers on it.
    Mrs. Quinn said, ‘Thutmose, is that you?’
    After a short pause the planchette began to move across the talking board. It came to the letter Y and stopped.
    ‘Are you able to speak to us today?’ said Mrs. Quinn.
    Again the planchette moved, and this time it spelt out a longer message: ‘W-H-O A-R-E Y-O-U.’
    Mrs. Quinn gave an impatient noise.
    ‘You know very well who I am, Thutmose. It’s Adela. Are you going to be a naughty boy today? You know how cross I get when you play tricks.’
    There was a pause, then the board spelt out ‘H-A H-A.’
    ‘Oh dear,’ said Mrs. Quinn. ‘I have the feeling he isn’t going to be very helpful,’ and indeed the planchette was now jerking backwards and forwards repeatedly between the W and the Z.
    ‘Wzwzwz,’ said Elsa. ‘Is that a word? Perhaps it’s Ancient Egyptian.’ Angela glanced up at her. Elsa’s face was perfectly serious but there was a glint in her eye.
    ‘I don’t think so,’ said Mrs. Quinn. ‘Let’s do it one last time and if it’s no good then we’ll give it up. Thutmose,’ she said more loudly, ‘Mrs. Marchmont is here, and she would like to speak to her husband. Is anyone there with you?’
    This time there was