Free An Unconventional Miss by DOROTHY ELBURY

is, Mr Brigham and Mr Kirmington and myself, sir—We felt that it would be more advisable to inform you directly, sir. The fact is, your lordship,’ he burst out hurriedly, having perceived the growing impatience on Wyvern’s face, ‘we have reason to believe that the Grange has been broken into!’
    â€˜Broken into!’ returned Wyvern, astounded. ‘Burgled, do you mean?’
    â€˜Well, no, sir, not exactly,’ came the man’s hesitant reply. ‘Things have been moved around—drawers tipped up and so on, but, as far as we can ascertain, nothing has been removed.’ He paused, then added, almost apologetically, ‘As you are aware, my lord, there is very little of value left to be taken and that, sir, is the reason I am here. We do believe, sir—ah…um—Mr Kirm—’
    â€˜Yes, yes, I know!’ cut in Wyvern sharply. ‘You and Brigham and the butler—for pity’s sake, man—what the devil is it that you all believe?’
    â€˜We are all of the opinion that he—They—Whoever—Must have been searching for something, my lord. And, my lord, I would venture a guess that it must be something rather important. As far as we are able to establish, there seem to have been three separate attempts so far, in spite of all our efforts to secure the property!’
    Wyvern was mystified. ‘But all the doors and windows are kept locked at night, surely?’
    â€˜Of course, sir,’ affirmed Cranwell. ‘However, we now believe that entry must have been made by way of the pantry window, which, as you may recall, sir, is less than a foot square and has no lock. It was not until Cook complained to Mr Kirmington this very morning that a butter crock had been knocked off the windowsill and several items of food had gone missing, that Mr Kirmington, upon investigation, noticed that the window latch had been forced, leading us to the conclusion that this had been the means of entry.’
    Pausing briefly in order to determine whether the frowning earl was still following his argument, he then ventured, ‘Mr Brigham has subsequently repaired the damage to the window, your lordship, and has taken the precaution of fitting a padlock to the latch.’
    Wyvern pursed his lips. ‘And you say that these—break-ins, as you call them—have occurred on three separate occasions?’
    Cranwell inclined his head. ‘On each night since your departure, sir. On Monday, the library was ransacked—books pulled from the shelves and thrown about the place. On Tuesday, every single drawer and cupboard was emptied and the contents rummaged through and, last night, those few pictures that we still have left were lifted from the walls and their backings removed! Mr Brigham was of the opinion that, even though he is certain that he has foiled any further attempts to gain access, the matter should be brought to your attention without delay.’ Shooting a questioning glance at his master, he added, ‘Clearly someone in search of something, as I am sure your lordship would agree?’
    â€˜So it would seem,’ acknowledged Wyvern, his brow puckering. Having spent the best part of his three-day sojourn at the Grange collecting every available scrap of paperwork he could lay his hands on, he was reasonably confident that nothing of moment could have been left behind. ‘However, what does rather puzzle me is how all of this somewhat destructive activity could have occurred without any of you servants being aware of it!’
    â€˜Begging your lordship’s pardon, sir,’ returned Cranwell, nervously shifting his stance, ‘but, in view of the fact that the house staff has been reduced to a mere half-dozen or so—not to mention the fact that male and female staff are housed in separate attic wings…’ He flushed uncomfortably and his voice petered out.
    â€˜Point taken, Cranwell,’ replied