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“You weren’t.”

“But how would you know unless you peeked?” He didn’t answer. I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. What was wrong with me? I never blushed. “Casper, were you watching me before you appeared?” He shook his head. So I voiced my worst suspicion. “Have you ever watched me get undressed?”

“No,” he said immediately.

“But what if I’d been getting undressed tonight when you materialized? You would have seen me, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes,” he admitted reluctantly. “But only for a second. Then I’d have gone back to my own room.”

“You sure you wouldn’t have watched me?”

He looked a little sheepish. “It isn’t allowed.”

I couldn’t resist asking, “If it was allowed, would you watch me?”

He turned away so I couldn’t see his expression.

“That’s a no-win question,” he said. “If I say no, you’ll accuse me of insulting you. If I say yes—well I’d be a pretty poor guardian angel if I acted like a Peeping Tom.”

I stared at Casper’s back. He was looking out the window—or he would have been if the drapes hadn’t been closed. I wondered what he found so interesting about the peach and cream striped material.

Folding my arms, I said, “You’ve neatly avoided answering my question.”

“It was unfair of you to ask it.” He turned to face me.

Our eyes met. I couldn’t look away. It was like looking into the glow of an enchanted forest. I wanted to enter and never come out. I think I took a step toward him. I must have, because he said, “Stop!” Urgently.

That broke the spell. I stopped in my tracks. My heart hammered. As I blinked hard I realized our faces were only inches apart. How had I gotten so close without realizing it? But more to the point, why had he let me?

He backed away as far as he could get without actually leaving the room. “Tell me what you are planning for tonight.”

It was a relief to talk about the case. “I’m going to take a look around while everyone’s asleep. Are you coming?”

He looked as though he wanted to refuse but he couldn’t—not if he thought I was walking into trouble.

“Where do we start?” he asked.

“With the rooms nearby.” Grabbing my flashlight, I said, “Come on,” and stepped into the dark hall outside my room.

Moving down the hall, I selected a room at random and pushed open the door. My flashlight picked out a plethora of antique furniture. It was similar to my room but this one was clearly uninhabited. There was no wood in the fireplace and the bed had been stripped back to a bare mattress.

I pulled open a few drawers hoping to find something interesting but all I found were yellowing drawer liners and a faint floral scent that was long past its best.

“What’re you looking for?” asked Casper.

I shrugged. “I’ll know when I find it.”

The truth was I was hoping to find something that linked Sir Alastair or his wife to the paranormal activity in the village. So far I had come up with zilch.

Sure, there were a lot of unanswered questions regarding Lady Justina, but they could be easily explained if she’d been an illegal immigrant prior to her marriage to Sir Alastair. I shut the last drawer and straightened up.

“There’s nothing in here. Let’s move on to the next room.”

The next three rooms were carbon copies of the first. I was disappointed but I reminded myself that this was the guest wing. Apparently Sir Alastair didn’t get many visitors.

I turned to Casper. “Let’s try the wing where Sir Alastair and Lady Justina sleep.”

We crept down the hall. After passing the grand staircase, we moved into another wing of the stately home.

“Casper,” I whispered, “do you know which room our hosts sleep in?”

I wasn’t sure whether this kind of help would be permitted but it must have been ok because Casper answered immediately by pointing to a door on our left.

He put his mouth close to my ear. “Sir Alastair sleeps in there.”

Casper’s warm breath on my ear caused a flutter of butterflies to rise in my stomach. I shooed them away and focused on what he was telling me.

“That room is Lady Justina’s.” He pointed to the door on the right. “But I don’t think she