MEET THE SUSPECTS
Manor House Murder
Lord D'Arque is dead, enquiries have led to the Lord's loved ones being ruled out, and the search for a clear picture has put the servants of the manor in the frame. But what possible motive could the staff have for wanting their mean and miserly master murdered?
You'd be surprised what secrets are lurking behind the doors of the Manor!
Ideas above his station but he's not above stooping low enough to listen at the keyholes.
Smothers has learned through some "accidental eavesdropping" that 25 years of loyal service will reward him with a very healthy inheritance from his Lordship... Once the lord has passed. Stealing the silverware would become a thing of the past, and good things come to those who wait.
If only his miserly master would hurry up and die...
Is Male, has brown hair, smokes, wears a watch and a ring, wears a red flower in his lapel, a green bow-tie and was last seen carrying a gun in the vicinity of Lord D'Arque. Related to Ivy Smothers (uncle).
Mrs Lynch used to be happily married to the head groomsman at the manor. Unfortunately Mr Lynch died whilst out on a hunt with Lord D'Arque.
It seemed that his Lordships's shotgun accidentally discharged in Mr Lynch's direction... several times.
Apparently, Lord D'Arque mistook him for a pheasant, so it was really Mr Lynch's fault for looking like a bird and wasn't his Lordship's mistake at all.
Mrs Lynch isn't bitter. These things happen.
Guns can go off by accident just as swords can accidentally fall off the wall and impale people several times.
Is Female, has brown hair, smokes, wears a watch, glasses and a ring, wears a red flower brooch, a green blouse & belt and was last seen carrying a sword in the vicinity of Lord D'Arque. Related to Cillian Lynch (Mother).
Lord D'Arque hates his new-fangled automobile.
The only reason he bought one is that his new wife, the second Lady D'Arque wanted one.
Lord D'Arque likes to keep his wife happy, and he has to admit that she is certainly happy with the car. She spends a lot of time going for trips out and about showing off the motor vehicle and he's glad she's got someone like Mortimer to look after her whilst she's on her Jolly Jaunts.
Lord D'Arque can't deny that Mortimer is attentive to Lady D'Arque, even more so since she gave birth to the twins. In fact, Mortimer spends so much time with Lady D'Arque that he might be able to help his Lordship with something...
There's the possibility that Lady D'Arque might be having an affair... and his Lordship isn't father to the twins. Lord D'Arque can't quite put his finger on it, but they don't quite have a family resemblance to him. If Lord D'Arque finds out there's another man in the picture he might just lash out and somebody could end up getting hurt...
Is Male, has grey hair, wears gloves and a hat, and was last seen carrying a pistol in the vicinity of Lord D'Arque. Not related to any other suspect.
Olive isn't well. She hasn't been feeling well for a while.
She tried to stuff a turkey for dinner the other night and it spoke to her. It told her things that the Lord D'Arque had been saying about her... about her cooking!
The things he said about her soup! The words he used to describe her sprouts! How could he say that about her broccoli!
She made the turkey shut up, and if she ever heard anyone else say those things about her cooking she'd make sure they'd shut up too... for good!
Is Female, has grey hair, wears a hat, gloves and glasses, and was last seen carrying a kitchen knife in the vicinity of Lord D'Arque.
Not related to any other suspect.
Mr Hemlock hasn't worked at the manor for very long, although he has had a long and illustrious career as a gardener for many rich families.
It's just unfortunate that all of his previous employers have either disappeared or ended up dead through freak accidents.
It's purely coincidental that he was being employed at these houses when the deaths occurred, absolutely circumstantial that most of the deaths involved gardening implements, and it's purely incidental that one of his previous missing employers was discovered buried in a particular luscious bed of hydrangea.
What possible motive could Mr. Hemlock have for killing all of these people? It's not as if there's such a thing as a serial killer in Edwardian England.
Is Male, has grey hair, smokes, carries keys, wears a watch & ring, and was last seen carrying a flintlock pistol in the vicinity of Lord D'Arque. Not related to any other suspect.
There is unrest in Europe and it seems that a war is looming, with his appointment to the House of Lords' defence committee, Lord D'Arque is away from the manor quite a lot, and so he has hired a new Governess for his young twins.
It gives his Lordship one less thing to worry about as there is talk that top-secret documents are somehow being stolen and sent to England's enemies.
The leak certainly isn't coming from Lord D'Arque, as he keeps all his top-secret paperwork in his study, and the only other people who use that room is the Governess when she's teaching the twins their lessons.
Is Female, has grey hair, smokes, carries keys, wears glasses, a watch & ring, and was last seen carrying a sword in the vicinity of Lord D'Arque. Not related to any other suspect.
Growing up on the D'Arque Estate, Cillian became very close to his Lordship's eldest son Charles.
In fact he's recently been helping him with a problem. You see, Charles was supposed to get engaged to the daughter of an Earl, but Charles is in love with someone else and he doesn't know what to do. Lord D'Arque has told Charles that if he doesn't get married then he'll be banished from the estate, forever.
Charles doesn't want to leave the estate, Cillian doesn't want Charles to leave either. In fact, they've been spending a lot of time alone together in the stables trying to come up with a solution to the problem. If only Lord D'Arque wasn't around to control his son's life, then Charles could be with the one he loves... and so could Cillian.
Is Male, has brown hair, wears a hat, gloves & green braces, has a tattoo of a rose on his arm and was last seen carrying a rifle in the vicinity of Lord D'Arque. Related to Lillian Lynch (Son).
When Ivy's parents died she came to live with her Uncle Mason on the D'Arque Estate. She enjoys life as a maid of the house, although some of her duties are a bit strange.
Lord D'Arque insists that she warm his bed for him every night, and sometimes he even gets into it before she gets out.
Then there was the time that he wanted her to try on some dresses that he'd bought for his eldest daughter, whilst he watched. He's always dropping things too, and then she has to bend down and pick them up for him, then he drops them again. Still as strange as it is, at least she has her own room. There's this odd portrait in there that seems to be watching her every time she gets undressed at night. It's almost as if the eyes are moving. Maybe she'll poke them with something sharp one night to stop them staring...
Is Female, has brown hair, wears green gloves and glasses, has a red flower on her hat and was last seen carrying a dagger in the vicinity of Lord D'Arque. Related to Mason Smothers (Niece).