Murder Most Royal

Or you mutter under your breath in the tea shop, or after church. But I use A Load of Balls.’

Katie’s grin widened. ‘They’re a WhatsApp group of knitters. I joined a few months ago. Judy suggested it, not surprisingly. They incorporate the Sweary Stitchers, who do embroidery, and the Happy Hookers, who crochet. The Sweary Stitchers are the best. They can teach every stitch in the book, but they tend to use them for swear words on little samplers and patchwork. It gets the rage out of their system.

’

‘There’s rage round here?’

Katie gave Rozie a piercing look. ‘Of course there is. Grief. Frustration. Getting ill. Growing old. There’s a lot of rage in the countryside. But turning it into samplers is really therapeutic. They have their meetings in different people’s houses, so it’s good for seeing other people’s taste in kitchens and furniture. Judy suggested the group to me, not surprisingly. Anyway, between them all, they know most things. That’s how I heard about the hit-and-run.

’

‘What do they think happened?’

‘Oh, they honestly think it was an accident. Some idiot boy racer. Judy was wearing a dark coat and hat, which wasn’t very clever of her, especially on a dark winter evening, but you don’t necessarily think about neon and safety clothing when it’s a five-minute walk, do you? They’ve got their theories on what happened to Edward St Cyr, too, by the way.’

Rozie frowned. ‘You haven’t asked about that?’

Katie shook her head.

‘I didn’t need to. They’ve got theories about everything. The general consensus is that he isn’t dead at all. He somehow managed to amputate his hand – and to be fair, they know a few farmers who’ve done that by accident in various bits of farm machinery, so it’s not impossible – and he left it on the beach.’

‘Like leaving your clothes in a little pile?’

‘Exactly. So he could go off and start a new life. They’re fascinated by him. He’s like the local celebrity – apart from the Boss, of course, but she keeps her head down.

He did the opposite. There’s nothing they don’t think him capable of.’

‘Even so . . . his own hand. That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?’

‘It’s extreme, whoever did it,’ Katie pointed out.

After a decent night’s sleep, the Queen woke up with a sense of energy and purpose she hadn’t felt for a while. Today, William, Catherine and the great-grandchildren were due to visit.