Lord Harcourt’s Diary
Mr Edward Harcourt approached Thatchcombe Manor, the stately residence of his equally stately uncle, Lord Oliver Harcourt, with a combination of trepidation and curiosity. When he arrived at the massive wrought iron gates, he placed his suitcase and valise on the ground by his feet and peered through the bars at the ivy covered facade of the five hundred year-old building. His fingers were busy at his sides, twisting around each other as he tried to recall the last time he’d seen Uncle Oliver. It surprised him when he calculated that it must have been a good twenty years earlier. The memory was hazy. He’d been around fifteen and his uncle, who’d always seemed a tad eccentric, had invited the family to London for their summer holidays.
His stay on this occasion would
