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Chapman wagged a finger at her. “You see, it’s saying things like that that have gotten you into trouble. For weeks now, you’ve been sticking your nose in where it’s not wanted, insisting on ‘finding out what really happened.’ I had to silence you. I tried several times, in fact.”

The room seemed to be tilting at a peculiar angle. It was all Athena could do to stay awake. “The carriage? The attic? The dogs?” Her voice had dropped to a whisper. “It was all you?”

“You proved to be more difficult to dispatch than I’d expected.” From a nearby crate, he withdrew a large tin can labeled in bold, black letters:

WHALE OIL. DANGER. FLAMMABLE .

Athena gasped in horror. He uncapped the can. The strong, fishy fumes invaded her nostrils as her chin drooped to her chest.

“I thought it was just you I had to get rid of,” Mr. Chapman went on as he poured the amber liquid over the wooden floor and the crates around them.

“But yesterday, your sister made it clear that she’s just as determined to solve the mystery as you are.

I have to say, you’re very clever, the both of you.

You’ve helped me to stage the perfect circumstances of your own deaths. ”

They were the last words Athena heard before she felt herself slipping into oblivion.

*

The first thing Athena became aware of was the sound of crackling. The second sensation was smell. Smoke. And a disagreeable fishy odor. Then touch. Hot. She was so incredibly hot. And her lungs felt scratchy.

Athena coughed and opened her eyes. She gasped in terror.

The dower house was on fire! Flames were consuming the crates of construction materials around her, and the blaze danced along the floor.

She tried to move but discovered she was still tied to the chair.

Smoke stung her eyes and lungs and made her cough again.

She saw Selena lying on the floor a few feet away, her hands tied behind her back.

Athena still felt woozy and commanded herself to focus.

Somehow, she had to free herself. Because she’d held her breath while Mr. Chapman had tied her up, the rope that bound her had some give.

It took some doing, but she finally managed to snake one arm up and out of the bonds and then to free her other arm.

She tried to wriggle out beneath the loosened ropes, but it was impossible.

With fevered fingers, Athena picked at the knot around her midsection.

It wouldn’t budge. Tears burned her irritated eyes.

She blinked in frustration. The fire roared and crackled.

She felt time ticking away as she tugged and pulled at the knot.

Come on! Come loose or we’re going to die!

At last, the knot began to give, and it came free. With relief, she yanked off the rope and stood. Her mind reeled. Smoke continued to tickle her lungs and the strong, fishy odor caused bile to rise in her throat. She was overtaken by a long coughing fit that made her retch.

At last, she rushed to Selena’s side, knelt down beside her, and shook her hard. “Selena! Wake up!”

Her sister stirred and started coughing. “Leave me alone. I’m so hot. I want to sleep.”

“Selena, the house is on fire! We have to get out of here!”

Selena opened her eyes, made a face, and squinted groggily. “What is that smell?”

“The dower house is on fire! Mr. Chapman doused the place with whale oil.”

Selena gasped. Athena helped her sister up. Selena wavered on her feet. She seemed to still be fighting the effects of the drug, and she struggled against the ropes that bound her wrists.

“There’s no time to free you.” The fire had spread, and smoke was gathering thicker by the second.

Selena’s eyes darkened in terror. “And no way to reach the window or stairs. We’re trapped.”

A memory came back to Athena. “Maybe not. This room has a hidden door that opens by a spring mechanism. Mr. Vernon said it was a secret exit from the house.”

“I don’t see any door.”

“Me, neither, but it was on the architectural drawing. It’s over there.” Athena pointed to a corner of the room, where flames were starting to lick the wall. Before her eyes, the wallpaper curled and melted, until the edges of a hidden door were revealed. “There it is.”

“I see it.” Selena coughed agitatedly. “But how do we get there?”

In between them and the secret door, the floor was on fire. The area was impassable.

Athena’s throat burned and it was becoming more difficult to breathe.

Coughing, she glanced around in desperation.

The makeshift table where they’d been sitting wasn’t on fire.

Springing into action, she slid the door off the sawhorses beneath it, cantilevered it to the ground, and shoved it forward towards the opposite wall.

The door fell with a crash, creating a path between the flames.

“Run!” Athena exclaimed.

They raced in tandem across the fallen door to the spot where the hidden door was now completely revealed. Parts of the wall were on fire. Holding up her long skirts, Athena raised one booted foot and smashed it against the door. It sprang open.

Athena peered within. A narrow staircase led downward. “Let’s go.”

Athena held on to Selena to steady her as, both coughing, they cautiously navigated their way down the dark stairs, which twisted and turned. Athena soon became aware of heat searing her leg.

“Athena! Your skirts are on fire!”

They had reached a small landing. Athena gasped, too terrified to think.

“Drop down!” Selena cried.

Athena—recalling now a scientific principle they had both read about—followed her sister’s advice.

Curling up in a ball on the landing, Athena rolled back and forth until the flames were extinguished.

With relief, they resumed their descent, both of them wheezing now.

The smoke lessened, and it became increasingly cold.

At last, they reached the end of the stairs, a spooky, dark area with a dirt floor pervaded by the smell of must and coal.

“We’re in the cellar.” Selena was still struggling futilely to free her hands.

“There must be a way out of here.”

Holding tightly to Selena’s arm, Athena felt her way through the blackness, stumbling and crying out when she stubbed her foot against something sharp.

At length, she spied a dim light ahead and they made their way to it.

It turned out to be a window in a small door set high up in the wall.

Steps led up to it. Moonlight streamed in through the filthy glass.

Athena wrestled with the door’s latch until it opened.

She helped Selena to snake her way through and then followed, bursting out with relief onto the damp, cold grass beneath the night sky.

They were on the side lawn of the house.

As she inhaled the fresh air, Athena was so grateful to be free and alive, she gasped with joy.

For a moment, they just stood there, taking in the sight of the burning house from which they had escaped.

A great cracking and popping rent the air, as angry, red and yellow flames shot up through the windows and from beneath the eaves.

A dark cloud of smoke hung over the house and billowed upwards, blending with the blackness of the night sky.

“Let’s get out of here,” Athena said.

They ran around the house to the front drive, where they paused to catch their breath.

Athena’s eyes still smarted and she and her sister both erupted into coughing fits.

Athena heard the distant clang of the church bell.

A moment later came the rattle of a carriage traveling at a rapid speed.

Up the road, she perceived two pinpoints of light, which she guessed to be the lamps of an approaching vehicle. “Who can that be?”

Selena stared at the vehicle but didn’t reply.

In short order, a carriage drew up, the door was flung open, and a man leapt out. In the reflected glow from the burning house, Athena was able to make out his face.

It was Mr. Vernon.

“What is he doing here?” Athena asked in wonder. She’d thought Mr. Vernon was in York. To her further astonishment, two more people stepped down from the carriage. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Was that Neville Sinclair? And Mrs. Ethel Hunt?

She’d swear there was yet another person inside the carriage. Who?

Mr. Vernon dashed up to Athena and Selena, a wild-eyed look on his face. “Are you all right?”

Athena replied with the first thing on her mind. “Would you please untie my sister’s hands?”

“I will,” Mr. Vernon began. “But…” Glancing down at Athena’s skirts he added, “Dear lord.”

Athena followed his gaze, surprised to note that one side of her dress and the petticoat beneath it had been charred and shredded by the flames, revealing her calf, which was as red as a lobster and beginning to blister.

“What happened?” he cried.

“Peter Chapman tried to kill us,” Athena answered before collapsing in Mr. Vernon’s arms and fainting dead away.