The Midnight Peacock. Katherine Woodfine

      First published in Great Britain 2017

      by Egmont UK Limited

      The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

      Copyright © Katherine Woodfine, 2017

      Illustrations copyright © Karl James Mountford, 2017

      The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted

      First e-book edition 2017

      ISBN 978 1 4052 8290 1

      Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1749 6

       www.egmont.co.uk

      A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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       For Anna and Sara –

       Three Amigos forever!

      The Sinclair’s Mysteries

      The Clockwork Sparrow

      The Jewelled Moth

      The Painted Dragon

      The Midnight Peacock

      CONTENTS

       Cover

       Title Page

       Copyright

       Dedication

       Front series promotional page

PART I: The Mystery of the Haunted Mansion

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

PART II: The Case of the Hidden Passage

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       CHAPTER ELEVEN

       PART III: The Body in the Library

       CHAPTER TWELVE

       CHAPTER THIRTEEN

       CHAPTER FOURTEEN

       CHAPTER FIFTEEN

       CHAPTER SIXTEEN

       PART IV: The Clue in the Secret Plans

       CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

       CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

       CHAPTER NINETEEN

       CHAPTER TWENTY

       CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

       PART V: Murder at the Ball

       CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

       CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

       CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

       PART VI: Montgomery Baxter’s Casebook

       CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

       AUTHOR’S NOTE

       ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

       Back series promotional page

PART I

       The Mystery of the Haunted Mansion

       ‘Who goes there? Show yourself!’ declaimed Montgomery Baxter, the courageous boy detective.

CHAPTER ONE

      Tilly knew quite well that there were no such things as ghosts. She said so, very plainly – much to the annoyance of Lizzie Hughes, who had come rushing into the Servants’ Hall, eager to pour out her tall tale.

      Some people would do anything to get out of a spot of dusting, Tilly thought.

      ‘The East Wing’s not haunted,’ she said, from where she was sitting at the table, finishing off a bit of mending. ‘That’s just a lot of old nonsense.’

      Lizzie turned on her at once, hands on hips, nose in the air. ‘That’s all very well for you to say. You weren’t there. I’ll have you know I heard it myself – with my own ears!’

      Sarah and Ella, the scullery maids, were both staring at Lizzie. ‘What was it?’ Ella asked.

      Lizzie lowered her voice to an important whisper. ‘The sound of the ghost’s footsteps!’ she announced.

      ‘Oooh!’ they exclaimed together.

      ‘What did they sound like?’ gasped Sarah. Her eyes were as big and round as the plates in Her Ladyship’s best dinner service.

      ‘Loud – and echoing – and coming closer and closer by the minute! Then the most terrible chill swept over me. It was as if my blood froze! I dropped my duster and ran away as fast as my legs could carry me!’ Lizzie collapsed into