Although my days were lucrative, my nights continued to be a torment. Every evening, I set the clocks, and every morning the hands pointed to six minutes past six. Whatever I did, however carefully I arranged them, the result was the same. I no longer blamed Walter, for one night I decided to stay awake and watch the long-case clock to see if perhaps there was a conspiracy among the servants to choose that time.
“I’ll not have servants treat me as a fool,” I said, coming into the living room with my staff in my hand. “By God,” I told myself. “If anybody comes into this room tonight, I’ll have the hide off them.”
With the servants in bed, I doused the lights and settled into the largest chair in the room. I chose that chair because its high back ensured nobody would see me until it was to
