"A pleasure to meet you, however unfortunate these circumstances might be." And yet, her fingers were curling around the axe again. How terrible her nerves were. A polite gentleman whose hospitality she may well have imposed upon, and here she was suspecting him of ill-defined malfeasance.

She smiled, wistfully. "Those who fall ill are soon deceased, and I wish I could say that was the worst of the matter, but I fear that is where the horror begins."