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Elspeth grabs the paper off the ground and hides it away, much to Momerath's annoyance. By the time Elspeth has a chance to react, Majorie's vanished off to her bedroom, and Polly has scurried back to the kitchen. Deciding that her friend Majorie's emotional needs are the more pressing, Elspeth makes her way through Puddlestomp Manor to Majorie's bedroom door. It's next to her husband's room, on the upper floor.

"I'm not feeling well, Vicar," calls Majorie from within. She sounds out of breath, possibly from crying - and possibly not. "It's that awful son-in-law of mine, and his grasping friend Momerath. I... I just can't cope with them."

More sorrowful gasping follows. As Vicar, Elspeth has plenty of experience dealing with emotional discombobulation, and she's very good at putting on a caring face and making soothing noises. True, normally she doesn't have a heavy oak door between herself and the soothee, but at least the present circumstances allow Elspeth to take a look at that bookmark with a measure of privacy.

"Maybe... maybe you should come back tomorrow," called Majorie. "We'll discuss the funeral arrangements for poor Galumph then."

It's a note written in a hasty, rough hand, almost childlike. At a guess - and more than a guess, a core clue with Common Sense, it's almost certainly Polly the Maid's handwriting.

I KNOW A SEKCRET ABOUT YOUR WIFE.
IF YOU DO NOT WANT ME TO TELL
EVERYONE IN THE VILLAGE,
YOU MUST PAY ME

Behind the door, Majorie falls silent. At the edge of hearing - the edge of Eavesdropping - Elspeth hears what sounds like a window opening. Is Majorie trying to sneak out her own window?

* Burst in, confront Majorie
* Try to follow Majorie in secret
* Find Polly and confront her

Really, nothing dampens one's appetite like starting dinner with a debate over whether or not the servants should clear away the place at the head of the table set for the late Galumph. Assuming (quite reasonably) that the master of the house would be alive by the end of the day, the servants had laid the table with a place for him. After your reassuring sermon, one of the servants hurried in to rearrange matters, but they were interrupted by Frumious, who attempted to claim his father's place at the top of the table. But technically, Majorie's now the owner of Puddlestomp Hall...

Anyway, the upshot of it was that they left the place-setting for Galumph, and now there's an ominous empty chair at the head of the table, with Majorie facing off against her son-in-law Frumious, and Elspeth seated opposite her old college rival Momerath. It feels a little like a duel, and Elspeth finds herself making a pre-emptive grab for the butter-knife when they bring in the freshly baked rolls. Just in case Momerath arms himself first.

"You always were quick, Elspeth" snarks Momerath. "Always good at seizing opportunities." He leans over towards Majorie. "Did you know, Mrs. Puddlestomp, that your friend the vicar has been living something of a double life? Why she's - "

"Clarice Medlar!" declares Constable Hopscotch from the door. For a moment, Elspeth's frozen in terror at the thought of being exposed, but the constable continues. "I don't know how she does it!" He waves the copy of Death in the Dregs with enthusiasm. "Just when you think you see the solution, she throws in a surprise. Sorry I'm late, I started reading it again and before you know it, zap! I'm riveted!" Then he remembers that he's (a) supposed to be investigating a murder and (b) is sitting down for dinner with the bereaved family. His mood runs full-steam into an iceberg. "And, um, sorry for your loss."  He sinks down.

In his book-waving enthusiasm, a piece of paper - that mysterious bookmark - fells from Death in the Dregs, and it's landed under the table between Elspeth and Momerath. Elspeth can feel Momerath's feet moving under the table, as if searching for the errant paper.

"What are the next steps, Constable?" asks Frumious. "If my father's death is the result of foul play, I want to see the culprit brought to justice as quickly as possible."

"So you can get his money," mutters Majorie into her soup course. 

"That Polly girl was the last one to see my father alive," continues Frumious. "I'd consider her the prime suspect."

"We'll wait for Dr. Welldone's report. And I happen to know Polly," replies the Constable. "I can't imagine she'd do anything like that."

"Well, Constable," says Momerath, "If you're truly an aficionado of Medlar's work, you'd know that the person you suspect least is often responsib -"

There's a crash as Majorie's spoon falls from her hand, cracking the bowl and sending a red flood of tomato soup cascading across the white tablecloth. "I'm sorry," she says, "I can't, I just can't...."

"Maybe you should take Majorie back to her room, Vicar" suggests the Constable.

Majorie pushes back her seat and rises to stand, but nearly topples. Servants appear to help her, and one of them plucks Elspeth's arm. It's Polly. 

"Cla - I, I mean, Vicar Gumfoot, I need to con - to talk to you. Please," she whispers.

And in the confusion, Elspeth spots the paper on the floor, with Momerath's toes inching towards it.

What do you do?

* Go with Majorie
* Go with Polly
* Grab the fallen paper

The sermon goes down like a cup of warm milk at bedtime, soothing jangled nerves and lending a sense of order and calm to a trying day. While Elspeth addresses the servants and staff of Puddlestomp House, the remains of old Galumph Puddlestomp are whisked away to the undertakers by Doctor Welldone. The constable remains upstairs, guarding the crime scene - although you hear the rustle of pages every few minutes, so he's probably just reread Death in the Dregs. As for your old college acquaintance, Momerath, you spot him eavesdropping on your sermon from the wings, with a sour look on his face. Reassurance and piety were never really in Momerath's wheelhouse, which is a poor showing for a vicar. 

After the sermon, Majorie thanks Elspeth for her support. "Cook prepared such a lovely dinner for this evening, as Frumious and his friend were coming... and the doctor said I should eat something, to keep my strength up. Won't you join us for dinner?" Frumious and Momerath are already marching towards the dining room. It's clear that in the Puddlestomp household, grief is no obstacle to a hearty supper.

What does Elspeth do?
* Attend the dinner
* Make an excuse, and go off after Dr. Welldone
* Make an excuse, but hang around Puddlestomp Hall and eavesdrop

The call for playtesters is now open for The Dreadful Hare, the adventure anthology for Merryshire Detective Club.

We’re looking for Game Moderators with active groups who can run one of the scenarios and send us their feedback by September 30, 2026. Playtesters may be assigned anything from a pesky pooka curse or trouble at the circus to an unfortunate chapel impaling or a pie-shop theft that definitely won’t turn into anything worse.

You’ll receive the latest Merryshire Detective Club draft along with your assigned scenario. At this stage, we’re testing the scenarios rather than the core rules. If you finish early and want another mystery, we may even send you one.

If you’d like to take part, read the full call for playtesters and get in touch:

The campaign is at an end! We're funded more than twice over, and with nearly a thousand backers. I would thank you all individually, but there's a character limit on these posts, so I shall thank you generally: thank you!

Specific, personal thanks may be obtained in person at any convention or other happy occasion in which you and I are both in the same place.

Thanks also to the Pelgrane team - Cat, Ibrahim, Ken (not that Ken) and Robin (that Robin).

So, what's next? Well, there'll be some behind-the-scenes accounting and billing stuff as Backerkit collects pledges - if there are any problems there, contact [email protected]

I need to polish up the rulebook, finish my bit of The Dreadful Hare, and write the stretch goals.

Several of the Dreadful Hare scenarios will be going up for public playtesting in the very near future - if you'd like to get involved, keep an eye over at See Page XX.

The Elspeth Gumfoot story will continue here for a few more days on the campaign page until she's found the culprit behind the murder of Galumph Puddlestomp.

But you are equally welcome to sit back, relax, and do nothing but wait for the PDFs and, yea, the finished books to arrive in your inbox or mailbox as appropriate. We'll keep you informed of progress in updates here, where someone other than me will complain loudly about printers, as tradition dictates. 

But, for right now, I raise a glass to you all! Thank you once again!