The Case of the Coachman's Cough

A footman dies at the family's Christmas dinner. The cook's mince-pies are blamed. The household demands a quiet Belgravia inquest before the New Year.

A doctor's certificate, cough note, bedside-bell cord, and covered dish of mince-pies on a Belgravia side table.

Section I

The Scene

A grand Eaton Place dining-room in mourning order, with silver on the sideboard, a low fire, and a frost-bright Belgravia street beyond.

Hand-drawn floor plan of the Penrose townhouse, marking the dining-room, kitchen, footman's passage, and sick-room bell route. — The ground in question.

Setting: The Penrose townhouse, Eaton Place, Belgravia
Time: Thursday afternoon, second Thursday of January 1894
Weather: Clear; a hard frost; the streets quiet after the season's bustle
Atmosphere: A grand London dining-room kept in mourning order; the silver on the sideboard; a small fire low in the hearth; a smell of beeswax and cold soup.

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