Lady Jayne Disappears Book Blog Tour and Giveaway #LoneStarLit

Interview with Digory, lifelong butler at Lynhurst Manor

In Lady Jayne Disappears

By Joanna Davidson Politano

What do you remember about Lady Jayne?

Everything. I remember everything about Lady Jayne. One doesn’t forget an exotic flower like that, especially when she disappears and the mistress tells us to pretend we never knew her. Like a ghost she is, floating about in my mind and smiling at me. Never met a woman as beautiful as she, Lady Jayne had one of those personalities that radiated, no matter the gown or the lighting. No one in Somerset will forget her, even twenty years later.

What do you think happened to her when she disappeared?

People say she was murdered, for she could make a princess jealous. I don’t believe it, though. Such a common ending for such an uncommon lady. Nor will I believe she simply returned to London. We were never told where she went, and that’s what makes me think there was something truly spectacular behind her disappearance. Any time the mistress declares something a secret, we all know it’s something huge.

Are you asked to keep a lot of secrets?

That’s my job, more than opening doors and keeping the staff. Servants have eyes and ears, even when we’re not supposed to. No, especially then. There are two stories, see. All of Somerset society must be presented with the tale of a well-kept family who turns out accomplished daughters and successful sons, lovely marriages and a well-controlled staff. The other story is everything that goes on when the damask curtains are drawn—terrible rows, scheming, dalliances, and amazing love stories. Oh, the many love stories of Lynhurst Manor. It’s my task to ensure those stories coexist without accidentally getting in one another’s way.

Where exactly did this little Aurelie Harcourt come from? Rumor has it she came from debtor’s prison, yet she’s accepted into Lynhurst as family.

That precious little soul has been part of Lynhurst Manor from her first moment of life. She was born here, you know, but you mustn’t spread that around. It isn’t seemly to have folks knowing that. She’s called a distant relation, which is how the family explains away people they don’t wish to truly explain. Miss Aurelie is the heart and soul of Lynhurst—full of life and stories, she is, just like the manor. That’s all I can say about her without causing trouble.

It seems the famous writer Nathaniel Droll has taken to writing about the people of Lynhurst Manor. Is he a family friend?

Mr. Droll is more like a ghost who hangs around the house than a real person. No one at Lynhurst seems to know who he is, yet he pins every last one of them to paper and paints them with their true colors. Remarkable talent, that Mr. Droll. It’s unsettling, going about life and wondering what he’ll write next, what he’ll see of the goings-on at the house. Makes one want to look around before he does anything he wouldn’t want put in a book.