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Page 237
Linda pulled herself back with the queerest tightening of the throat and, before she realized what she was doing, glanced over her shoulder. Below, Donald laughed.
"Come down and look from here."
There was, of course, no one in the room. Linda felt foolish, remembering what Peter had said about seeing assassins in every shadow and poisoners in every corner. She was going all peculiar if she started taking innocent jokes as dire warnings. She leaned out again, although not as far, and called down, "All right. You can show me the gazebo. Mrs. Bates said I have to know where it is."
Of course Mrs. Bates had also told her to familiarize herself with the interior of the house and the servants, but that could wait. The bright sun, the glimpse of sparkling sea were urgent reasons to be outdoors. As it worked out, however, Linda fulfilled both orders. Donald met her at the foot of the stairs, commenting that she would never have found the back door alone.
That was probably true. The main corridor lead to a short flight of stone steps that looked as if they would open directly on the back garden. Instead the door at the bottom led into an enormous stone-floored kitchen. This room had four doors, but none of them went out to the garden and thence to the sea. One door in the back wall led to an enclosed yard that contained the vegetable garden, the shed that housed the electric generator, and the servants' cottages. The second door went to the wine cellar, the

 
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