Madame Bluebeard

Ruprecht excused himself for the pressing matter, leaving with Jana. Schiereisen darted back to the library, diving into his books. Dust swirled in small clouds. He searched the shelves again. Earlier, behind the hefty Theatrum Europaeum, he’d spotted a slim booklet, the most vital of all. It outshone every weighty Celtic tome. He’d nudged it out slightly to find it later. It was a manuscript, neatly bound in red leather, adorned with baroque gold-pressed arabesques. The first page held a watercolor view of Vorderschluder Castle, sober but precise. The second bore the title: Singular and Curious Description of the High-Count Moreno’s Castle at Vorderschluder, Particularly of All Hidden Passages, Stairs, Rooms, Secret Doors, and Other Noteworthy Features, Compiled and Brought to Light on the Occasion of His High-Count Grace Louis Juan de Mereus’s Fiftieth Birthday by Adam Zeltelhuber, Count’s Tutor, 1681.