About This Book
A sudden discovery that 20,000 thalers are missing, followed by the steward Brand's suicide, plunges a Count's household into shock and suspicion. Officers, servants, and family members dispute the steward's character and possible motives while the Count seizes the deceased's papers to investigate. The Countess, weakened by illness, is deeply distressed, and her mother responds with stern practicality about consequences for the steward's widow and infant. Routines and relationships fray as inquiries and rumor spread, drawing the household's children and retainers into a slow unraveling of trust, duty, and domestic tension.