Suddenly Mrs Otis caught sight of a red stain on the floor just by the fireplace. She did know the importance of the stain, so she said to Mrs Umney, 'I am afraid something has been spilt there.'

'Yes, madam,' replied the old housekeeper in a quiet voice, 'blood has been spilt on that place.'

'Oh. That's horrible,' cried Mrs Otis; 'I don't like blood-stains in a sitting-room at all. The blood must be removed at once.'

Mrs Umney smiled, and spoke in the same quiet, mysterious voice, 'It is the blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, who was murdered right there by her own husband, Sir Simon de Canterville, in 1575.'

'Sir Simon lived for another nine years. Then suddenly he disappeared and no-one knows where he went. His body has never been discovered, but his guilty spirit still haunts the Chase.'

'Tourists and other people have admired that blood-stain. It cannot be removed.'