Explanations

Thomas remained at the mansion as a guest for the weeks leading to Edgar's trial and sentence. He was polite to Madame and the others, but he didn't act nearly as sophisticated or sycophant as Edgar had. I wondered if perhaps the others would consider him ill mannered, but everyone seemed to enjoy his company.

On the day Thomas announced that he had stayed at the mansion long enough and he intended to leave before he became an unwelcome nuisance rather than a guest, everyone begged him to stay for just a little longer. They presented him with every possible reason: It would make more sense to leave on a weekend or he should at least stay until the next holiday or there was still someone who wanted to spend a little more time getting to know him as a friend. Thomas was flattered, but he still insisted that the best time to leave is when people will still miss you after you've left. Madame came to wish him well.

"Young man, may I ask what you do for a living?" she inquired.

"Well, you see," he began. "I don't exactly have a job."

"You are welcome to work here if you'd like," she responded. "You were so selfless to assist Duchess and her children, and I find myself in need of a butler."

"I don't exactly know how to be a butler," Thomas confessed.

"Excellent! You'll be a nice change from that flattering Edgar."

Madame embraced me. "Duchess, how wonderful to have you all back!" With a friendly wink, she added, "And I think this young man is very handsome! Now then, shall we discuss your other friends?"

She was very gracious, helping the jazz musicians to start making a career by performing their exciting music.

Everything was so busy during that time that it wasn't until a month later that I realized I had never asked Roquefort what had happened.

He was happy to explain. The last glasses of milk Edgar had brought us had been mixed with a sort of sedative. While we dozed, Edgar carried us off into the countryside, intending to kill us, but his plans had gone wrong when he met Lafayette and Napoleon, two farmers who never meant any harm, but had been suspicious of someone trespassing on their land at such a late hour.

"Why did Edgar do such a thing?" I asked.

"You were included in the will," explained Roquefort. "He wasn't. You were going to be much richer than he could ever dream of being."

"What happened after I sent you to get Thomas?"

He nibbled a bit of gouda as he got comfortable in his favorite chair. "I hope you like long stories."