Chapter 22 Summary

Val and Euan are at a horse race at Newmarket. Their horse wins, and they celebrate with another owner, Toby Byng. A conversation ensues about the names of the horses, and Euan mentions that Val is interested in literature. Toby tells them of his client who has a bunch of love letters from two Victorian poets in his possession. He explains that the letters sparked an academic competition, and American and British scholars are fighting over who should ultimately own the documents. The wheels start turning in Val's mind, and she makes the connection through Blackadder and Cropper to Maud and Roland.

Val is surprised by this new information, because it is academically based. She has believed all along that Maud and Roland had an affair and disappeared to be together romantically. She thought the research was just a convenient lie. Euan asks...