Loder was found the next morning, and his death was ruled an accident, while Wimsey took Maria Moranno's encased body to a local cemetery and gave it a Christian burial with the aid of a sympathetic priest. Peter and Bunter are waiting in line at Saint-Lazare in Paris, when Peter overhears a conversation from a young woman in line that makes him curious, particularly when he notes that the woman and her companion are also taking the same train to Calais, and crossing the Channel to Dover. After patient investigation, Peter meets with his mother's friend, the Dowager Countess of Medway, warning her that someone is planning a burglary during her granddaughter's upcoming wedding. He believes he knows who the thief is, but cannot prove it unless the theft is allowed to take place. Peter also alerts Charles Parker, who has men on guard during the wedding. A brief uproar arises when the bride's famous diamond necklace, brought out of the family vault for the occasion, is reported stolen, but the thief and her accomplice are caught red-handed. Peter shocks the assembled wedding party by exposing the Dowager Countess's French lady's maid as a man in disguise, Jacques le Rouge, a.k.a. Jacques sans-Culotte, a notorious safecracker, burglar and female impersonator. Jacques admits defeat, asking Peter how he knew. Peter explains that while waiting in the line at Saint-Lazare, he overheard Jacques, while dressed as a woman, use the masculine article "un" instead of the feminine "une." Jacques congratulates Peter for a mastery of the French language probably unique among all English people. The Dowager Countess is initially outraged that Peter knowingly allowed her to be dressed, undressed, and assisted to bed by a man, but then laughs off the whole affair, reminiscing that she was a famous beauty in her youth, who attracted the attentions of many young men. The disposal of a dead man's fortune depends on his penchant for cross-word puzzles. A high-speed chase and a lost bag converge with a gruesome discovery. A lady pleads for Lord Peter's help in retrieving a valuable necklace, and more importantly, a portrait with an indiscreet inscription. Lord Peter, visiting friends in the country, sees a ghostly carriage, hears rumours of an odd will, and deduces that foul play is afoot. Lord Peter deduces the whereabouts of a cleverly hidden murder weapon. Lord Peter's celebrated palate exposes two impostors seeking a secret formula.