Christmas at Hamilton Castle
Hints & Solution
Christmas at Hamilton Castle
What is the hidden deal, and who is involved?
Where to start looking
Envelope 2: Cargo Manifest
Hint 1
Some words in the Instructions section of the Cargo Manifest are in bold – they will tell you what to do next.
Who is connected to Deepwater Line? Check the Laird’s table plan and Moira’s diary entry for more on each character.
Hint 2
The bold words in the Cargo Manifest instructions read: ‘Heaviest first, read goods’ initials.’
Re-order the listed goods by weight, from heaviest to lightest, then read the initials of each item under Description of Goods. Note that some goods’ descriptions contain more than one word, so use the initials of all the words in that description.
The table plan and Moira’s diary entry suggest that Evelyn Carter, the shipping magnate, is the person most likely connected to Deepwater Line. This suggests the encoded message in the Cargo Manifest is from her.
Note the handwritten message on the back of the manifest – who is it from?
Hint 3
The goods’ initials reveal the message: ‘Deal off, USA too risky.’
Moira’s diary entry shows that H.D. is Henri Dubois.
The newspaper article on the whisky industry in envelope 5 suggests the kind of deal Henri and Evelyn were planning, and explains why exporting to the USA would be risky.
Solution
Henri Dubois and Evelyn Carter were involved in a hidden deal to smuggle whisky into Prohibition-era America, disguised as medicine. But Evelyn has called the deal off because it is too risky.
Who holds a terrible secret, and what is it?
Where to start looking
Envelope 4: Paris postcard
Envelope 6: Secret object
Hint 1
The postcard of Notre Dame from Marguerite to her mother shows that she was living in Paris in December 1877.
What is the curious object in a pouch in envelope 6? Where else have you seen this symbol?
Hint 2
The curious object is a triquetra pendant, or ‘Celtic knot’. The same symbol is shown in the central window of Notre Dame, on the front of the Paris postcard.
On the front of the Paris postcard, the triquetra symbol is shown in the upright position, with the loop – or bail – at the top. One panel of the symbol is highlighted in white.
Hint 3
Note the small red circles on the back of the postcard. The loop at the top of the triquetra pendant fits neatly over these circles.
Place the pendant’s loop over the first red circle on the top left of the postcard, keeping the pendant upright. Look through the same panel that was highlighted in white on the front of the postcard.
The letters that appear in that panel are I and M. Continue moving the pendant across the postcard, placing the loop over each red circle. Record the letters revealed each time, in the order they appear in Marguerite’s writing.
Hint 4
After placing the pendant over all the red circles and recording the letters revealed, the letters combine to form a message:
‘I meant to frighten him, but my fire spread. Help me.’
Read the newspaper snippet from envelope 6 to understand what Marguerite is referring to.
Marguerite is sending this secret message to her mother via the postcard and triquetra pendant. Her message shows that she started the Paris theatre fire. The fire spread beyond her control, causing a catastrophe, and now she is asking her mother for help.
Solution
Marguerite holds the terrible secret: she started the fire that killed 26 people at the Théâtre des Étoiles in Paris in 1877.
Which mottos match which shields and knights?
Where to start looking
Envelope 3: Samvel’s concertina notes. Complete the gaps in Samvel’s notes by matching each knight to a shield and motto.
Envelope 4: Elspeth’s note. This contains the complete list of mottos.
Hunt for clues across the game that connect to the names, symbols and mottos in these two items.
This puzzle draws on clues from several envelopes, so you will need to return to it as more items are opened.
Hint 1
Sun in splendour: see the knight photograph in envelope 9. He has the symbol of a sun in splendour on his breastplate, like the one drawn on the shield of an unnamed knight.
Key: see the floor plan in envelope 9. Two words are underlined on the back of the floor plan: ‘trust’ and ‘key’.
Battle axe: see the knight photograph in envelope 5. He is holding a battle axe, like the one drawn on the shield of the unnamed knight. What room is this knight standing in?
Three arrows: see the newspaper in envelope 5. The whisky advert contains some familiar symbols.
Bear: see the newspaper in envelope 5. The Polar Aviation article contains both a helpful symbol and a phrase.
Anchor: see the cargo manifest in envelope 2. It contains a phrase and symbol you’ll see elsewhere.
Dragon: see the newspaper in envelope 5. The advert for the book ‘Brave Sir Ranald and the Dragon’ connects Sir Ranald Drummond with the dragon shield.
Hint 2
Sun in splendour: From the note on the back of the photograph, we know he is ‘The Most Powerful Knight of his Age.’ This links him with the motto ‘Power and Truth’. Elspeth’s note says, ‘Sir Iain Ogilvy was respected for always telling the truth,’ linking Sir Iain with this motto and the sun in splendour symbol.
Key: The word ‘key’ links to the symbol on Master Tavish Fraser’s shield. The word ‘trust’ links to the motto ‘Trust Born from Loyalty’. Together, these connect Master Tavish Fraser with the key shield and the motto.
Battle axe: Elspeth’s note says, ‘Sir Fergus Mackenzie was renowned for his courage (you’ll find his armour in the Library).’ The photograph shows the knight standing in the Library, so the knight with the battle axe on his shield is Sir Fergus Mackenzie. As he was renowned for his courage, this links him to the motto ‘Courage and Resolve.’
Three arrows: The arrows on the newspaper advert’s whisky bottle connect to Laird Alastair Douglas’ shield. ‘Defender Whisky’ connects to the motto ‘One in Defence’.
Bear: The bear symbol on the airship connects the newspaper image and article to Sir Harris Murray’s shield. The phrase ‘mother land and honour’ is mentioned in the article, connecting it to the same motto.
Anchor: The anchor symbols on the cargo manifest link to Captain Torquil Ramsay’s shield. The phrase ‘Stead Fast Through Storms’ links closely to the motto ‘Stead Fast through Tempest’.
Dragon: The advert says Sir Ranald was ‘famed for his valour’, connecting him to the motto ‘Protect All with Valour’.
Solution
The following is a list of knights matched with their shields and mottos.
Sir Iain Ogilvy — Sun in splendour — Power and Truth
Master Tavish Fraser — Key —Trust Born from Loyalty
Sir Fergus Mackenzie — Battle axe — Courage and Resolve
Laird Alastair Douglas — Three arrows — One in Defence
Sir Harris Murray — Bear — Mother Land and Honour
Captain Torquil Ramsay — Anchor — Stead Fast through Tempest
Sir Ranald Drummond — Dragon — Protect All with Valour
Who is the victim?
Where to start looking
Envelope 5: Newspaper
Envelope 8: Riddle
Hint 1
The newspaper’s Saturday Wordsearch has an Editor’s Note, ‘Best attempted when all relevant answers are to hand.’ This suggests you need information from another item before you can complete the wordsearch.
Look at the riddle card from envelope 8. The instructions in bold at the top tell you to find nine letters hidden in ‘printed news’ and shade them in. To do this, you will need to solve the riddles first.
Hint 2
Each of the four riddles points to a different part of the newspaper:
- The first riddle points to the article ‘Christmas at Hamilton Castle’.
- The second riddle points to the article ‘Whisky Stocks Plummet Once Again’.
- The third riddle points to the article ‘Polar Aviation Hero to Lecture in Inverness’.
- The fourth riddle points to the advert for Eugene’s dog food.
Solve each riddle to identify one word, then extract either two or three letters from that word, as instructed by the riddle.
Hint 3
The words and letters from each riddle are:
- First riddle: medieval. Letters 1 and 3 = M and D.
- Second riddle: Prohibition. Letters 1 and 4 = P and H.
- Third riddle: Ellsworth. Letters 5 and 8 = W and T.
- Fourth riddle: Hogmanay. Letters 3, 5 and 6 = G, A, N.
The order of the letters does not matter. Follow the riddle card instruction to ‘shade them in’ – find these nine letters wherever they appear in the wordsearch and shade them in. Then stand back and see what appears.
Hint 4
When all instances of these nine letters are shaded in, a skull and the initials ‘H.D.’ appear.
The skull indicates death. The initials indicate the victim.
Solution
The victim is Henri Dubois.
Where and how did they die?
Where to start looking
Envelope 9: floor plan
The instructions on the back of the floor plan reveal a route to the murder location, but the steps are not in the correct order. Use the clues to work out each step, then arrange them into a route that makes sense.
Before you begin: Make sure you have answered this question first: Which mottos match which shields and knights? The hints below assume you have already solved this clue.
Hint 1
Cross the chamber kept by the courageous knight: Look at the knight photograph in envelope 5. You have already figured out that Sir Fergus Mackenzie is the courageous knight, and that he stands guard in the Library.
Pass beneath what the red deer shed: See the invitation in envelope 1. The picture on the front of the invitation offers two doors.
Face away from Sir Ranald’s warmer side: See the newspaper from envelope 5, and the two knight photographs from envelopes 7 and 9. You have already discovered that Sir Ranald Drummond holds the dragon shield. The photograph of Sir Ranald in envelope 7 shows him standing to the left of a mantelpiece. Cross-reference this with the floor plan to identify the room.
Turn your back on Sir Ogilvy: See the knight photograph from envelope 9. You have already discovered that Sir Iain Ogilvy has the symbol of the sun in splendour on his breastplate, and stands in the Dining Room.
Hint 2
Cross the chamber kept by the courageous knight: The phrase 'keep to its darker side' suggests you should stay on the side of the room furthest away from the window.
Pass beneath what the red deer shed: Antlers are what red deer shed. Pass through the door beneath the antlers.
Face away from Sir Ranald’s warmer side: Sir Ranald stands in the Smoking Room. His photograph in envelope 7 shows a roaring fire to his right. Return to the floor plan and turn your back on the fire and Sir Ranald – you will now be facing south-west.
Turn your back on Sir Ogilvy: From the floor plan, you can see he stands in the top left corner of the room. If you turn your back on him, you will be facing south-east.
Hint 3
Cross the chamber kept by the courageous knight: The phrase 'leave it then continue due east', indicates you should leave the library by the eastern door, continue across the corridor and into the next room.
Pass beneath what the red deer shed: Cross-reference the photograph with the floor plan and find the position of the Christmas tree. This shows that you will walk from the Great Hall into the Dining Room.
Face away from Sir Ranald’s warmer side: See the phrase '...and take the door that leads you towards the sea.' There are two doors to choose from, leading west or south. But in which direction does the sea lie?
- Envelope 9 contains the photograph of the knight in the Dining Room, standing beside a west-facing window. The view from the window shows that mountains lie to the west of the castle.
- The newspaper in envelope 5 contains a picture of Hamilton Castle. Match the outline of the castle in the picture to the outer walls shown on the floor plan. This shows that the sea lies to the south of the castle.
Take the southern door into the Tower Room.
Turn your back on Sir Ogilvy: See the phrase '...and quit the room.' If you are standing in the Dining Room and facing south-east, there is only one door through which you can leave the room – the door into the Library.
Order the clues and follow the route
By following the clues, you will have mapped out a route that logically runs in this order:
1. Pass beneath what the red deer shed. Walk from the Great Hall into the Dining Room.
2. Turn your back on Sir Ogilvy and quit the room. Cross the Dining Room and enter the Library.
3. Cross the chamber kept by the courageous knight, keep to its darker side, leave it then continue due east. Cross the Library, pass through the East Passage and enter the Smoking Room.
4. Face away from Sir Ranald’s warmer side, and take the door that leads you towards the sea. Walk from the Smoking Room into the Tower Room.
The route leads to the Tower Room, which points to the castle tower as the scene of the murder.
Once you have the location, you can deduce the most likely method of murder. The typed note on the back of the floor plan says: ‘Leave them there. I shall do the rest.’ The floor plan shows that the Tower Room contains a spiral staircase. Together, these clues suggest that the victim was led up the tower, then forced from the top, falling to their death.
Solution
The route leads to the Tower Room. The victim was forced from the top of the castle’s tower and plunged to their death.
What time did they die?
Where to start looking
Envelope 10: Cocktail recipe card
Envelope 10: Cocktail bar picture
Hint 1
The ingredients on the cocktail recipe card can all be found in the picture of the cocktail bar.
Cut along the dotted lines on the back of the cocktail bar picture to create various shapes. Note the accompanying message: ‘Don’t spill your drinks, keep bottles upright.’
Hint 2
Taking each recipe in turn, follow the instructions on the cocktail recipe card to mix your drinks.
For example, to start making The Bonnie Dram, the recipe says: ‘Mix the whisky and vermouth first over ice.’
To do this, find the whisky bottle and place it over the vermouth bottle. Make sure both bottles remain upright as you combine the shapes.
Hint 3
When you finish mixing The Bonnie Dram, the combined shapes will form a number.
Continue ‘mixing’ the other drinks to find two more numbers. Place the three numbers in the order the recipes are written.
To work out whether the time is AM or PM:
- Moira’s second diary entry on Christmas Day shows that everyone was present at the dinner table that evening.
- Evelyn’s telegram is dated 26th December and tells us someone has been killed. It also asks for the ‘first train south’, suggesting it was sent early that day.
It can therefore be deduced that the murder happened overnight.
Solution
The time of the murder was 3.45am.
Who was the accomplice?
Where to start looking
Envelope 7: Moira’s second diary entry
Hint 1
Moira’s diary entry is informative in more ways than one.
At the bottom of the second page is a sketch of the triquetra symbol, with only certain panels shaded in. This suggests that the triquetra pendant from envelope 6 could be useful here.
Also, pay close attention to the quotation paperclipped onto Moira’s diary entry. Notice the markings on and around it.
Hint 2
Place the triquetra pendant over the quotation. Fit the pendant’s loop over the circle above the quote, and place the bottom corners of the pendant so they fit snugly within the two small corner marks.
What message is revealed through the panels that were shaded in Moira’s sketch?
Hint 3
The highlighted panels reveal the words: ‘First letters’.
This is an instruction. Extract the first letters of each sentence from Moira’s diary entry to reveal a message.
Hint 4
Note that some sentences contain direct quotes, but these are not necessarily new sentences.
The message revealed is: ‘I don’t want to help, but I will do it.’
Solution
The unwilling accomplice was Moira Graham.
What was the motive?
Where to start looking
Envelope 11: Matchbox with message
Before you begin: Make sure you have answered these questions first: Who holds a terrible secret, and what is it? and Who is the victim?
The hints below assume you have already solved these clues.
Hint 1
The Sir Walter Scott quote is poetic, but the handwritten note below it makes no sense. What could help you unscramble it?
On the side of the matchbox you’ll see the note ‘A = E’. This suggests a Caesar cipher: shift every letter in the message by a fixed number of spaces in the alphabet.
A = E means that every A you read is actually E, every B you read is actually F, every C is actually G, and so on. Decode every letter in the message by moving it 4 places forward in the alphabet.
Writing the alphabet out in full will help you to decode this message.
You’ve also seen this handwriting before…
Hint 2
The handwriting matches the note on the back of the cargo manifest from envelope 2, so it is Henri Dubois’ handwriting.
By applying the Caesar cipher, you’ll reveal the following message:
‘Dowager: send me the money and your secret stays safe. Yours, The Tempest’
The Dowager is Marguerite. This is therefore a message from Henri to Marguerite.
Hint 3
By reading both the quote and the hidden message, it is clear that Henri is blackmailing Marguerite. If she gives him money, he will keep her secret safe; if she does not, the threat is that he may expose her. The Sir Walter Scott quote reinforces the threat: Marguerite is being told it is safer to yield to ‘The Tempest’ than to resist him.
You have already uncovered Marguerite’s secret: almost 50 years ago, she started a fire that killed 26 people in the Parisian Théâtre des Étoiles. The message from Henri has arrived in a matchbox from that same theatre, suggesting that he knows about the fire.
Henri’s failing whisky business explains why he is desperate for money.
Hint 4
You’ve also discovered that Henri was the victim.
Blackmail would be a very strong motive for murder. You can therefore deduce that Henri was killed to stop him exposing Marguerite’s secret.
Henri does have other conflicts, including his broken illicit shipping deal with Evelyn, but this message shows a direct blackmail threat against Marguerite, making it the much stronger motive.
Solution
The victim was killed to stop the blackmail and prevent Marguerite’s past actions from being exposed.
Who was the murderer?
Where to start looking
Envelope 12: Secret object
Before you begin: Make sure you have answered these questions first: Which mottos match which shields and knights? and What was the motive?
The hints below assume you have already solved these clues.
Hint 1
You have already filled in the gaps in Samvel’s notes from envelope 3, matching the knights with their respective shields and mottos.
The woven shield in envelope 12 displays four of these symbols: the bear, the anchor, the dragon and the key. But what do they mean?
Look back at previous items for any subtle markings that could provide a clue.
Hint 2
You will find unusual markings on the backs of the following four items:
- Floor plan, envelope 9
- Photograph of Sir Ranald Drummond with his dragon shield, envelope 7
- Photograph of Sir Fergus Mackenzie holding his battle axe, envelope 5
- Cocktail recipe card, envelope 10
When each corner with markings is combined, they create the same shape as the woven shield. Place the shield in the middle.
Hint 3
Each quadrant contains a number. This indicates the word number of the corresponding knight’s motto.
For example, the key symbol now rests on the number 3. Check Samvel’s notes: the motto that pairs with the key shield is ‘Trust Born from Loyalty’. Now extract the 3rd word from the motto: ‘from’.
Continue doing this with all of the quadrants.
Three of the four quadrants contains an arrow. Follow the arrows to decide the order in which to read the extracted words.
Hint 4
These are the mottos, taken in the order shown by the arrows:
- ‘Protect All with Valour’
- ‘Mother Land and Honour’
- ‘Trust Born from Loyalty’
- Stead Fast through Tempest’
The extracted words are: ‘Protect Mother from Tempest’.
As you’ve already solved the motive, you know that ‘The Tempest’ refers to Henri Dubois, and that the person he was threatening before he was killed was Marguerite.
The phrase ‘Protect Mother from Tempest’ tells you that the murderer is protecting their mother from Henri. Only one person calls Marguerite their mother: Elspeth.
Solution
The murderer is Lady Elspeth Graham.