Lady Constance Bellwether
Wears black beautifully and has not wept once.
A country house snowed in above the moors
Ashes at Bellwether Hall
The will is read at midnight. Nobody waits that long.
Old Lord Bellwether has been dead for a week and the family has gathered to hear the will. When the solicitor arrives with the wrong papers and the west wing settles into smoke, the household discovers that inheritance is a motive long before it is a comfort.
Players8–12
Evening2.5 hours
HostingEasy to host
Written forAdults, 16+
The story
Ashes at Bellwether Hall plays in three acts with a dinner break the script plans for. Times below assume a 7pm start; every kit includes a version for a later table.
Act I7:00 pm
The Reading
The family assembles in the drawing room. The solicitor's papers are incomplete, and the housekeeper mentions a second will that nobody has seen.
Act II7:40 pm
The Fire
Smoke in the west wing draws everyone upstairs, where a body is found in the study and the door has been locked from the inside.
Act III8:30 pm
The Estate
Over dinner, the household's alibis are tested against the servants' ledger. The host closes with the reading of the true will.
The cast
Six to 12 roles are written; the kit scales down by folding the smallest parts into the host. Each character arrives with a public face and a private problem.
Mr. Abel Pike
Brought two wills and would rather discuss neither.
Miss Ada Thorne
Taught the heir everything except how to behave.
Dr. Hollis Reed
Signed the death certificate a little too quickly.
Clues & evidence
Four of the nine clues
- A will with the ink still wet at the signature
- A set of keys missing the one to the study
- A telegram from the heir's regiment
- A burnt glove in the grate, too small for the dead man
Props unique to this kit
- A black-edged mourning card with a hidden message on the back
- A doctor's bag containing the wrong medicine
- A sealed letter addressed to the wrong widow