Thomas Haworth

My idea about what is up is rather darker. Ludo and Damian were not in the house overnight where she expected them to be. I can imagine she set them up to be abducted or killed. Did she try to sell them?

This is a creepy start to the story,

About the popularity of Nazi ideology: In Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers, written in the 1930's, she has a character who is a porter in a women's college of Oxford University. He does not like women having power and says "what we need is an 'Itler". There were traditionalists of all types in sympathy with parts of the Nazi cause.

I love the fact that the story is getting into the existential questions dealing with the old ones.

About Jupiter/ Jove: This confusion is a result of Latin grammar. 'Jupiter' is the form used as the subject of a sentence. In all the other places in a Latin sentence, the name is 'Jov-' plus a case ending for the exact role in a sentence. Sorry for the pedantry -- I am a retired academic, and explaining Latin cases to English speakers gets tedious.

I find this statement intriguing, especially since, in an earlier chapter in the saga, George stated that as a prince his odds of a success are only 50%. Hmmmmm.

Those $5000 payments worry me. Why so much, and what were they for?

Dare I hope that Lisa's larger office would be that formerly occupied by one Joshua Thomas?

Yikes! and This is psychotic behavior.

Owain and Mhairi have reason to be grateful that the trustees were not under their father's control -- otherwise I suspect the money would have disappeared.

Jasper wanting to take Deirdre somewhere else, possibly out of the country is a very bad sign. Isolating a partner from friends and family is one thing abusers do.

An amusing bit of comic relief, though I suspect our author is setting things up for some interesting action later.

Deirdre knew what she was doing, dumping Toby on Brian at the first possible moment, as awkwardly as possible. The fact that Toby cannot get into the house is the icing on the cake. I look forward to the court case that is inevitable at this point. Also, I found the scenes with the jobsworth and Miss Wilson very interesting. Brian stood up for his son, in ways that I suspect Deirdre never has. I suspect Miss Wilson knows (or at least suspects) more about what is going on between Toby and his mother that Toby realizes. I eagerly await the next chapter.

Am I the only reader who expects fireworks in the next chapter?

I agree. One of the things it shows is how good a relationship Brian has with his mum.