Arthur Roughtwood

Arthur Roughtwood is Emily Holcombe’s butler and a resident of Atlantic Cottage. His part in the investigation is limited but concrete: he helps move Nathan Oliver’s body after its discovery, then receives the police at Emily’s door with precise attention to their arrival time.

Identity and Residence

Roughtwood lives in the smaller half of Atlantic Cottage, which is semi-detached from the larger cottage occupied by Emily Holcombe. The cottage stands on the western shore of Combe Island, about a quarter of a mile south of Shearwater Cottage. His position places him in Emily’s household, while his residence connects him to the island’s small, dispersed community of staff and visitors.

At the Scene of Oliver’s Death

After Guy Staveley and Rupert Maycroft reach Oliver’s body, Maycroft sends Jago Tamlyn and Dan Padgett to fetch a stretcher and a sheet. Roughtwood arrives while they are away; Maycroft infers that Emily Holcombe sent him. Roughtwood then helps Dan and Jago lift the body onto the stretcher. The group carries it toward the house, with Dan and Roughtwood wheeling it and Guy and Maycroft walking beside them. His role is practical and immediate, part of the effort to remove the dead man from the lighthouse path.

First Encounter with the Police

When Kate Miskin arrives at Atlantic Cottage, Roughtwood opens the door. She notices his broad shoulders, square face, pale blue-grey eyes, and striking yellow hair and eyelashes. His black suit, sober striped tie, and high collar give him the appearance of an undertaker’s assistant, an impression sharpened by the island’s recent death. He tells Emily that the police have arrived six minutes early. The exactness of that greeting gives their first encounter a note of formal composure; beyond these brief actions and observations, the evidence establishes little about his private character.