marriage to Archibald Christie, and her famous ten-day disappearance in December that year. These were events which disturbed her for the remainder of her life and Christie learned that people she expected to be allies in her time of need turned away from her. One person who didn't was Charlotte Fisher (born c. 1901 – died 1976), who had been employed by Christie in 1924 as both her own secretary and as a governess to her daughter Rosalind. When the events of 1926 were starting to recede, Christie states that she "had to take stock of my friends". She and Fisher (to whom Christie referred affectionately as both "Carlo" and "Carlotta") divided her acquaintances into two separate categories; the Order of Rats and the Order of Faithful Dogs (O.F.D.) – chief among the latter group, Christie put Charlotte Fisher for her steadfast support. Also named in this latter group, and the second subject of the dedication of the book, is Peter, Christie's beloved terrier, who had been purchased for Rosalind in 1924. Peter's devotion to Christie at this time was never forgotten by her and she returned that affection, writing to her second husband, Max Mallowan, in 1930 that "You've never been through a really bad time with nothing but a dog to hold on to." Peter was also the subject of the dedication of Dumb Witness (on the dustjacket of which he is pictured), published in 1937, one year before his death. Charlotte Fisher, together with her sister Mary, also received a second dedication in a book in And Then There Were None in 1939. Dustjacket blurb The blurb of the first edition (which is carried on both the back of the jacket and opposite the title page) reads:Since the beginning of history, jewels have exercised a baneful spell. Murder and violence have followed in their wake. So with the famous Heart of Fire ruby. It passes into the possession of the beautiful American woman, Ruth Kettering, and doom follows swift upon it. Whose hand was it that struck her down? Were the jewels the motive for the murder, or were they only taken as a blind? What part did the beautiful foreign dancer play? These are some of the questions that have to be answered, and the story tells also how these strange and dramatic happenings effect the life of a quiet English girl who has felt convinced