never saw his father or Brilliana again. They had been hateful to him. But he would never spurn you, Susan. You were his one friend in the family.'
'We grew up together. I could never disown him.'
'Your sister did.' 'That's all behind us. Brilliana will mourn his death in her own way.' Susan stood up and regarded her sister-in-law for a few seconds. 'Did you mind being at the funeral on your own?'
'But I was not on my own. I brought Anna with me.'
'I was thinking about your family.'
Lucy's face darkened. 'There was nobody else I wanted there.'
'Not even your mother?'
'No. In any case, she would be too ill to travel.'
'Will you tell her what's happened?' Lucy shook her head. 'Why not?'
Lucy reached out to hold her hand. 'I don't know you well enough to tell you that yet, Susan. Perhaps I will one day. Until then, please bear with me.' She got up and crossed to look through the window. 'It's beautiful here. I'm sorry I have to leave.'
'Must you?' said Susan, moving to stand behind her. 'Father would like you to stay as long as you wish. He wants to talk to you.'
'I'm not sure how much we have to say to each other.'
'When were you thinking of going?'
'Tomorrow,' said Lucy, turning to face her. 'I need to go back to London.'
'Why?'
'Because that's where Gabriel's killer is and I want to be there when he's caught.'
'If anyone can track him down,' said Susan fondly, 'it is Christopher Redmayne. He's a fine man. Father and I have so much to thank him for, Lucy.'
'So do I.'
'Do you have his address?'
'Yes, he left it when he called on me in Knightrider Street.'
'Good.'
'Why do you ask?'
'Because I think that you might consider telling him what you are unable to tell me. Let me finish,' she went on, silencing the imminent protest. 'Mr Redmayne is putting his own life at risk on our behalf. We must do everything we can to help him. You must have information about Gabriel that nobody else could have. The most trivial details might be valuable clues to Mr Redmayne. Talk to him, Lucy. You can trust him not to break a confidence.' She held her by the shoulders. 'Tell him the truth.'
'No, Susan. I could never do that.'
'Not even if it might lead to the arrest of Gabriel's killer?'
Lucy fell silent and lowered her head. Letting go of her, Susan stepped back to watch her. She had surprised herself with the degree of affection that came into her voice when she mentioned Christopher Redmayne, but she was not ashamed of her feelings for him. Her admiration for him had steadily grown. When he left her in the churchyard after the funeral, she had been bitterly disappointed. She wished that Lucy had the same faith in him that she did. There was a long wait before Lucy looked up at her. When her question came, it took Susan completely by surprise.
'Will you come back to London with me?' she asked.
Jonathan was putting a man in the stocks when Christopher rode up on his horse. Having secured his prisoner, a ragged individual with a straggly beard, the constable gave his friend a nod of welcome.
'I did not expect you back so soon, Mr Redmayne,' he said.
Christopher dismounted. 'There was nothing to keep me in Northamptonshire.' He thought of Susan Cheever and smiled to himself. 'Well, on reflection, there was, but it was imperative that I got back here. That's why I rode so hard.' He patted his horse's flank. 'You deserve a rest, old friend.'
'It's good to see you.'
'Thank you, Mr Bale. And I'm pleased to see you again.' He indicated the man in the stocks. 'More pleased than this fellow was to see a constable, I know that.'
'Leave him where he is, sir. Those stocks are his second home.'
He collected a jeer from the prisoner then set off down the street. Leading his horse, Christopher walked beside him. He gave Jonathan a terse account of the funeral but included a reference to the two unheralded visitors.
'Mr Lunn was there?' he said. 'I met him. He did not strike me as a caring soul.'
'He was there to accompany Miss Hemmings,' explained Christopher. 'It would have been difficult for her to attend the funeral on her own. With a man beside her, she was almost invisible. Had she been there alone, people would have asked what her relationship had been with Gabriel Cheever.'
'The answer would not have been fit to be heard on hallowed ground.'
'Perhaps not, Mr Bale, but I admire the woman. She loved Gabriel once.'
'From what I hear, that young man seems to have had many similar ladies.'
'Yet he gave them all up to marry Lucy.'
'It may have been the one sensible thing he ever did.'
'Yet it may have cost him his life. Still,' said Christopher, 'tell me your news.'
Jonathan shrugged. 'There's precious little of it, Mr Redmayne.'
Christopher had been away for the best part of a week. During his absence Jonathan had been far from idle, but he had made scant progress. He had been pursuing lines of enquiry for which he did not feel best suited.
'Some of your brother's friends look with disdain on constables,' he recalled. 'They have no respect for the law. Or maybe something about me irritates them. Mr Peter Wickens refused to speak to me, Mr Gilbert Sparkish was rude to my face and Sir Thomas Sheasby threatened to set the dogs on me. I had to speak sternly to him.'
'It sounds to me as if all three of them deserved to have their ears boxed,' said Christopher. 'At what time of day did you seek them out?'
'Late afternoon.'
'That was your mistake, Mr Bale. Catch them after dinner and they'll have drunk too much to give anyone a civil answer. No matter,' he continued. 'I'm back to take over the examination of Henry's cronies. I'm on my way to visit one now but I wanted to talk to you first.'
'Who are you going to see, Mr Redmayne?'
'Sir Marcus Kemp.'
'Is he the other gentleman who received a blackmail demand?'
'He is. Apparently, that demand has been doubled.'
'Why?'
'Because he has been too tardy in paying it, Mr Bale. Before I came in search of you, I called on my brother. It seems that Henry had a visit from Sir Marcus earlier today. He brought something with him that had frightened the daylights out of him.'
'A death threat?'
'An extract from Gabriel Cheever's diary,' said Christopher. 'One that did not exactly show Sir Marcus in a flattering light. In the hands of his wife, it could become a dangerous weapon.'
Jonathan was appalled. 'Sir Marcus is married?'
'Several of Henry's friends are.'
'Yet they still lead such shameful lives? What of their marriage vows?'
'They keep them less well than you, Mr Bale.'
'Such wickedness should not go unpunished.'
'Oh, Sir Marcus Kemp has been punished' said Christopher wryly. 'According to Henry, his friend has been roasting in the fires of Hell. I hope there's something left of him by the time I get there.'
