'Lucy and I have spent a lot of time together,' she explained. 'I think that she is slowly learning to trust me.'
'You are one of the most trustworthy people I have ever met.'
'She is still wary of everyone, Mr Redmayne, and still in a state of shock.'
'Has she told you why her marriage had to be kept secret?'
'Not yet. But she may do so in time.'
'I hope so. It will be relevant to our inquiry.'
'What she has done is given me a few hints.'
'Hints?'
'They were not deliberate,' said Susan, 'but they dropped out in conversation.'
'Go on.'
'She knows something important about the time that Gabriel was killed. Lucy was visiting her ailing mother in St Albans. Her maidservant went with her. Gabriel was left in the house on his own. But he was not there when he was attacked.'
'What makes you say that?'
'I think that he was meant to be somewhere that night,' she said. 'Lucy more or less confirmed it. Gabriel was ambushed on his way to or from this place and murdered. His body was carried to the wharf.'
'He was certainly not killed at the house. There would have been signs of the struggle. Besides, someone as cautious as Gabriel would not have let a stranger in.'
'Mr Bale explained that.'
'Oh?'
'He says that the killer must have stolen Gabriel's key.'
'Quite probably,' said Christopher, thinking it through. 'There was no indication of forced entry. When she got back, your sister-in-law had the feeling that someone had been in the house but everything seemed to be in its place. It was only when she carried out a thorough search that the theft of the diary came to light;
'Yes,' said Susan under her breath. 'The diary.'
'What do you propose to do, Miss Cheever?'
'Try to break down Lucy's reserve completely so that she tells me the truth.'
'And if that fails?'
'I was hoping that you might speak to her, Mr Redmayne.'
'Gladly. If you think she is up to it.'
'She is,' Susan assured him. 'Lucy has an inner strength.'
'Tell me when to come and I'll be there immediately.'
'Let me try first of all.'
'I will,' agreed Christopher. 'You are in a much better position to win her over. When the rest of your family rejected Gabriel, you stood by him. Lucy knows that. You are probably the only person with whom she can discuss her husband.'
'We've been doing nothing else for the past few days.'
'It must be very lowering for you.'
'Not really, Mr Redmayne. It's been something of a revelation.'
'In what way?'
Susan did not reply. She looked deep into his eyes. He met her gaze, his affection for her shining through, but it sparked off no response. She was looking at him with a curiosity that was tempered with faint disappointment. Christopher felt uncomfortable.
'Is something wrong, Miss Cheever?' he asked.
She appraised him carefully. 'May I ask you a question, please?'
'As many as you wish.'
'Do you know a Henry Redmayne?'
'I should do. He's my brother.'
'And was he one of Gabriel's friends?'
'For a time.'
'Why did you not mention it before, Mr Redmayne?'
Christopher shrugged. 'It did not come up in conversation.'
'Well, it should have,' she said with a note of reproof. 'I had a right to know. It would have saved me some embarrassment when Lucy mentioned his name.'
'Lucy?'
'Yes.'
'But she has never met Henry.'
'It seems that your brother's name appears in Gabriel's diary?'
'So I hear.'
'Yet you did not have the courtesy to pass on the information to me?'
'Miss Cheever-'
'Let me finish,' she went on, anger beginning to show. 'How can you expect me to confide in you when you hold back something as important as this from me? You put me in a very awkward position. Imagine how foolish I felt when Lucy recalled the name of Henry Redmayne and wondered if the two of you were related. Not only that,' she emphasised. 'Your brother's name appears in the very diary that led to Gabriel's murder so he is involved here. You've been deceiving me, Mr Redmayne.'
'Not intentionally.'
'I feel hurt.'
Christopher was contrite. 'I would never willingly hurt you.'
'Then why have you been hiding your brother?'
'For two very good reasons,' he explained. 'The first concerns Sir Julius.'
'Father?'
'He has many virtues but tolerance is not one of them. And what my brother requires most of all from others, I fear, is a tolerant attitude. Henry leads the kind of existence that Gabriel managed to escape.' He sat forward. 'Can you understand what I am saying, Miss Cheever?'
'I think so. You are telling me how keen you were to design the new house.'
'Would Sir Julius be equally keen to retain me if he knew that I had a brother like Henry? He would assume that I, too, was the kind of rakehell that he so despises.'
'Father would not make that mistake. He's a good judge of character.'
'I wanted to be judged for my work and not in terms of my brother.'
'That is still not reason enough to lie to me.'
'I did not lie,' he stressed. 'I simply held back a portion of the truth.'
'You said that there were two reasons.'
'Yes,' said Christopher sadly. 'The second concerns you.'
'Me?'
'In my own blundering way, I sought to protect you.'
'From what?'
'The full horror. Gabriel's murder has been a shattering blow for you, Miss Cheever. I did not want to distress you any further by telling you about its ugly consequences. If you feel that I hid things from you unfairly,' he said, leaning even closer to her, 'then I apologise unreservedly. I promise to tell you all that you wish to hear.'
'Why should I be distressed by it?'
'The details are rather sordid.'
'Nevertheless, I will hear it,' she said. 'Do not think to spare me.'
Christopher took a deep breath. 'If you insist.'
He gave her a clear and comprehensive account of events from the very start, hiding nothing from her and describing in detail the failure of his plan to catch the blackmailer in Covent Garden. Susan Cheever listened to it all without a tremor. The name that caught her attention was that of a woman.
'Miss Celia Hemmings?'
