still be hanged.'
'I know.' There was nothing more to say. Neither of them wished to sit together and discuss it anymore, and it would have been ridiculous, even obscene, to try to talk of anything else. Callantha took her leave on the doorstep.
'You have shown me much that I did not wish to see, and yet now that I have, I know it is impossible to go back. I could not be the person that I was.' She touched Charlotte on the arm, a quick gesture of closeness, then walked across the pavement and accepted her footman's hand into her carriage.
The following day Pitt walked into Athelstan's office and closed the door behind him.
'Maurice Jerome did not kill Arthur Waybourne,' he said bluntly. When Charlotte had told him the previous evening, he had made up his mind then, and had forced it from his thoughts ever since, lest fear should make him draw back. He dared not even think of what he might lose; the price might rob him of the courage to do what his first instinct told him he must, however, uselessly.
'Yesterday, Callantha Swynford came to my house and told my wife that she and her cousin Lady Waybourne knew that it was Esmond Vanderley, the boy's uncle, who had killed Ar-^ thur Waybourne but they could not prove it. Titus Swynford admitted he did not know what he was talking about in the witness box. He merely agreed to what his father had suggested to him, because he believed his father might be right-Godfrey the same.' He allowed Athelstan no chance to interrupt him. 'J went to the brothel where Abigail Winters worked. No one else ever saw either Jerome or Arthur Waybourne in the place, not-
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even the old woman who keeps the door and watches it like a hawk. And Abigail has suddenly vanished to the country, for her health. And Gillivray admits he put the words into her mouth. And Albie Frobisher has been murdered. Arthur Way-bourne had venereal disease and Jerome has not. There is no longer any evidence against Jerome at all-nothing! We can probably never prove Vanderley killed Arthur Waybourne-it appears to have been an almost perfect crime-except that for some reason or other he had to kill Albie! And by God I intend to do everything I can to get him for that!
'And if you don't ask Deptford for the case back, I shall tell some very interesting people I know that Jerome is innocent, and we shall execute the wrong man because we accepted the words of prostitutes and ignorant boys without looking at them hard enough-because it suited us to have Jerome guilty. It was convenient. It meant we did not have to tread on important toes, ask ugly questions, risk our own careers by embarrassing the wrong people.' He stopped, his legs shaking and his chest tight.
Athelstan stared at him. His face had been red, but now the color drained and left him pasty, beads of sweat standing out on his brow. He looked at Pitt as if he were a snake that had crawled out of a desk drawer to menace him.
'We did everything we could!' He licked his lips.
'We did not!' Pitt exploded, guilt running like fire through his anger. He was even more guilty than Athelstan, because part of him had never entirely believed Jerome had killed Arthur, and he had suppressed that voice with the smooth arguments of reason. 'But God help me, we shall now!'
'You'll-you'll never prove it, Pitt! You'll only make a lot of trouble, hurt a lot of people! You don't know why that woman came to you. Maybe she's a hysteric.' His voice grew a little stronger as hope mounted. 'Maybe she has been scorned by him at some time, and she is-'
'His sister?' Pitt's voice was thick with contempt.
Athelstan had forgotten Benita Vanderley.
'All right! Maybe she believes it-but we'll never prove it!' he repeated helplessly. 'Pitt!' His voice sank to a moan.
'We might be able to prove he killed Albie-that'll do!' 265
'How? For God's sake, man, how?'
'There must have been a connection. Somebody may have seen them together. There may be a letter, money, something. Albie lied for him. Vanderley must have thought he was dangerous. Perhaps Albie tried a little blackmail, went back for more money. If there is anybody or anything at all, I'm going to find it-and I'm going to hang him for Albie's murder!' He glared at Athelstan, daring him to prevent him, daring him to protect Vanderley, the Wayboumes, or anyone else any longer.
