The Iron Horse

‘This is absurd!’

‘Select the time and place, Lord Hendry. Remember one thing.’

‘What’s that?’

‘You won’t be up against a defenceless young woman this time,’ said Fido warningly. ‘You’ll be facing another man.’

Lord Hendry was dumbstruck. Rooted to the spot, he could not hide the trepidation in his eyes. As he walked away, Hamilton Fido deliberately trod on the top hat as a signal of his future intent. The challenge had been issued. He wanted blood.

Travelling by cab, it had taken Kitty Lavender a long time to reach Epsom because of the huge volume of traffic on the road. She was staying in rooms that had been rented for her by Hamilton Fido and the first thing that she did when she got to the house was to change into her dressing gown and lie down for a rest. After a while, there was a knock on her door. Fearing that it might be Fido, she got up and hurried across to the mirror to adjust her hair so that it covered the bruise on her temple. There was a second knock.

‘Just a moment!’ she called.

She examined herself in the mirror until she was satisfied that her injury was all but invisible then she opened the door. Instead of the bookmaker, it was Marcus Johnson. Kitty was disappointed.

‘Oh!’ she sighed. ‘It’s you.’

‘I’ve had better welcomes than that,’ he complained.

‘I’m sorry, Marcus – come on in.’

‘Thank you.’ He entered the room and weighed it up at a glance. ‘This is quite luxurious. Hamilton has spared no expense. Prices for accommodation shoot up like rockets in Derby Week so he must love you.’ He took off his hat with a flourish and studied her face. ‘It hardly shows at all now, Kitty. It’s only your heart that’s still bruised.’

‘I prefer to forget that it ever happened,’ she said.

‘Well, I don’t – and neither does Hamilton.’

Kitty tensed. ‘You’ve told him?’

‘I felt obliged to do so,’ he replied. ‘If someone had assaulted a woman I adored, then I’d want to know about it.’

‘But I told you to keep it from him.’

‘That would have been unfair on Hamilton. It would also have let Lord Hendry off the hook and I was not going to allow that.’

‘How did he receive the news?’

‘With the same horror and disgust that I did.’

‘Oh, dear!’

‘I mean to confront Lord Hendry myself but I fancy that Hamilton will get there first. He was absolutely furious.’

She was alarmed. ‘What’s he going to do?’

‘I know what he ought to do,’ said Johnson savagely, ‘and that’s to horsewhip him ten times around the Derby course. The very least he’ll demand is an apology and some kind of reparation.’

‘He won’t get a penny from George,’ she said. ‘Nor an apology.’

‘Then the old roue will have to suffer the consequences.’

‘Consequences?’

‘If I know Hamilton Fido, he’ll challenge him to a duel.’

‘He mustn’t do that, Marcus!’ she protested.

‘It’s a matter of honour.’

‘Duelling is illegal. I don’t want Hamilton arrested.’

‘I’m sure they’ll find a venue that’s well hidden from the prying eyes of the police. Lord Hendry will be shaking in his shoes.’

‘I don’t care about him,’ said Kitty anxiously. ‘It’s Hamilton that I fear for. What weapons will they use?’

‘Pistols, most probably.’

‘Then I must warn him that George was in the army. He knows how to handle guns of all kinds. Shooting is one of his hobbies.’

‘Hamilton is much younger than he is,’ said Johnson. ‘His eyesight is better, his aim straighter and he’ll be the first to pull the trigger. Put your money on him.’

‘I don’t wish to put it on anyone. I want this duel stopped.’

‘But he’ll be protecting your honour, Kitty.’

‘That makes no difference,’ she said. ‘If he’s not killed, Hamilton could be wounded. And if he kills George, then he’ll be liable to arrest on a charge of murder. I don’t want him hanged.’

‘It will never come to that,’ he assured her. ‘A duel carries its own code. Whatever the outcome, nobody will be reported to the police. Have no qualms about Hamilton. He’s perfectly safe.’

‘Unless he’s shot dead by George.’

‘There’s no danger of that.’

‘But suppose that he was, Marcus,’ she said, trying to envisage the situation. ‘I’d lose Hamilton and George would get away scot-free.’

‘I could never allow that to happen.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You’re my half-sister, Kitty. We may spend most of our time apart but I’m devoted to you and I’ll not have you maltreated by anyone. There’s only one course of action for me to follow,’ he said, straightening his shoulders. ‘If Hamilton Fido doesn’t kill that aristocratic bastard – then I will.’

It was not until late afternoon that they ran the bookmaker to ground. They found it difficult to move in the swirling crowds. There were too many distractions. Left to himself, Victor Leeming would have explored the fairground and sampled some of the food and drink that was on sale. He was particularly interested in seeing the tattoed Polynesian lady, a woman of massive proportions, whose nude portrait was painted in lurid colours on a board outside one of the booths. But he and Robert Colbeck were there on duty and there was no time for entertainment. Making their way through the mass of people, they visited the betting office for the third time in a row and found that Hamilton Fido had at last returned.

When he saw the detectives approach, Fido excused himself from the man to whom he was talking and came over to them. Since the crowded room was no place for a private conversation, he led them out of the grandstand altogether and stood in the shadows at the rear.

‘You’re a difficult man to find,’ said Colbeck.

‘I’ve been very busy,’ explained Fido.

‘We came in response to your message. We spoke to Mr Stenton and he gave us the details of the crime. There’s no doubt that an attempt was made on the life of your filly.’

‘Someone should swing for this, Inspector.’

‘The least he can expect is a very long prison sentence.’

‘I want more than that.’

‘The law does not exist for the personal gratification of those, like yourself, who’ve been victims of a particular offence. Punishment is designed to fit the crime.’

‘Otherwise,’ said Leeming, ‘everybody we arrested would be dangling at the end of a rope, however minor his or her offence. The judge is there to impose the appropriate sentence.’

‘There’s only one thing appropriate for this villain,’ said Fido with vehemence, ‘and that’s a visit to the hangman. Do you know how much Merry Legs cost me? Do you know how much I’ve invested in training her? Do you realise how much I’d stand to lose if anything untoward happened to her?’

‘A lot of money, I suspect, sir.’

‘A fortune, Sergeant.’

‘That’s why we must look at those who’d stand to gain at your expense,’ said Colbeck. ‘Your trainer had no hesitation in singling out the man who instigated the attempted poisoning – Brian Dowd.’

‘That was the first name that popped into my mind.’

‘Has Mr Dowd ever done anything like this before?’

‘No,’ admitted Fido.