‘No, Jack, but he might have arranged to meet someone.’
‘Lane, possibly.’ Salter shrugged. ‘But why not meet in the tavern?’
‘Depends if their discussions were of a sensitive nature. There again, Ezra might have arranged to meet a female. All I’m saying is that Gregg could have followed him there. He was outraged to have his authority so publicly contested, and if there’s one thing that Gregg holds dear, apart from his loyalty to Sir Philip, it’s his position of absolute power below stairs.’
‘So he knew Ezra had gone to Clapham, and perhaps he lured him there himself by sending that message telling him his mother was ill. He knew him well enough to suspect he would visit his local tavern and took his chances.’ Salter sniffed. ‘Seems tenuous but it’s possible, I suppose.’
‘Take my word for it, Jack. A man like Gregg will go to any lengths to protect what’s important to him.’
A tap at the door brought the conversation to an end. Salter opened it and admitted James, exchanging a look with Peterson, who hovered behind the footman and nodded to indicate that he had kept him separate from Gregg.
‘Come in, James,’ Riley said. ‘We have a few more questions for you.’
‘Anything I can do to help, sir.’
‘In that case, why did you lie about your whereabouts on the night of the murder?’
‘Ah.’ James lowered his gaze, shuffled his feet and examined the rug beneath them.
‘Well son? The chief inspector’s waiting.’
‘Look, if Mr Gregg finds this out, I’ll be unemployed. He doesn’t like me much as it is. Well, in fairness, he doesn’t like anyone. Between you and me, he thinks he’s better than the rest of us servants. And he knows that I was once a favourite of Lady Randall’s and it infuriated him. He still holds it against me and would use the slightest excuse to dismiss me if he thought he could get away with it.’
‘You would go to Lady Randall and ask her to intercede to protect your livelihood?’ Riley suggested.
‘I know better than to tell old Gregg as much, but yes, that’s exactly what I’d do, and I know she would take my side. I don’t think she has much time for Gregg either. She’s never said as much, but I know he’s very loyal to Sir Philip and that the master would make a fuss if she suggested replacing him.’ He managed a brief smile. ‘Anyway, Gregg knows that Lady Randall would support me if it came to a battle of wills.’
‘All very interesting, son, but you still haven’t told us what you got up to between leaving your young lady and getting back here quite a long time later.’
‘I didn’t go anywhere in particular. I took a walk in the park then went to a tavern and drank more than was good for me. I was a bit out of it by the time I got back, and Gregg don’t hold with drunkenness, which is why my position would be in jeopardy.’
‘Did anyone see you?’ Riley asked.
‘Probably dozens of people, but I didn’t see anyone I knew, and I didn’t speak to anyone for that matter, which is why I didn’t tell you the truth. Even I can see that it looks suspicious.’
Riley sent him a probing look, trying to decide if he was being deceitful. ‘Why did you delay coming home?’
‘I had a lot to think about. Molly, my young lady, has expectations. We’ve been walking out for several months and she’s hinted that she wants us to marry, otherwise she’ll look elsewhere. She wants security, you see, but…well, I’m not so sure that I do.’
‘Why?’ Riley asked, not unkindly.
‘I’m not ready to make that sort of commitment. If it hadn’t been for…well, for Lady Randall…’
‘You got accustomed to harbouring expectations, then she grew tired of you,’ Riley surmised. ‘And Molly just doesn’t measure up in comparison.’
‘Lady Randall is such a lovely person. Outgoing, clever, funny. She’s taught me so much. Then Ezra came along and spoiled it all. I know that makes me sound guilty,’ he said, kicking at the edge of the rug, ‘but I’m being honest with you now. Ezra wasn’t discreet about his affair with the mistress and rubbed my nose in it all the time, telling me that she was besotted with him, would never pass him over like she had me, and would give him whatever he asked for.’ He sighed. ‘She most likely would have as well.’
‘But now he’s gone and you hope she will turn to you again,’ Riley said.
‘Well, I…’
‘You need to tell us what tavern you were in so that we can see if anyone remembers you there,’ Salter told him. James duly obliged and Salter jotted down the details.
‘I haven’t told you it all,’ James said, hesitating. ‘What I have said is true. I did need to think long and hard about Molly’s expectations, but it was more than just that. I didn’t know that Ezra had taken the afternoon off, but I did know that the master and mistress had an engagement that evening. Whenever they don’t dine at home, it makes our life easier and we servants gather in the kitchen and…well, talk and have supper. It’s that or going up to our rooms in the attics, and they aren’t made for sitting about in.’
‘And you thought Ezra would be there if you got back early?’ Riley said, nodding his understanding.
‘Exactly, and he would have made snide little comments about looking his best for an engagement he had later on. I just…well, I didn’t need that, so I went out and drowned my sorrows. But I was not in Clapham. I swear that on my mother’s life,’ James said passionately. ‘Like I say, I didn’t
