Chapter Fifteen
Sir Philip looked up when Riley entered the room. He sat ramrod straight, but his eyes reflected a combination of uncertainty and fear. As the power behind a number of governmental thrones he was accustomed to dishing out orders, not being compelled to obey them. It was humiliating for anyone to be brought into Scotland Yard, Riley knew, but people in Sir Philip’s comfortable situation didn’t expect it to happen to them. Riley braced himself for a barrage of protests and bluster. Instead he was treated to a mildly worded enquiry.
‘Why am I here, Lord Riley?’ Sir Philip asked. ‘Is there news?’
Riley sat across from him and took a moment to assess the man. His face looked haggard, as though he hadn’t been sleeping well, but his attire was pristine. Had it been anyone other than Riley interviewing him, Riley sensed that he would have pulled rank and attempted to intimidate. Fortunately, Riley was immune to intimidation.
‘Verity is in the next room,’ Riley said after a slight pause.
‘Ah.’ Sir Philip’s upright stance crumpled and he let out a long breath. Riley wondered if he was relieved to have been rumbled, aware now that he wouldn’t have to press for an explanation. ‘So you know.’
‘I suspected your involvement when Ida told me that you had been preoccupied and withdrawn since Ezra’s death. Even so, I would prefer to hear your own account of events.’
‘She isn’t a bad woman.’ Sir Philip ran a hand through his hair and Riley knew he was referring to Verity rather than Ida. ‘Gideon should never have married her. Ida and I couldn’t understand why he had, and Gideon wasn’t willing to share his reasons with us. Verity thinks it was for her fortune, which he needed to bolster his political ambitions. She fails to take into account that Gideon has no ambitions. Well, not in respect to politics, anyway. Those aspirations are all Verity’s. I have known for a long time that Gideon has neither the drive nor the will to succeed in such a cutthroat arena, but Verity had very different ideas on the subject and thought his achievements would eclipse my own.’ Sir Philip shook his head. ‘I could have told her differently. Gideon is a dreamer, not a man of action. He actually writes very good poetry, as a matter of fact.’
‘I was not aware of that,’ Riley said. ‘Verity didn’t encourage that talent, one assumes.’
‘Indeed she did not. She is driven by a will that none of us have ever understood. She and Ida have despised one another since the day Gideon first introduced us to Verity. Chalk and cheese, of course. I tried to be kind to Verity because…well, because no one else in the family—not even her own husband—bothered to give her the time of day. I suppose she misinterpreted my politeness for approval of her ambitions for Gid, so I must shoulder part of the blame for inadvertently bolstering her determination.’
‘No one could have predicted the extent of Verity’s spite. She isn’t rational.’
Sir Philip lifted a shoulder. ‘She was outraged when she realised how Ida occupied her time and felt duty bound to tell me about her behaviour with…Oh, I forget who now, but one of her previous paramours.’ Sir Philip gave a mirthless chuckle. ‘She couldn’t believe that I knew and didn’t mind, and continued to be outraged even though I had no use for her sympathy. Ida had tried to be polite to Verity up until that point, and you know how hard it is for Ida to pretend to be something she is not. She either likes a person or she doesn’t, and if she doesn’t then you can be sure that person won’t be left in any doubt of it. Verity had made an adversary for herself, since Ida simply didn’t care what she thought of her.’
‘Which made for interesting times when you were together as a family, one imagines,’ Riley said, keen to keep Sir Philip talking. Riley sensed that he found the opportunity to confess a huge relief. Whether he intended to admit to killing Ezra or was being so disconcertingly honest in the hope that Riley would believe him when he lied about his part in the footman’s death was less certain.
‘You have no idea. But of course that was the calm before the storm. When Ida took up with her new footman and made next to no effort to conceal the affair, I thought Verity would have a conniption. She kept on at me to do something about it, insisting that my reputation and good name was being degraded. She didn’t believe me when I said that I was happy that Ida was…well, happy. You have to understand, Lord Riley, that I truly love my wife and I believe that she loves me in return. It’s an odd relationship, I’ll grant you, but it works for us. We are the very best of friends and have few secrets from one another.’
‘She said you have been very supportive since Ezra’s death.’
Sir Philip sighed. ‘How could I be otherwise? She was inordinately fond of Ezra.’
‘Weren’t you jealous?’ Salter asked from his position against the wall.
Sir Philip slowly shook his head. ‘If she had lost her heart to him, then perhaps I would have been, but she repeatedly assured me that the relationship was purely physical. I was aware of her needs when I married her. I struggled to satisfy them early in our marriage when I was still able to discharge my duty in that respect. Well, we have three children and they are all my progeny, so at least I did something right. But I was seriously unwell not long after Patrick was born, and although I recovered it left me impotent.’
‘Ida didn’t say.’
Sir Philip chuckled. ‘She wouldn’t. She was protecting my dignity, I expect.’
‘Is
