‘They settled down as before,’ Meredith continued. ‘Or not as before. The two children were sent to stay with relatives of their mother in Shropshire. They never came back. There was a second unfortunate incident six months later when a maid, the Mary Elizabeth Rolfe who had testified at the trial, was drowned in a boating accident. This time it was accepted as accidental death. Various changes were made in the staff over the next year. Parties of people – cronies and business friends of Howard – stayed at Ardvreck House. Locally, the establishment acquired a bad reputation. Latterly, none of the people around here would work for Howard – or allow their daughters or wives to go into service. There were stories of drunken parties and worse. Howard, his secretary and his manservant spent a good fraction of the year in London, where he attended to his business interests.

‘Ostensibly he was an insurance and financial agent, with an office in Shaftesbury Avenue. In fact he was in league with a number of moneylenders. With his unparalleled knowledge of the seamier side of London Howard would look out for young men who were expecting large sums of money from aged relatives on the decease of said relatives. By reason of their predilection for a gay life, however, they were usually hard-up or in debt. Howard would befriend them, advance them money, encourage them to excesses of drugs, drink and debauchery that ran up even larger debts and then introduce them to his generous friends who would make the youngsters an allowance. As security, they had to sign over their expectations. Purely a formality.

‘In a number of cases he insured the lives of his protégés for large sums – again as security. There is some evidence to suppose that in the case of two of these young men, who had ruined their health by drugs, Howard managed to substitute his secretary for them when a medical was asked for. And in three cases the youths seemed to die in unfortunate but purely accidental circumstances within two years of meeting Howard.

‘On occasion he persuaded his young friends to stay with him here at Ardvreck House. He could offer them entertainment amid the fresh healthy air of the West Highlands. Somehow it didn’t seem to do their health much good. One died soon after he returned to London. Another drowned in the loch here.’

Meredith resettled his glasses on his nose.

‘And then it all came to an end. Howard, his secretary Adams, and manservant Metcalfe, simply disappeared. They had been here for some weeks in August eighteen-ninety-five. Their few remaining servants, when questioned by the police, said that they had been told by Howard to take one month’s holiday with pay. They did so, leaving by hired carriage for Fort William.