‘She didn’t. She’d got it all taped out. I was to go Home to the Royal College of Music. At her expense. She was delighted when they said I’d never pass fit. When I tried to explain, she treated me like a silly kid. Then, when I stuck to it, she accused me of ingratitude. She had no right,’ said Cliff passionately. ‘Nobody has the right to take a kid of ten and teach him to accept everything without knowing what it means, and then use that generosity as a weapon against him. She’d always talked about the right of artists to be free. Free! She’d got vested interests in me and she meant to use them. It was horrible.’

‘What was the upshot of the discussion?’

Cliff had turned in his chair. His face was dark against the glare of the plateau, and it was by the posture of his body and the tilt of his head that Alleyn first realized he was staring at the portrait of Florence Rubrick.

‘She sat, just like that,’ he said. ‘Her hands were like that and her mouth, not quite shut. She hadn’t got much expression, ever, and you couldn’t believe, looking at her, that she could say the things she said. What everything had cost and how she’d thought I was fond of her. I couldn’t stand it. I walked out.’

‘When was this?’

‘The night I got home for the summer holidays. I didn’t see her again until—until—’

‘We’re back at the broken bottle of whisky, aren’t we?’

Cliff was silent.

‘Come,’ said Alleyn, ‘you’ve been very frank up to now. Why do you jib at this one point?’

Cliff shuffled his feet and began mumbling. ‘All very well, but how do I know…not a free agent…Gestapo methods…Taken down and used against you…’

‘Nonsense,’ said Alleyn, ‘I’ve taken nothing down and I’ve no witness. Don’t let’s go over all that again. If you won’t tell me what you were doing with the whisky, you won’t, but really you can’t blame Sub-Inspector Jackson for taking a gloomy view of your reticence. Let’s get back to the bare bones of fact. You were in the dairy-cum-cellar with the bottle in your hand. Markins looked through the window, you dropped the bottle, he hauled you into the kitchen. Mrs Duck fetched Mrs Rubrick. There was a scene in the middle of which she dismissed Mrs Duck and Markins. We have their several accounts of the scene up to the point when they left. I should now like to have yours of the whole affair.’