He knew from Olivia’s diary that the two had been meeting in secret, but he realised, too, that Edward must have been the boy he caught kissing Olivia by the koi pond that time. It had been this thought that had given him the idea of accusing Edward of stealing the carp. It wasn’t without precedence – as far as he was concerned, all people on low wages were thieves – and whilst he couldn’t prove Edward had taken the koi, Edward couldn’t prove he hadn’t, and he was damned sure that any reasonable person would believe him over one of his employees. If it went as far as court … he had dismissed the thought from his mind. How could someone like Edward afford to fight his employer in court? The mere thought was preposterous! Especially as William knew most of the magistrates by their Christian names. He cast his mind back to the moment he had pulled up outside the Hewitts’ and rapped a brief tattoo on the front door. He had kept the conversation with Craig brief and to the point. He had been surprised, maybe even a little disappointed that Craig had given in as easily as he had. He turned this thought over for a moment or so. Could the other man have suspected Olivia and Ted’s indiscretion? He cast the thought aside. Even if he had his suspicions, the outcome remained the same. Craig had assured William that he and Ted would be out of Liverpool by the end of the day, even writing the note which William dictated.

Now, as he poured himself a generous measure of brandy, he reflected on how neatly the rest of it had fallen into place. When he had returned to Aigburth Drive he had been toying with the idea of showing Olivia the two signatures but was wary of raising her suspicions. When Catherine had made the suggestion for him, he could have kissed her! He knew Olivia trusted her mother more than anyone, so for the idea to come from her lips gave validity to the suggestion. Once Olivia had seen the signatures with her own eyes he knew that as far as Edward was concerned, Olivia would want to have nothing more to do with him.

On reflection everything had worked out beautifully. All he had to do now, was think of a way to make sure that once the baby was born it would be out of their lives forever, because if there was one thing that could put a halt to his plans, it was word getting back to the Hewitts that they were now a father and grandfather, and that would never do.