‘Then why do the two of them claim that you were?’

‘That’s something I’d very much like to know.’

‘You’ll have to come with us,’ said Yeomans.

‘I refuse to do so.’

‘Are you resisting arrest?’

‘I’m not being taken off to Bow Street for an offence I couldn’t possibly have committed,’ said Peter, shaking Hale off. ‘Apart from my wife, there are two other witnesses – Gully Ackford and Jem Huckvale – who will swear that I’ve been in this building for the last hour or so.’

‘We’d rather trust the word of the two gentlemen,’ said Yeomans.

‘I’ll sue them for laying false information against me.’

‘They’re waiting for you in Bow Street.’

Peter folded his arms. ‘I’m not moving an inch.’

Yeomans and Hale traded an uneasy glance. They were strong men but Peter was even stronger and much younger. It might take more than two of them to overpower him. In the event, no violence was necessary. The door suddenly opened and in walked Paul. Thrilled to see his brother, he threw his arms around Peter and they hugged each other warmly. Paul then noticed the Runners.

‘What are these idiots doing here?’ he asked.

‘They’re trying to arrest me,’ said Peter. ‘I’m supposed to have assaulted two men outside the House of Commons.’

‘The charge is that you pushed them apart with extreme force,’ said Yeomans, ‘and that’s tantamount to assault.’ Paul started to laugh. ‘It’s no cause for amusement. The two gentlemen are of good standing. One is a lawyer and the other is the son of Sir Roger Mellanby.’

‘So that’s who they are,’ said Paul. ‘They obviously confused me with Peter and you’re doing the same. I was the person who brushed lightly past them outside the House of Commons.’

‘They described you as brutal and uncouth.’ Paul laughed even more. ‘It’s no joke. You’re in serious trouble.’

‘I doubt that,’ said Peter, easily. ‘It sounds to me as if this whole business can be sorted out in a couple of minutes. Come on, Paul. We’ll both go to Bow Street to face the pair of them together and clear this matter up. Unless they’re dripping with blood and covered in bruises, I don’t think there’s a case to answer.’

The brothers went cheerfully out through the door.

It was only a suggestion but somehow it seemed to work. Rather than sit there with Dorothea Glenn and listen to her describing in detail her doomed relationship with Orsino Price, Hannah wondered if her friend would care to read some of the play in which they were next to appear together. Dorothea was uncertain at first. When she realised that she would be reading the part of Isabella, the leading female character, she changed her mind at once. It was an unexpected honour for her.