‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘It does to me. It was afterwards, wasn’t it?’

Denley lowered his head. It was an acknowledgement.

Paul’s second interview with Kitty Denley had been instructive. She had talked more openly about her marriage and how she’d felt bored and disregarded. What interested him most was the link she established between her husband and Sir Marcus Brough. Moving in different spheres of society, they were hardly natural friends. Paul wondered what had brought the two of them together. She was unable to tell him. He thanked Kitty for being so honest with him, then rode home to see how Hannah was coping with Dorothea. To his relief, the latter was no longer distraught and fearful. Something had happened to calm Dorothea down. Paul decided that it might be time to tell her the truth. Holding it back any longer could be seen as an act of wilful cruelty.

‘Well,’ asked Dorothea, getting up. ‘Have you found anything out?’

‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I have.’

‘I can see from your face that it’s bad news.’

‘I’m afraid that it is. Why don’t you sit down again?’

‘I’d rather stand, if you don’t mind. Please tell me the worst, Mr Skillen. I will be able to cope with it, I promise you.’

‘Dorothea is much stronger now,’ said Hannah, rising from the sofa to stand beside her. ‘We’ve been reading together.’

‘What have you discovered, Mr Skillen?’

‘The body of a man was found in an alleyway in Covent Garden,’ he said, softly. ‘He’d been stabbed to death.’ Dorothea tensed and Hannah put an arm around her shoulders. ‘He’s not been identified yet, but there’s every possibility that he might be Orsino Price.’

‘Thank you for telling me,’ said Dorothea, holding back tears.

‘There’s still a chance that it might not be him, of course, but I don’t think it’s wise to nurture that hope.’

‘You’ve only confirmed something I already knew, Mr Skillen.’

‘Have I?’

‘Orsino was a saint. He’d never break a promise to me unless …’

‘You have our deepest sympathy.’

‘I think I’d like to go to my room now,’ said Dorothea.

‘Let me come with you,’ said Hannah, putting an arm around her and helping her upstairs. A few minutes later, she returned.

‘How is she?’ asked Paul.

‘She’s surprisingly calm.’

‘I thought that the news would destroy her.’

‘Dorothea is more resilient than she looks.’

‘At least, we’re not deceiving her any more.’

‘His family will need to be informed.’

‘We don’t know that he has one, Hannah. He said nothing to Dorothea about parents. She wasn’t even told where he lived. Then there’s another problem.’

‘Is there?’

‘Orsino Price may not even be his real name. You know how vain actors are. They prefer a name that has a ring to it.’

‘Does Hannah Granville have that ring?’