‘And what’s your conclusion?’ asked Ferriday. ‘Your brother has spoken to the Home Secretary and you have interviewed Sir Marcus and me. Have you obtained any evidence that the three of us were engaged in an assassination plot?’

‘It’s too early to say.’

‘Then the answer is that you haven’t and, I can assure you, that you never will because such evidence doesn’t exist. Not to put too fine a point on it, we regarded Sir Roger Mellanby as no more than a parliamentary nuisance. His oratory enlivened debates but we’ll manage quite well without it, thank you very much. Can you hear what I’m telling you?’ he continued. ‘We had no conceivable motive to silence his voice. It was simply a disagreeable noise in our ears.’

‘The people of Nottingham viewed him as a hero.’

‘That’s their prerogative.’

‘They’ll mourn him for a long time.’

‘Then perhaps they should take a closer look at the circumstances of his death,’ said Ferriday, nastily. ‘What was a married man doing outside the Covent Garden Theatre that night? Why was their hero hoping for a glimpse of one of the most beautiful women in London? That’s how the so-called Radical Dandy should be remembered – as a pathetic figure in the grip of his sexual fantasies.’

Paul got to his feet and left abruptly.

While their arrest of Peter Skillen had been a mistake, Yeomans and Hale did have some reason to be pleased. They’d managed to convince Edmund Mellanby that they were getting ever closer to his father’s killer and that it was only a matter of time before he was caught. Back at the Peacock Inn, they had to face facts.

‘We haven’t really made much progress,’ admitted Hale.

‘Yes, we have. Fresh information comes in every day.’

‘It’s also coming in to the Skillen brothers. Perhaps it was a mistake to turn that man, Seth Hooper, away. We could have learnt a lot from him, Micah.’

‘He’s irrelevant,’ said Yeomans. ‘We have someone who can be of practical use because he was actually there when Sir Roger was shot.’

‘But Giles Clearwater has refused to help us.’

‘Yes, Alfred, and we know why. He has his greedy eyes on that reward. Well, we won’t let him get away with it. That’s why I set Ruddock on to him.’

‘That was several hours ago. He should have been back by now.’

‘Don’t panic, man. Buy me a pint of ale while we wait.’

They were soon settling down with their drinks. Hale was becoming increasingly pessimistic but he rallied when he saw Ruddock coming in through the door. He rushed over to him.

‘Thank goodness you’ve come, Chevy. We need you.’

‘It’s kind of you to say so, Mr Hale.’

‘Where is he?’

‘Who?’

‘Giles Clearwater, of course.’