‘I’m a busy man,’ he said. ‘If you have anything to say, please say it quickly then leave me alone.’

‘First of all,’ said Peter, ‘thank you for getting rid of Mr Oxley. I find his manner unpleasant.’

‘Forget him, Mr Skillen. He’s disposable.’

‘Does he realise that?’

‘He will do in due course. Now, what do you want?’

‘I’d like to know what you were doing at the House of Commons when my brother saw you there.’

‘Mind your own damned business!’

‘Oxley told me that you’d come to London specifically to attend the inquest, then take the body of your father back home for the funeral.’

‘I also came in the hope of seeing my father’s killer caught.’

‘Then why did you refuse to help me catch him?’

‘Because you want to root around in my family’s affairs when there is no need to do so. It’s an unwarranted interference. The Bow Street Runners agree with me. They don’t want to intrude on our privacy.’

‘That’s why they’ll never find the evidence necessary.’

‘Have you found it, Mr Skillen?’

‘We’ve unearthed quite a bit of it, as it happens.’

‘Then it’s your duty to hand it over to the Runners.’

‘My brother and I were engaged by a friend of your father to conduct our own investigation because we have an unrivalled record of success. Had you cooperated with us, we’d be much closer to making an arrest.’

‘I have no faith in untrained amateurs like you and your brother.’

‘Talking of brothers,’ said Peter, ‘I had the good fortune to meet yours. He was much more amenable. He told me that you had ambitions to replace your father in Parliament. Is that why you went to the House of Commons? Did you wish to look at the place that might well become your alternative home?’

‘Replacing my father is a natural desire,’ said Mellanby. ‘It’s what happens in political families. The baton is passed on to the next person in line. That’s what should occur in my case.’

‘But the baton was not passed on, was it? It was viciously snatched from Sir Roger’s hand because his campaign caused too much disquiet in certain quarters. It was a reasonable assumption that you’d eventually replace your father,’ said Peter, ‘but Parliament would not be changing like for like. You had severe reservations about Sir Roger’s radical principles. Your brother told me so.’

‘David knows nothing about politics.’

‘He recognises punitive legislation when he sees it. If anyone should pick up the baton in the Mellanby family, it should surely be him. At least his views are aligned with those of your father.’

Mellanby got to his feet. ‘I don’t have to listen to this nonsense.’