‘Where is Dorothea?’ he asked.

‘She’s having a rest.’

‘How is she?’

‘Well, she’s been remarkably calm today. I gave her a singing lesson and showed her the practice routine I go through when I’m rehearsing any songs I have in a play. Dorothea is a keen pupil.’

‘What did she think of your invitation?’

‘She was enthralled by it. When I let her hold it, she couldn’t believe that she had something of royal significance in her hands. Dorothea said that I ought to frame it and hang it on the wall.’

‘If you do,’ he said, ‘I’ll smash the glass and burn the letter.’

‘There’s no need to be quite so touchy about it, Paul.’

‘How else am I to react when the Prince Regent takes advantage of his privileged position to woo the woman I love?’

‘I’ve had far more explicit offers in the past and you’ve laughed at them.’

‘They didn’t have the force of royalty behind them.’ His anger suddenly vanished to be replaced by a broad smile. ‘I may have just the answer.’

‘What is it?’

‘Something has just fallen into our laps, Hannah.’

He told her about the unexpected arrival of David Mellanby and how Peter had offered him hospitality. Sir Roger’s younger son, he explained, had been given a petition for the Prince Regent but was uncertain how to deliver it.

‘Peter wondered if you could do it,’ said Paul.

‘What sort of petition is it?’

‘It’s one that lists the grievances of the lower classes in Nottinghamshire. It’s replaced the earlier petition and points out that Sir Roger Mellanby was murdered before he could present it. In essence, it’s a plea for intervention, Hannah. There’s a foolish idea abroad that the Prince Regent is somehow above the political fray and has the power to impose his will on Parliament whenever he chooses.’

‘Does that mean he’d take any notice of this new petition?’

‘No, it doesn’t. He’d probably fling it straight back at you.’

‘Then why are you advising me to give it to him?’

‘Because it will engineer our escape,’ said Paul, mischievously. ‘You’ll have accepted his invitation yet made yourself thoroughly unwelcome by thrusting the petition at him. With a bit of luck and a following wind, we’ll be in and out of Brighton Pavilion in less than ten minutes.’

David Mellanby felt that his family obligation came first. Before he was ready to stay in with Peter and Charlotte, therefore, he thought he should speak to his brother and went off in a cab. Peter arranged to pick him up from the Clarendon Hotel later on. Left alone with his wife, he took another look at her sketch of Harry Scattergood. It was very lifelike.