He was led along a passageway and into the drawing room. Kitty closed the door firmly behind them. When she tried to speak, her visitor motioned her into silence.

‘Let me begin with an apology,’ he said. ‘I know that you summoned Paul Skillen but he is not available today. I’ve come here in his stead.’

She was startled. ‘But you are Mr Skillen.’

‘Indeed, I am, Mrs Denley, but my name is Peter Skillen. I’m Paul’s twin brother. Since your letter was addressed to “Mr Skillen”, I opened it in error and, realising that there was no possibility that Paul could come here, I took the liberty of doing so myself.’

‘Oh, I see,’ said Kitty, uneasily.

‘My brother and I have been retained to solve this murder, so we have pooled all the information we’ve gathered in relation to it. I am therefore fully cognisant of the meetings you’ve had with Paul. You’ve been very helpful to him.’

‘I tried to be, Mr Skillen.’

‘Why were you so desperate to speak to him?’

‘There’s been a … development,’ she said, ‘and it has left me deeply upset.’

‘Why don’t you sit down and tell me all about it?’

She took his advice. After waiting for her to sit on the sofa, Peter settled into a chair nearby. He saw how accurate Paul’s description of the woman had been and could easily understand why she’d attracted Sir Roger Mellanby. As Peter was appraising her, Kitty was in turn looking closely at him, trying to decide if he was trustworthy. At length, she spoke softly and rapidly.

‘Earlier today, my husband called on me. Though I had no wish to speak to him, I didn’t feel that I could turn him away. He’d come to accuse me of setting you and your brother on to him, whereas I had nothing to do with it. Well, I’d never even met you so how could I have urged you to question him?’

‘Was that the only reason that he called here?’

‘No, it wasn’t. He told me that he missed me.’

‘That’s understandable, Mrs Denley.’

‘He even dared to suggest that I might move back in with him,’ she said, ‘but that’s impossible. In fact, I’m planning to live in Dorset.’

‘That wouldn’t have pleased him.’

‘It shocked and angered him, Mr Skillen. But that discussion came later. As your brother will have told you, I left the family home because I was wrongly accused of welcoming Sir Roger’s advances. In point of fact,’ she stressed, ‘he never made any advances and, if he had, I would have ended our acquaintance on the spot.’

‘I see.’

She took a few moments to compose herself, then held his gaze.

‘Are you married, Mr Skillen?’

‘Yes, I’m very happily married.’