‘After the events of last night,’ she continued, ‘His Royal Highness’s ardour may have cooled somewhat. The fact that someone was shot dead outside the theatre right next to him might make him afraid to go anywhere near Covent Garden. As for the hunt for the killer, Paul is supposed to stay well away from it.’

‘Who told him that?’ asked Ackford.

‘Micah Yeomans delivered the message, but it actually came from the Prince Regent himself. He was infuriated by the speed with which Paul snatched Hannah away from under his nose. My brother-in-law is being restrained by royal command.’

Ackford laughed. ‘Nothing can restrain Paul,’ he said. ‘It will only have made him more determined to bring the assassin to justice. That will not only give him great satisfaction, there’s the question of a reward. He’d love to get his hands on that. It’s bound to be substantial.’

Since he featured in them so regularly, Harry Scattergood always kept a close eye on any reward notices that were put up. When he saw the latest one pasted to a wall, he gasped at the amount of money on offer. Scattergood was a slender, wiry, quick-witted man in his forties who was surprisingly nimble for his age. His unrivalled success as a thief enabled him to dress well, eat heartily and enjoy the kind of dissolute life that appealed to him. He was always alert to the possibility of a new source of money. Looking at the reward notice, he believed that he’d just found one.

After noting the details, he went off laughing to himself.

Speaking with a mingled affection and regret, Golightly talked at length about his friendship with Mellanby, emphasising the latter’s determination to give a voice to those people denied one. Paul kept feeding him questions until he eventually ran out.

‘Thank you for being so honest, Captain Golightly,’ he said.

‘There’s no reason to be anything else. Sir Roger had his flaws – which of us does not? – but he was, at heart, a people’s champion. Though he stood for Parliament as a Whig, he was really one of Nature’s revolutionaries.’

‘And what of you?’ asked Paul.

‘I don’t follow.’

‘Why have you espoused the same causes? A career in the army rarely imbues a man with sympathy for the lower orders, still less for revolution. What makes you so different?’

‘I can give you the answer in two words.’

‘What are they?’

‘Orator Hunt.’

‘Ah, yes,’ said Paul, ‘I’ve heard Henry Hunt speak. He held a crowd of thousands utterly spellbound. He was talking about the Corn Laws, except that he called them Starvation Laws because that’s what they amount to.’