‘That’s highly unlikely to happen. It’s common knowledge that Lady Hertford is his mistress and that the two of them are rarely apart.’

‘They were apart two nights ago.’

‘He’s probably forgotten that he ventured anywhere near Covent Garden.’

‘I haven’t,’ she said. ‘He frightened me. As for that grisly Scotswoman, I’ll be delighted to see the back of her. Lady Macbeth is the personification of evil and it’s not in my nature to enjoy such a role.’

‘A much more suitable one awaits you, Hannah.’

‘Does it?’

‘Yes,’ he told her. ‘After a week’s rest, you start rehearsals for a production of Measure for Measure in which you are set to shine brightly as Isabella. Shakespeare could not have tailored a part that reflects your character more precisely.’ He gave her a teasing grin. ‘Isabella has just entered a nunnery.’

Hannah let out a yell of rage and snatched up the pepper pot, but she was far too slow. Paul had already fled from the room, his laughter echoing in the hallway.

On an errand that morning, Jem Huckvale caught sight of the reward poster relating to Sir Roger Mellanby’s murder. He was astonished at the amount on offer and, when he got back to the shooting gallery, told Ackford and Charlotte what he’d seen. Both were impressed.

‘I could retire in luxury on an amount like that,’ said Ackford.

‘You’d never give this place up,’ argued Charlotte. ‘In spite of the effort involved, you love this kind of life. It fits you like a glove.’

‘And me,’ said Huckvale.

‘That’s true, Jem. You and Gully are two of a pair.’

‘We’ll have to hope that Peter and Paul earn at least some of that reward money,’ said Ackford. ‘It will compensate them for the dangers both of them will face. They’re up against someone who will obviously stop at nothing.’

‘They are not like Sir Roger Mellanby,’ said Charlotte. ‘They’d never be caught off guard as he was. When it comes to danger, they each have a sixth sense. I’ve learnt to put my trust in it, Gully.’

‘But if Peter is right that the person who ordered the murder might live near Nottingham, it will make him more difficult to find. He’ll be on unknown territory there. Here, in London, he’s familiar with all the dark corners and would be on home ground.’

‘I think the killer and his accomplice are here,’ said Huckvale.

‘What about the person who hired them?’

‘Your guess is as good as mine, Gully.’