‘It’s because Peter Skillen went all the way up to Sir Roger’s house in search of evidence. The son was outraged. He said it was our job to lead the investigation.’

‘He’s quite right.’

‘Do you see what this means?’ said Yeomans, grinding his teeth. ‘We’ll not only have the son breathing down our necks from now on, we’ll have the Skillen brothers to worry about as well.’ Tearing the letter to pieces, he threw it in the air so that it descended on Filbert like a minor blizzard. ‘This is your fault, Bill. Everything was going so well until you came through that door.’

‘I was only obeying orders,’ complained Filbert.

‘Well, here’s another order to obey.’ Grabbing him by the neck, Yeomans opened the door and flung him uncaringly into the street. ‘Get your disgusting old carcase out of here.’

‘Don’t blame him,’ protested Hale. ‘He was only the messenger.’

‘That letter has put me right off my ale.’

‘Bill Filbert didn’t write it.’

‘That makes no difference.’

‘What are we going to tell Sir Roger’s son?’

‘I’ll think of something.’

‘The truth is that we’ve nothing at all to show for our efforts. That will make Sir Roger’s son very angry.’

‘Forget him for the moment,’ said Yeomans, flapping a hand. ‘We have a far bigger problem in the Skillen brothers. They’ve been conducting their own inquiry behind our backs, and you know where that may end.’

‘Yes, Micah. They might show us up once again.’

‘We can’t let that happen. It will take all the gloss off our reputation. Dealing with Peter and Paul Skillen must be our first priority. Whatever it takes, we have to stop them interfering once and for all.’

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Once they’d taken her back to the house, Dorothea Glenn seemed to calm down slightly. Though still tense and anxious, she was no longer desperate and tearful. Grateful that they’d come to her rescue, she was ready to cooperate with Paul and Hannah in any way they suggested. Once the three of them had settled down in the drawing room, Paul let Hannah do most of the talking because Dorothea had complete trust in her.

‘It’s clear from what you told me earlier,’ said Hannah, ‘that Orsino was entranced by you.’

‘He was,’ confirmed Dorothea. ‘You saw the letters he wrote. They came from the heart. Unlike other gentlemen who’d taken an interest in me, Orsino was kind and considerate. He never tried to … lead me astray.’

‘I’m sure that he was the perfect gentleman you describe. But there were several things you didn’t tell me about him. For instance, where did he live?’

‘He didn’t say, Miss Granville.’

‘Weren’t you curious to know?’

‘It wasn’t something that we ever talked about.’

‘Did he mention his family?’