‘To find my wife,’ Lancaster said, and Josephine couldn’t decide if his tone was suspicious or simply cautious. ‘She’d had a fair amount to drink, as I’m sure you noticed, and I wanted to make sure she was all right.’

‘So you went back to your room to look for her?’

He hesitated. ‘I found Rachel in that long corridor with all the paintings. We went back to our room together.’

‘That’s a lie, Gerry.’

Everyone turned to stare at Rachel Lancaster, including her husband. For a moment, Josephine thought he was going to get up and reach across the table to her, but Lancaster clenched his fists in his lap and struggled to keep his tone even. ‘You don’t remember, darling, because you were a bit worse for wear. I had to practically carry you back to our room because you were feeling so ill.’

She stared defiantly at him, and Josephine could only admire her courage. ‘I remember last night very clearly, darling,’ she said, ‘and the only place you carried me – well, carried, pushed, kicked if we’re going to be strictly accurate – is up that tower.’

‘What?’ Archie looked first at one of them, and then the other. ‘You were both in the church last night?’

‘Yes.’

‘She’s lying, Penrose. Don’t trust a word she says.’ 197

‘Be quiet please, Mr Lancaster. I’d like to hear what your wife’s got to say.’ He turned to her and spoke more gently. ‘Is that how you got the bruise on your face, Mrs Lancaster? By being forced up to the tower against your will?’

Lancaster banged the table with his fist. ‘That’s none of your damned business.’

‘Go on, Mrs Lancaster. Take your time.’

Josephine hoped fervently that Archie had a plan to keep husband and wife apart after he had finished his questions; Lancaster’s rage was enough to bring on a second murder, regardless of whether he had had anything to do with the first. ‘I went out onto the terrace after dinner,’ Rachel said. ‘Gerry’s right about that – I did have too much to drink, and I was feeling unwell so I went outside for some air. He found me there, and he was angry.’ She laughed to herself, but there was no humour in it. ‘He gets angry very easily, always has, and he wanted to pay me back.’

‘For what?’

‘For what I said at dinner about that chair. Gerry doesn’t like to think of a woman getting one over on him, or anyone else, come to that, so he thought he’d show me who’s boss – didn’t you, darling?’

‘What time was this?’ Archie asked.

‘I couldn’t say exactly, but not long after we left the dinner table. You were still in the smoking room with the vicar and Mr Fielding – I could see you through the window from the terrace and I thought Gerry was with you, but he took me by surprise.’

‘And he forced you into the church?’