‘I don’t know what you mean, Inspector.’ Jenny looked confused. ‘How could he?’

‘By the ring, Jenny,’ Jazz said softly.

‘You mean, the one I sent off with my baby all those years ago?’

‘Yes.’

Jenny sat silently, staring at Jazz, who continued. ‘Your son was born forty years ago?’

‘He would turn forty this year,’ Jenny confirmed.

‘What month was he born?’

‘April. April the fourth.’

‘The fourth?’ Jazz frowned. ‘You’re sure about that?’

‘Excuse me, Inspector, for sounding rude, but it’s not exactly a date I’d forget, now, is it?’

‘No, of course it isn’t. Jenny, thank you so much for your help.’ Jazz rose from the sofa.

Jenny rose too and grabbed her arm. ‘Please, Inspector, you can’t leave me like this! I think you know who my son is, don’t you? Please tell me. Please!’

Jazz saw the desperation on her face. ‘Jenny, it would be very irresponsible of me to tell you something that might not be true.’ She spoke as gently as she could. ‘Let me check my facts and I promise you’ll be the first to know. It might be coincidence.’

‘That Hugh saw a man around the right age, wearing the ring I gave him as a baby?’

‘There might be a lot of those rings . . .’

‘No! The rings were only given to direct members of the Conaught family. I remember Hugh telling me there were no others in existence.’

‘Then someone might have copied it,’ Jazz suggested.

‘For Pete’s sake, why would they do that? It would mean nothing to anyone else.’ Jenny shook her head. ‘No, if Hugh found someone wearing that ring, he’d know if it was real or not. Oh dear.’ Jenny sank down into the chair. ‘I know who it is, I know who my son is. That’s why Hugh left all his money to him, isn’t it? Because he was Corin’s son. And mine. Tell me, please, is Sebastian Frederiks my child? Is he?’

Jazz could see hysteria was setting in. She took Jenny’s shaking hands in hers. ‘I don’t know yet. And that’s the truth. Yes, Sebastian does wear a signet ring that was identical to the one Emily Conaught was wearing last night. And as he told me his mother died only a few months ago, she may well have left the ring to him in her will. Which would explain why he has only recently started wearing it. And yes, it is odd that Hugh changed his will in Sebastian’s favour, but we mustn’t make suppositions until we have absolute proof.’

‘How can I not do that?!’ Jenny wrenched her hands away from Jazz. ‘I’ve known Sebastian since he was thirteen, and never thought for a moment he was my . . .’ She bit her lip, unable to say the word. ‘If anyone should know, I should, surely?’

‘How could you, Jenny? Please try not to blame yourself. But, listen, the good news is that I do have a way to get proof: Lady Conaught has kept a lock of Corin’s hair. It was in his baby book. If it matches a sample of Sebastian’s hair, we’ll know definitively if he is yours and Corin’s child.’