‘Did we see them murder him?’ repeated Tilly thoughtfully. ‘You might well ask. What we saw that night was enough to put the fear of God into any decent soul.’ Something in Tilly’s voice reflected the turmoil that was going on inside her. There had been times over the long, hard years since that dreadful night when she had feared for her own soul. She feared for it now: if the truth ever came out, it would reveal that what she and her husband actually saw on that night was no more than a struggle between three people, when one of them was unfortunate enough to lose his balance and go hurtling down the stairs to his death. Oh, it was true that Mrs Manfred was fighting like a tiger to protect Emma, there was no doubt of that. But Emma herself had nothing to do with him tumbling down the stairs, Tilly was certain of it. Yet, because she was desperate and times were hard, she had told the authorities otherwise, therefore pointing the finger at Emma in as final a way as her own worst enemy might have done. She had lived to be ashamed of it, but never to admit the truth to a living soul. Dear me no! That would be a very foolish thing to do!

The reason for Tilly’s betrayal of somebody who had been a good and loyal friend to her was a tin box. A tin box that she had secretly taken from the deathbed of Gregory Denton’s mother, soon after the latter had witnessed her son lying in a heap at the foot of the stairs. Tilly found the box to contain a few old documents that she had no use for at all, and a deal of money that she had a dire need of. So, she kept her mouth shut about thieving the box, and opened the same mouth as wide as she could, in order to see Emma arrested. That way her own secret would be safe: there was no danger that Emma might find out about the box and lay claim to it.

When Emma was transported, Tilly spent many a sleepless night. Later though, she took a strange comfort in making herself believe that Emma was guilty. Indeed, she told Molly the very same now. ‘She murdered the poor unfortunate fellow. You have my word on it. Me and Emma lived next door to each other. Soon after she and Mr Denton were wed, and he brought her to live on Montague Street, I was called in to look after the old woman… bloody cantankerous old sod she were and all. But now, do you see what I’m telling you, Molly?’ Molly shook her head and Tilly went on to explain, ‘What I said earlier was that it’s strange how life turns full circle.’

‘I see what you’re getting at now.’

In her mind, Molly quickly ran through all that Tilly had revealed. And it did seem like a horrible justice. Somehow, she did not take the same pleasure in it as did Tilly. ‘You’re saying that Emma Tanner’s son was killed in a manner that was uncannily like the way in which she helped murder her husband?’