‘This is truly splendid news,’ said Tallis, grandiloquently. ‘It wipes the slate clean of any mistakes we may have made during the investigation. I will have great pleasure in passing on the tidings to the Wolverhampton Borough Police and even greater pleasure in writing to the parents of Constable Peebles and to the young lady to whom he was betrothed.’
‘I hope it will bring them a measure of satisfaction, sir.’
‘With luck, it will take the edge off their sorrow.’
‘It may be too soon to do that,’ said Colbeck. ‘Bereavement must run its course. But at least they won’t be tormented by the thought that the constable’s killers escaped justice.’
Tallis wriggled in his chair. ‘Tell me all, Inspector.’
‘Well, sir, it’s rather a long story …’
It had been a good choice for a studio. Situated on the first floor at the rear of the house, it was a large room with a high ceiling. Madeleine set up her easel in a position where it caught the light pouring in through the two windows. Colbeck had singled the room out for her and – now that she’d actually tried to work in it – she saw that his judgement had been sound. There were immediate gains. She’d escaped the well-intentioned interference of her father and given him the freedom of their home during the day. Of much more satisfaction to her was the fact that she was in the house where Colbeck had been born and brought up. It was filled with mementos of him and with clear indications of his character. When Madeleine was working there alone, she somehow felt that he was beside her.
Her latest painting featured a locomotive that her father had actually driven. It enabled her to get expert advice from him but it also left her open to bitter reproaches when he felt she’d got a detail wrong. Working from sketches she’d made, Madeleine was now at the stage where the final touches could be applied. She stood back to study the painting with a critical eye. When there was a tap on the door, she barely heard it. It needed a second, harder tap to claim her attention. Madeleine opened the door, expecting to see one of the servants there. Instead, it was Colbeck, beaming at her with arms widespread.
‘Do you remember me?’ he asked.
‘Robert!’ She almost swooned as she went into his embrace.
‘I called at your house but your father told me that you were here.’ He looked around with approval. ‘I told you this would make an excellent studio.’
‘Oh, forget about me,’ she said, pulling him into the room. ‘You’re safely back home in England, that’s all I care about.’
He kissed her then stood back to gaze at her. ‘It’s a joy to see you again, Madeleine.’
‘You look different.’
‘I’m over two months older since we last met, that’s why.’
‘No, it’s something else,’ she said, scrutinising his face. ‘You were so serious and preoccupied before you left, but not anymore. It’s as if a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders.’
‘It’s more of a great cloud that’s finally floated away. It’s been hanging over me for far too long. In fact,’ he went on, ‘that’s what I want to tell you about, Madeleine. This case meant a lot to me.’
She put a hand on his mouth. ‘Say no more, Robert.’
‘But you deserve an explanation.’
‘You’re home again – that’s the only explanation I need. You left me for a long, lonely time but the Robert Colbeck I love has come back at last. One look at you has swept away all my sadness.’
‘Don’t you want to hear what happened?’
‘Another time, perhaps,’ she said, nestling against him. ‘This is all I want at the moment.’ Tears filled her eyes. ‘I was beginning to think that you’d never come back.’
‘Of course I was coming back, Madeleine,’ he said. ‘I had to honour a promise I made to you.’
‘What sort of promise?’
He laughed. ‘Don’t you remember?’
‘I’m too confused to remember anything just now.’
‘Dear me!’ he said, teasingly. ‘I disappear for a couple of months and you forget all about me.’
‘Don’t be silly. I thought about you every single day.’
‘Then you’ve probably already made the decision for me.’
She was baffled. ‘What decision is that?’
‘The small matter of a date for our wedding,’ he said, kissing her again and lifting her up to twirl her in a circle. ‘You’re not leaving this house until it’s fixed. I want to hear those banns being published and those bells ringing out in celebration. I’ve waited far too long for you already.’ He pulled her close and rubbed his nose softly against hers. ‘When will you become my wife?’
By Edward Marston
THE RAILWAY DETECTIVE SERIES
The Railway Detective
The Excursion Train
The Railway Viaduct
The Iron Horse
Murder on the Brighton Express
The Silver Locomotive Mystery
Railway to the Grave
Blood on the Line
THE CAPTAIN RAWSON SERIES
Soldier of Fortune
Drums of War
Fire and Sword
Under Siege
THE RESTORATION SERIES
The King’s Evil
The Amorous Nightingale
The Repentant Rake
The Frost Fair
The Parliament House
The Painted Lady