The Parliament House

    Serle had found it stimulating made Christopher revise his opinion of her completely. It would be wholly out of place in her house in Richmond and was liable to provoke censure among the most open-minded of people. He followed Henry into the room and they sat down.

    'Now,' said his brother, 'what tidings have you brought?'

    "We tracked down the man who killed Bernard Everett.'

    'Bravo!'

    'His name was Dan Crothers.'

    'I thought it was Field.'

    'That was an alias he used to confuse the landlady at the Saracen's Head. He worked as a porter at Smithfield. Separate them out. Smith. Field. He chose the second half of the market as a disguise.'

    'Did he resist arrest?'

    'No,' said Christopher. 'He was dead when we found him. Someone had cut his throat to stop him from giving anything away.'

    'Why employ a meat porter as a killer?'

    'Because he was desperate for the money and because he had learned to use firearms as a soldier. Someone knew and trusted him.'

    'Then disposed of him when his work was done.'

    'But it was not done, Henry,' his brother pointed out. 'Sir Julius survived. I think that Crothers was murdered as a punishment.'

    'By whom?'

    'That's what we have to find out.'

    Henry became pensive. Taking off his wig, he laid it aside so that he could scratch his head. Years were suddenly added to his age. A deep chevron of concentration was branded between his eyebrows. His eyes took on a watery look. After a while, he snapped his fingers.

    'Were there any clues on the dead body?' he asked.

    'Only these,' replied Christopher, taking out the two letters to pass to him. 'These were hidden inside his coat. They are both instructions to kill but, as you see, the calligraphy differs.'

    Henry held up one letter. 'This is the work of an educated hand,' he said, 'while the other could have been written by a child that had just mastered his letters. Neither is known to me.'

    'The one is on expensive stationery, the other on cheap paper.'

    'Was Crothers employed by two separate people?'

    'Yes,' said Christopher, 'but to the same end. Both wanted him to shoot Sir Julius Cheever. Luckily, his two attempts were failures.'

    'A third ambush might be more successful.'

    'That's my fear.' Taking the letters back, he slipped them into his pocket. 'What do you know about a pamphlet called Observations on the Growth of Popery and Arbitrary Government in England?'

    'Only that its author should be burned at the stake.'

    'You've heard of it, then?'

    'It was the talk of the coffee houses for weeks. Ninian Teale even got hold of a copy. He said that it was the most treasonable piece of prose he'd ever seen. A scurrilous essay, penned by a frothing dissident.'

    'Did he know who wrote it?'

    'No,' said Henry, 'and that's what made it so maddening. It was a cruel attack on His Majesty by someone who lacked the courage to put his name to such mutinous opinions.'

    'The pamphlet achieved its aim, then. It caused an uproar.'

    'Ninian Teale wanted the author to be weighted down with stones and dropped in the deepest part of the Thames. And he was not the only one moved to thoughts of revenge. All civilised men were affronted. Had they caught the wretch, they'd have disembowelled him.'

    'Who was most outraged by the pamphlet, Henry?'

    'That's difficult to say.'

    'Ninian Teale?'

    'Oh, no. There were several people more incensed than he.'

    'Such as?'

    Henry scratched his head again. His lips moved as he mumbled to himself a list of possible names. A light finally came into his eyes and he slapped his thigh with finality.

    'Cuthbert!' he declared.

    'Cuthbert?'

    'The Earl of Stoneleigh,' said Henry. 'I remember the anger with which he spoke about that pamphlet. I shared a box with him at the theatre one day. Cuthbert spent a whole hour, devising horrible deaths for the man who wrote those heretical Observations'

    Christopher was curious. 'Did the earl ever see military action?'

    'See it? I should think so. Cuthbert had his own regiment. One of the suggestions he made in the theatre that day was to have the author of that pamphlet tied to two stallions so that he'd be torn asunder when they were whipped into gallop.' Henry gave a harsh laugh. 'But on consideration, he thought that too mild a punishment.'

    'Too mild?'

    'Cuthbert has a vengeful streak. But let's put him aside,' said Henry. 'I want to talk about a vision of loveliness. How can you bring me to Brilliana's side?'

    'I'll do everything I can to keep you away from it, Henry.'

    'What sort of repayment is that?'

    'The best kind. I'm saving you from humiliation.'

    'I want her, Brilliana wants me. Where's the humiliation in that?'

    'You misunderstood the lady.'

    'No man could misunderstand the glances she darted at me.'

    'Brilliana is married.'

    'Her husband is my gateway to ecstasy,' said Henry, rubbing his hands. 'Lancelot Serle has ambitions to enter parliament and to consort with His Majesty. I'm in a position to assist him in both of those endeavours - at a price.'

    'To extract it from his wife would be dishonourable.'

    'What place has honour in a love affair?'

    'Henry!'

    'The match is made. Brilliana sealed it with a smile.'

    'I know that you've stolen quietly into a marital bed before,' said Christopher, 'and I accept that no amount of finger-wagging from me will ever make you abandon such lascivious escapades, but your interest has alighted on the wrong person this time. Look elsewhere, Henry.'

    'How can I when I know that Brilliana is waiting for me?'

    'The only thing she is waiting for is the capture of the men who are plotting her father's murder. Once that's been achieved, she will return to domestic harmony in Richmond.'

    'Then I'll visit her there.'

    'Her husband would not allow it.'

    'He'll be too busy in London, distracted by certain friends of mine who'll instruct him in the best way to pursue a political career. While Mr Serle is being educated in the city, I'll tutor Mrs Serle in the country.'

    'You'll do nothing of the kind.'

    'I will,' said Henry, grinning wolfishly. 'And I have the right to call on you for some brotherly assistance in my wooing.'

    'It falls on deaf ears.'

    'Will you at least carry a message to Brilliana?'

    'Not unless it be a promise to stay out of her way.'

    'She pines for me as I pine for her.'

    'Henry, you only met her once.'

    'Once is enough. Within seconds, I was enraptured.'

    'Pure fancy.'

    'I was, Christopher. When did you take an interest in her sister? Was it after a week of knowing her, a fortnight, a month, a year? No,' said Henry, confidently, 'I'll wager that it was the first time you set eyes on Susan. Am I right?'

    'Yes,' admitted Christopher. 'It was.'

    'There you are. We were jointly enthralled in an instant.'

    'It's a false comparison. Brilliana is married, Susan is not.'

    'A trifling detail.'

    'It's the one that will keep you at bay, Henry. If you really care for Brilliana, you would not trample on her happiness.'