The Parliament House

    'I seek only to increase it.'

    'By forcing your unsought attentions upon her?'

    'By showing her that at least one member of the Redmayne family has the courage to follow his heart. You've been walking in circles around Susan for an eternity without getting any closer to her.'

    'We have an understanding.'

    'So do Brilliana and I,' said Henry, rolling her name around his mouth as if it were a delicious sweetmeat. 'We understand that love is but a brief prologue to consummation. She will soon be mine.'

    The evening got off to an uneasy start. Arriving by carriage at the house, the visitors were conducted into the parlour. Dorothy Kitson was wearing a beautiful ruby-coloured dress with a bone- fronted bodice and a looped skirt. Puffed and slashed, the elbow sleeves were finished with a row of ribbon loops. Bows adorned the front of the bodice. Her hair was puffed above the ears and held away from her cheeks by concealed wires. She looked poised and handsome. Her brother, by contrast, wearing a serviceable black suit and sporting the periwig that he used as a justice of the peace, was ill at ease and seemed rather dowdy beside her.

    Introductions were made and everyone sat down. Susan Cheever was wearing an elegant new dress but it was her sister who had gone to elaborate lengths with her appearance. Serle, too, in a suit of blue velvet, had taken time with his preparation. Sir Julius was oddly uncomfortable, a nervous host who was desperately hoping that his daughters would approve of Dorothy and, by the same token, that she would like them. The grim, judicial expression on Orlando Gotland's face suggested that no approbation would ever come from him.

    There was a long and very awkward pause. Even Sir Julius was at a loss for words. Sitting in a circle, they all waited for someone to speak. Into the void stepped Brilliana Serle.

    'Have you known Father long, Mrs Kitson?' she asked.

    'A matter of weeks, that's all,' replied Dorothy.

    'Over a month,' corrected Sir Julius, softly. 'But I feel that I've known you so much longer.'

    'Yes, I feel that as well.'

    'The acquaintance is still very new,' said Golland, implying that it should proceed at a slow pace. 'I was there when my sister and Sir Julius first met. It was at Newmarket.'

    'I understand that you own racehorses,' said Serle.

    'It's my one weakness.'

    'I don't think that an interest in horses is a sign of weakness, Mr Golland. Horses are the most superb creatures. I've seven in my own stables, though only one competes in races. How many do you have?'

    'Three at the moment but I'm negotiating for a fourth.'

    'How did you first get involved in the sport?'

    Series curiosity had two important results. It not only brought a whisper of a smile to Golland's face, it detached him from the general conversation and allowed the other four to begin a separate dialogue. Serle was a keen horseman and a frequent visitor to races. He and the magistrate were soon discussing the finer points of rearing and riding thoroughbreds. Susan, meanwhile, impressed by Dorothy Kitson's demeanour, made an effort to be friendly towards her.

    'Father has told us so little about you,' she said. 'He's been hiding you away like a secret horde of gold.'

    'That's exactly what she is,' said Sir Julius, stiffly. 'A human treasure chest. Dorothy - Mrs Kitson, that is - has enriched my life in every way and I am deeply grateful.'

    'We can understand why now that we've met her.'

    'Yes,' said Brilliana. 'You are nothing at all as we pictured you, Mrs Kitson. We expected someone rather older.'

    Dorothy smiled. 'I'm not in the first flush of youth, Mrs Serle.'

    'Father did not describe you with any accuracy.'

    'Really?'

    'Words could never do you full justice,' said Sir Julius.

    'You are too kind.'

    'We look upon you as a benign sorceress,' Brilliana told her.

    'A sorceress?'

    'You've cast such a wondrous spell upon Father. Instead of ranting and raving at us-'

    Sir Julius frowned. 'I never rant and rave.'

    '-he's been the soul of affability. Don't you agree, Susan?'

    'Your effect on Father has been truly astonishing, Mrs Kitson,' said Susan, looking fondly at Sir Julius. 'He's been transformed. The shame of it is that you've come into his life at such a troublesome moment.'

    'Yes,' said Dorothy, sadly. 'I heard about the attack on him. It's a miracle that he survived. You were brave to travel without a bodyguard, Sir Julius, but I hope that you will be not display such bravery again. In the eyes of those that care for you, it's akin to folly.'

    'For your sake,' he promised, 'I will exercise the utmost caution.'

    'I'll hold you to that.'

    'And so will we, Father,' said Susan.

    Brilliana nodded. 'We could not bear to lose you.'

    'I intend to be here for a long time yet,' he told them. 'When a man has so much to live for, he'll make sure that premature death is kept at arm's length.' He winked at his elder daughter. 'You'll have to continue to endure my ranting and raving, Brilliana.'

    'Mrs Kitson has cured you of it.'

    'Not when I enter parliament,' he confessed. 'I am as choleric as ever there. I was so sorely pressed today that I could not help but rant and rave at Maurice Farwell.'

    'Maurice?' said Dorothy, ears pricking up. 'How did he arouse your ire, Sir Julius?'

    'By trouncing me in debate.'

    'He rarely loses an argument.'

    'That's what I've discovered.'

    Adele, his wife, tells me that he's the most mild-mannered man at home. In the House of Commons, clearly, he's a very different person.'

    'He's as slippery as an eel,' snapped Sir Julius. On reflection, he summoned up a forgiving smile. 'No, give the man his due. He's an adroit politician with the gift of rhetoric. I have to be on my mettle to best him in argument. Every blow I try to land seems to miss him.'

    'Father, this is hardly the time for political discussion,' warned Susan. 'You are not in the Parliament House now.' 'Yes,' said Dorothy. 'It's a subject about which I know nothing.'

    'Then I'll not bore you with it,' vowed Sir Julius, graciously. 'Especially as we have so many other things to talk about.'

    'I'd like to know more about your lovely daughters.'

    'I'll tell you about Susan,' offered Brilliana, 'then she can tell you about me. Not that you should believe a word she says, mind you. Younger sisters never appreciate the problems and responsibilities that an elder sibling has to face.'

    'You talk of nothing else,' said Susan.

    'You see? She contradicts me all the time.'

    'I deny that, Brilliana. Be more just, please. We don't wish to give Mrs Kitson the wrong impression.'

    Dorothy smiled. 'My impression is that your father is blessed in his daughters. He's told me what a comfort you've been at this difficult time. I can see why he's immensely proud of you both.'

    Susan and Brilliana were touched. They turned to their father with gratitude but Sir Julius was not even looking at them. A beatific smile covering his face, he was gazing intently at Dorothy Kitson.

    Christopher Redmayne was not entirely convinced by the evidence. After studying one of the notes found on the body of the dead man, he shook his head.

    'I think it's just a coincidence, Jonathan,' he said.

    'But his hands were shaking, Mr Redmayne. He told me that he could not stop them. That letter was written by Erasmus Howlett.'