The Repentant Rake

    Christopher forced himself to concentrate on the work in hand. It was, after all, the means by which he had been introduced to the Cheever family. Having visited Serle Court, he could see why Sir Julius was so anxious to have a house of his own. Brilliana would be a spiky hostess at the best of times. In the situation thrust upon them, her coldness and selfishness had come to the fore. Well intentioned as he was, Serle himself had hardly distinguished himself in the emergency. It was not a happy place to be. Sir Julius only went there out of a sense of family duty. Christopher was confident that he would insist that plans went ahead for the London abode. It would be his place of refuge from an unfeeling daughter and an irritating son-in-law. The architect applied himself to his task. A more refined version of the house began to appear slowly on the parchment before him.

    Lost in creation, he did not hear the coach pulling up outside in the street or even the ringing of the doorbell. Joseph scurried out to see who was calling. The voice of Sir Julius Cheever boomed out. Christopher felt as if he had been shaken forcibly awake. Jacob invited the visitors into the parlour. When Christopher joined them, his surprise at seeing his client was matched by his delight in observing that he had brought his younger daughter with him. For her part, Susan Cheever was at once pleased and discomfited, curious to see inside Christopher's house but embarrassed that they had descended on him without warning. He brushed aside all apologies.

    'Do take a seat,' he said. 'Jacob will bring refreshment.'

    'I cannot stay, Mr Redmayne,' warned Sir Julius. 'I must visit the morgue. Susan was kind enough to travel with me from Richmond but I'll not put her through the ordeal. You have already shown your consideration. May I be so bold as to trespass on your kindness again and ask if my daughter might remain here while I am away?'

    Christopher was quietly thrilled. 'The request is unnecessary, Sir Julius. Please take my hospitality for granted. Miss Cheever is most welcome in my home.'

    'Thank you,' she said.

    'I will return for her in due course,' announced her father, moving to the door.

    'Do not hurry,' said Christopher. 'Your daughter will be safe here.'

    'I'm most obliged.'

    Sir Julius swept out and Jacob went after him to close the front door in his wake. The coach was heard trundling away. Susan refused the offer of food but was grateful to sit on a comfortable chair after her bumpy journey. Jacob withdrew discreetly to leave them alone. Christopher was nervous. Sitting opposite his guest, he saw how pale and strained she looked. He cleared his throat.

    'It pains me to see you in such distress,' he said.

    'Father was wrong to foist me on you like this, Mr Redmayne.'

    'Not at all, Miss Cheever. I regard it as a stroke of good fortune.'

    Her face clouded. 'I'd hardly call it that.'

    'The words were ill-chosen,' he confessed quickly, 'and I withdraw them at once. What I meant was that I'm glad of the opportunity to confide something that would have been impossible to tell you in your father's presence.'

    'You've seen Gabriel's wife?' she said, interest lighting up her features.

    'This afternoon.'

    'How did she receive the news?'

    'With great stoicism,' he told her, remembering the way that Lucy had borne up. 'Your sister-in-law is an unusual young lady, Miss Cheever. She looks delicate but she is very brave.'

    'That was how Gabriel described her in his letters to me,' she said.

    'They were obviously happy together.'

    Christopher gave her a full account of the visit that he and Jonathan Bale had made to the house. Susan was grateful for each new detail. It irked her that she had been unable to meet the young woman who had brought such joy and stability into her brother's life. Everything that she heard about Lucy Cheever accorded with the information that the fond husband had given in his letters to his sister. There was, however, one thing that her brother had not explained.

    'Why did they keep the marriage secret?' she asked.

    'I think that your brother wished to make a fresh start, Miss Cheever. That meant cutting himself off completely from his former friends. My brother, Henry, was among them,' admitted

    Christopher, 'and he was astounded to hear that Gabriel had a young bride. Others would have mocked him unmercifully.'

    'There must be more to it than that.'

    'I agree. The real answer may lie with your sister-in-law.'

    'In what way, Mr Redmayne?'

    'I am not sure,' said Christopher, 'but she clearly has good reasons of her own to keep the marriage secret. She was not even using your brother's name.'

    'How strange!'

    'She is concealing the truth from her own family.'

    'Why should she need to do that?'

    'Lucy - Mrs Cheever, that is - did not tell us. She bore up well but the strain on her was starting to tell. Jonathan Bale and I left her to mourn in private.' He lowered his voice. 'The facts will have to come out now.'

    'I understand that.'

    'She will want to attend the funeral as his wife. Sir Julius will have to be told that he has a daughter-in-law he did not know existed. However,' he added tactfully, 'your own part in all this is perhaps better suppressed.'

    Susan was defiant. 'I'm not ashamed of what I did.'

    'I know,' he said, 'and I admire you for it. But it might be unwise to let your father know that you deceived him all this while. You have to live with him, Miss Cheever. It might cause unnecessary strife if he were to learn that you exchanged letters with your brother. I'll not breathe a word on the subject.'

    'That's very considerate of you.'

    'What you have told me in confidence will remain sacrosanct.'

    Their eyes locked for a second and he saw the first sign of her affection for him. An answering glint in his own eyes seemed to unsettle her. She looked away guiltily.

    'It was wrong of us to impose on you, Mr Redmayne.'

    'There is no imposition, I promise you.'

    'You were simply engaged to design a house,' she said shifting her gaze back to him, 'not to become embroiled in our family affairs.'

    'That was unavoidable, Miss Cheever. I make no complaint.'

    Christopher did not want to discuss his brother's problems with her nor reveal that he was involved in a parallel investigation to hunt a blackmailer. It was enough for her to know that he was committed to helping in the search for her brother's killer. It sparked off a sudden show of concern.

    'You will be careful,' she warned.

    'Of course.'

    'I would hate you to put yourself at risk on our account.'

    Christopher smiled. 'I am well able to look after myself.'

    'The man you are after is a vicious killer:'

    'I have an advantage that your brother lacked,' he pointed out. 'Jonathan Bale will be watching my back. He has done that before and I trust him implicitly.'

    She relaxed slightly. 'Good. That reassures me somewhat.'

    'I'm touched that you are worried on my account,' he said. Another flicker of affection appeared in her eyes. 'Thank you, Miss Cheever.'

    There was a long silence. He left it to Susan to break it.

    'You told me that Lucy knew all about Gabriel's past,' she resumed.