The Repentant Rake

    'How are you, Peter?' he asked.

    'Worried,' said Wickens. 'Deeply worried.'

    'Have you paid the blackmail demand yet?'

    'No, but I intend to do so.'

    'There is no need my friend. I'm here to save you five hundred guineas.'

    'How?'

    'By giving you the glad tidings that the plot against us has foundered' said Henry. 'My brother called on me not an hour ago.

    One of the villains is already in prison and Christopher was on his way with a constable to arrest his accomplice.'

    Wickens was taken aback. 'His accomplice?'

    'Yes, Peter. Prepare yourself for a shock.'

    'Why?'

    'It was Celia Hemmings. Actually,' said Henry airily, 'I suspected her all the time. Celia was the only woman who stayed with Gabriel long enough to have access to that diary of this. She knew exactly how profitable it might be.'

    'On what evidence was she arrested?' pressed Wickens.

    'My brother used a simple ruse. He asked Gabriel's sister to write to Celia and suggest that they met. Celia refused but those few lines that she dashed off in reply sealed her doom. The handwriting matches exactly that on the second letter sent to me.'

    'That was clever of your brother.'

    'He takes after me.'

    'What about this man who was taken?'

    'Christopher set a trap for him outside a printer's shop in Fleet Lane,' said Henry. 'When the man turned up to get some more extracts from the diary printed he was ambushed by two constables.'

    'I see,' said Wickens thoughtfully. 'Did the man name his accomplices?'

    'No, he was a surly beggar. Christopher could get nothing out of him.'

    'Then how did he track down Celia Hemmings?'

    'Ask him yourself, Peter. The point is that you, Arthur, Sir Marcus and I have been set free at last. Look more cheerful, man,' he urged. 'Are you not pleased?'

    'Delighted,' said Wickens, forcing a smile.

    'You see now how wise I was to argue against paying any money to them.'

    'I thought that was your brother's counsel.'

    'Mine, too,' boasted Henry. 'I held firm against the blackguards. Like you, I did not give them a single penny.' He emitted a high laugh. 'But poor Sir Marcus parted with a thousand guineas. I left him wondering if he would ever get it back.'

    Stroking his chin, Wickens moved aside for a moment, deep in meditation. When he turned back to Henry, he manufactured a broad grin and patted his friend on the arm.

    'Thank you for telling me, Henry. It was kind of you to come.'

    'We must all celebrate tonight with Mrs Curtis and her girls.'

    'Yes, yes,' said Wickens without enthusiasm. 'A capital notion.'

    'By that time,' said Henry, 'everyone involved in the plot will be locked up behind bars. Christopher will soon get the truth out of Celia Hemmings. I doubt if she'll enjoy the stink of a prison cell. They are not too fastidious in Newgate.'

    'Quite so.'

    'Sir Julius Cheever was overjoyed when they caught the man who killed Gabriel. Wait until he and his accomplices are hanged' said Henry. 'I'll wager that Sir Julius will be at the front of the crowd.'

    Wickens was interested. 'Is he in London at the moment?'

    'Apparently. My brother met him at the house in Knightrider Street where Gabriel used to live with his wife. She'll be relieved by the turn of events as well.'

    'Yes, Henry.'

    'It's a golden day for all of us.'

    'So it seems.'

    Henry rubbed his hands. 'Shall we join Arthur and Sir Marcus?'

    'You go on ahead,' said Wickens, easing him towards the door. 'I'll join the three of you later. I have some business to attend to first then I'll carouse with you until dawn.'

    'We can raise a glass in memory of Gabriel.'

    'We will indeed.'

    'The repentant rake.'

    Celia Hemmings proved to be an unhelpful prisoner. Confronted with irrefutable evidence of her guilt, she responded with angry denials and refused to name any accomplices. Christopher was disappointed. Someone involved in the plot was still at large and he was no nearer identifying that person or, in point of fact, the man who was already in custody. There was one compensation from the visit to Covent Garden. He now had his brother's billet-doux in his pocket. Jonathan Bale's presence had deterred the servant from any further heroics on behalf of his mistress and the visitors had been able to enter the house to retrieve Henry's letter. What worried Christopher was that there was no sign of Gabriel's diary. He decided that it must still be in the hands of an unknown accomplice and might yet be a source of danger to those whose misdeeds the nascent author had chronicled in such detail.

    While Jonathan took charge of the prisoner, Christopher went back to Knightrider Street to report the latest success. He was in luck. Susan Cheever not only answered the door, she explained that her sister-in-law had retired early to bed. She and Christopher were alone again. Her affection for him was more obvious than ever and his fondness for her kept a permanent smile on his face. Christopher explained how Celia Hemmings had been caught and thanked her for her part in the ruse.

    'I did very little,' she said.

    'You did a great deal,' he told her. 'You were the one person who could have coaxed a letter out of Miss Hemmings. Had I written to her, she would have suspected a trick. You appeared to hold no threat for her. Your innocence exposed her guilt.'

    'What will happen to her, Mr Redmayne?'

    'She will stand trial with the others and suffer the same fate.'

    Susan gulped. 'A horrible way for a woman to die.'

    'Miss Hemmings brought it on herself,' said Christopher with a sigh. 'There was no hint of remorse from her. She despised your brother for the way he cast her aside and vowed to get her revenge. At least, we now have her where she belongs. I must pass on the good news to Sir Julius. Did he go back to Holborn?'

    'Yes, Mr Redmayne.'

    'Then I had better call on him now,' he said reluctant to go.

    'Will you come back here afterwards?' she asked hopefully.

    'Oh, yes. If you wish.'

    'I will count the minutes while you are gone.'

    It was the closest she had ever come to a declaration and it gave him the confidence to reach out to take her hands. Susan did not resist. Words were abandoned. They stood there for several minutes without moving. Her hands were warm. Her smile of contentment matched his own. It was Susan who broke the spell.

    'You may get to Holborn in time to meet Father's other visitor,' she said.

    'Other visitor?'

    'Yes, Mr Redmayne. He left here not long before you arrived. He said that he was an old friend of Father's and was anxious to meet him again.'

    'Did he give his name?'

    'Mr Peter Wickens.'

    Christopher was startled. 'Peter Wickens came here?'

    'Do you know the gentleman?'

    'Only through my brother,' said Christopher, his mind grappling with the news. 'How on earth did Mr Wickens realise that your father was back in London? And what brought him to this address?' he added. 'Nobody knew that Gabriel lived here.' He took her by the shoulders. 'Did you tell him where Sir Julius was staying?'