‘A fresh supply of flowers will arrive every week,’ he promised.
‘What would please me more is an explanation. You’ve dealt with me roughly before but not with the same violence as you did this last time. What did I do to provoke such behaviour? For what offence was I being punished?’
‘It was not punishment, Lucinda,’ he assured her. ‘It was a mistake.’
‘You were like a man possessed.’
‘I can see that now and I swear that it will never happen again. All that I can tell you is that …’ he paused as he searched for the words ‘… is that there has been a serious problem in my private life that has yet to be resolved. That’s no reason to behave as I did towards you, of course. What I did was reprehensible. Suffice it to say that it belongs in the past. Our future together will be a source of continuous pleasure to both of us.’
‘I trust that it will be,’ said Lucinda, forcefully. ‘I’ll not stay to be treated again so harshly. Use me as the loving friend that I am and not as a common trull whose slit can be bought cheaply in the backstreets of Seven Dials.’
Tunnadine admired her show of spirit. It made him enfold her gently in his arms and kiss her full on the lips. Lucinda pulled away.
‘Will you spend the night here?’ she asked.
‘No, Lucinda. I have to go. There’s someone I must see.’
She was about to ask if the meeting related to the problem of which he’d spoken but she checked herself. Certain that he’d been referring to his forthcoming marriage, she remembered what had happened when she’d first mentioned the event. It had caused him to stalk out and slam the door on her. Now that they’d been reconciled, she had no wish to upset him again. By way of a farewell, he took a long, luscious kiss from her and left her feeling once more that he really cared for her.
‘When will I see you again?’
‘It will be as soon as I may arrange it,’ he promised.
On that note, he sniffed the flowers then took his leave, closing the door softly behind him. Lucinda glanced at the chest of drawers in which she’d hoarded all her treasures. It might yet be possible to put some of them back on display.
Tunnadine, meanwhile, took a cab back to his house. Dismissing Lucinda from his mind, he concentrated his thoughts on the other woman in his life. He had no illusions about Imogen Burnhope. She could never offer him the delights he found in the arms of his mistress. Imogen would be a highly suitable wife, obedient and undemanding. She would give him an important link to a titled family and, in time, bear his children. Her future, he envisaged, would be one of quiet domesticity, leaving him to roam freely. First, however, she needed to be released from danger and restored to him. It was that consideration that had made him spurn the chance of a night with Lucinda Graham. For the moment, she had to take her turn behind Imogen.
When he reached the house, he paid the cab driver and let himself in. A letter awaited him on the hall table. He snatched it up and tore it open. The words ignited a fire inside his head. Tunnadine reeled from their impact.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Edward Tallis was not a man to let the sun go down on his anger. Furious at the way that Tunnadine was still at liberty after shooting someone dead, he’d returned to Scotland Yard to set legal wheels in motion. The following day saw him reading reports of other crimes that his detectives were investigating. Conscientious to a fault, he worked hard to ensure that cases were swiftly resolved so that his men could be redeployed on one of the other crimes that merited the attention of the Detective Department. The telegraph arrived late that morning. Victor Leeming was in the superintendent’s office at the time. As he read the short message, Tallis inhaled deeply through his nose.
‘It’s exactly as Colbeck predicted,’ he said, passing it to Leeming. ‘A second demand has arrived. The money is to be handed over tomorrow.’
‘Then I’d suggest we don’t take Mr Tunnadine next time.’
‘He won’t be allowed anywhere near the kidnapper.’
‘The demand is for twice as much,’ noted Leeming, seeing the figure. ‘I didn’t think that anybody had that amount of money tucked away.’
‘Sir Marcus inherited both capital and extensive property. That is why his daughter was selected as a target. The kidnapper knew that Sir Marcus would be able to afford the ransom.’ He took the telegraph back and read it again. ‘We were lucky that this whole business happened between Worcester and Oxford.’
‘Why is that, sir?’
‘Both of them have telegraph stations. Messages can be sent to London at a fraction of the time it would take a courier to bring them. It’s one of the many boons that the railway has brought us.’
‘I preferred it the way it was before.’
‘You can’t stand in the way of progress.’
‘It’s not progress in my eyes,’ said Leeming, grumpily.
‘Then you need spectacles, Sergeant. The world is changing fast and we must change with it or the criminal fraternity will outpace us. They’ve already seized on the potentialities of railways as a source of crime. Look at this very investigation, man, or consider what happened on the Caledonian Railway earlier this year.’
Leeming started. The enforced stay in Scotland was not an enticing memory. Before he could say why, they were interrupted. There was a tap on the door then Colbeck stepped into the room.
‘Good day to you both,’ he said, genially.
‘What kept you in Worcestershire so long?’ asked Tallis. ‘This telegraph says that a ransom demand was delivered during the night. You could have caught a train shortly after dawn.’
‘That’s exactly what I did do, Superintendent. It took me to Oxford where I was able to make a number of productive enquiries. I also had the pleasure of meeting the Reverend Percy Vaughan again and of talking to his father. When my work there was done,’ admitted Colbeck, ‘I did permit myself half an hour to reacquaint myself with a city that is very dear to me.’
‘It’s a pretty place,’ observed Leeming. ‘It’s got fine old buildings galore.’
‘When I require a gazetteer of Oxford’ said Tallis with a glare, ‘I’ll ask for one. As for you, Inspector, let me remind you that you went there to solve a crime, not to indulge in distracting reminiscences.’
‘Oh, I was not distracted,’ said Colbeck. ‘I felt from the start that the city held secrets that I needed to bring into the open and so it proved.’
He gave the account that he’d prepared carefully on the train journey to London. Colbeck told them about the way that he’d intercepted the visitor to Burnhope Manor during the night and how he’d questioned the head porter at University College. Thanks to the Master’s help, he’d been able to identify a critical factor in the wooing of Imogen Burnhope.
‘His name is Arthur Lugstone,’ said Colbeck.
‘Who is he?’
‘He is a scout at the college, sir — or, at least, he was until the truth came out.’
‘What’s a scout?’ asked Leeming.
‘Try listening for once,’ said Tallis, sardonically, ‘and you may find out.’
‘A scout is a manservant,’ explained Colbeck. ‘Undergraduates enjoy the luxury of having one to look after them. It’s one of the university’s traditions. Until today, Arthur Lugstone was part of it.’
‘Why did you seek this particular fellow out?’ asked Tallis.
‘According to the Master, he was engaged to take care of guests at the college. Whenever she visited, Sir Marcus’s daughter was looked after by him. In other words, he was in the perfect position to carry any messages to her. It was the way that Captain Whiteside kept in touch when she was in the city. Lugstone denied his involvement at first,’ said Colbeck, ‘but I threatened him with a spell in prison and he crumbled at once. To be fair to him, he had no idea what the letters contained but he’s still culpable of aiding what amounts to a conspiracy. The moment that the Master heard what had been happening under his nose, he dismissed Lugstone on the spot.’