‘You’re lying to me again.’
He took a few deep breaths. He had better self-control than me, and I could see him working out how to resolve the situation to his advantage while I was still burning to kick his door panels in.
‘I assure you I’m not lying. I’ve been very frank with you, despite your aggressive attitude. But the woman in this photograph is a complete stranger to me.’
I faltered, convinced despite myself that he was telling the truth. ‘It isn’t possible.’
‘A lot of things are possible. You ought to know that by now, Chris. I’m intrigued, though,’ he said, ‘to know how this woman comes to be so important to you.’
I looked at the photograph, remembering how I’d met Laura at Fradley as if by accident, how she’d seemed to understand all about Samuel Longden so easily. It had been one of the things that drew me to her.
‘I really wish I knew that.’
‘Well, don’t expect me to be able to tell you.’
‘She’s deceived me all along,’ I said, talking almost to myself. ‘I’m convinced she has something to do with Samuel’s death. And Godfrey Wheeldon’s. Her and Simon Monks.’
‘Monks?’ Leo gave a barking laugh as he climbed back into his car, wiping rain from his face. ‘Do you mean Caroline Longden’s fiancé?’
‘Yes — do you know him?’
‘I know of him,’ he said. ‘My God, you’ve really got yourself in a mess, Chris, haven’t you? Such a mess that I don’t think I can help you any more. So do me a favour — stay away from me from now on, okay? I’ve heard enough about your family to last me the rest of my life.’ He closed the door and started the engine. The driver’s window slid noiselessly down as I stepped back from his wheels. ‘But I’ll leave you with this warning: if you’ve been lying to me and you try to blacken our family’s name in your ridiculous book, it will be me on your tail. And I don’t back down.’
After I got home again, I paced around the house for a while, with no clear idea what I should do next. The adrenaline was still flowing, and every time I thought of Laura I felt a fresh surge of anger that flooded my brain and prevented me from thinking logically. Time and again I picked up the photographs and stared at them, willing them to change. I tried to convince myself that there could be any number of green Mercedes in Lichfield. But how likely was it that any of them would be driven by somebody connected with Great-Uncle Samuel?
Besides, once I’d changed my perspective, everything seemed to fit in the picture too well. It had been Laura who sought me out at Fradley after the funeral, not the other way round. I’d been too intoxicated by the wine and her presence to notice, and she’d taken advantage of that. She’d made it seem as though it was my idea to ask for her help with the research for the book, but surely she’d been the one to plant the suggestion in my mind? Of course she had. Her show of reluctance wouldn’t have lasted long if I hadn’t taken the bait first time, like a besotted fool.
And once she had me hooked, I was truly hooked. I’d been a sitting duck for a seduction. She must have seen me as a pathetic, lonely man with no power of resistance. Which, to my shame, was exactly what I’d been. When I thought of all the things I’d told her on the journey to Cheshire, and everything that had happened between us that night at her hotel, the rage made me smash my fist into the table with frightening violence.
Frank had retreated to his bedroom, keeping out of the way of my bad temper once I’d snapped at him a couple of times in the kitchen as I towelled my drenched face and hair. Boswell had long since disappeared from the house when he sensed my mood. Even the fish in the tank seemed to gape at me in astonishment and derision.
It was as if they all knew what a fool I’d been. I’d passed on to Laura Jenner all the information I’d gathered with Rachel’s help, and I’d betrayed Rachel’s trust at the same time. As a result, Laura knew about everything — about Godfrey Wheeldon, and Frank, about everything.
I recalled that Laura had known only too well that I’d be away from Maybank on the night it was broken into. She knew because she made sure I was with her at the George. The realisation that she must have planned that night with an accomplice was a torment of outrage and humiliation. She’d planned it with Simon Monks — because I was sure it could only be him. I had no idea what the link was between them. I only knew in my guts that he was the one who’d wielded the windlass against my skull and torched Kestrel.
It seemed horribly plausible that Monks had been deceiving Caroline in the same way that Laura had deceived me. But who were they? And what was their purpose? If they weren’t Parkers, why were they trying to destroy the last remnants of the Buckley family?
50
Pipehill, Lichfield, Staffordshire. Saturday 25th Jan. 1800.
To Reuben Wheeldon Esq., Warner Street, Ellesmere, Cheshire.
My dear friend,
It is a just and feeling remark of Doctor Johnson’s that we never do anything consciously for the last time without sadness of heart. The secret sense of a Farewell Act I carry along with me into every word or deed of this Day.
My friend, I’ll fight no more; I’ve had enough. I hope I have done no more harm than any other man, but the world will do quite as well without me. I do not want to rip up old grievances and live my life twice over. As the tree falls, so let it lie. We shut up the book and close the Account once and for all.
I look not for others to profit by my example, nor do I seek to give moral guidance to others. Yet my behaviour must give no reason to be ashamed, for the World is all too prone to censure and ridicule. I confess I have no hope for the outcome, since Prejudice against me runs so high. I am torn by the utmost anxiety at what I must do, and my mind is in turmoil of a thousand imaginings.
I will not detain you for a minute more. To speak plainly, I have business with Mr P. that cannot be delayed. I have engaged to meet with him this very night, that we might resolve our differences for once and for all. I know that I go into Danger. If the worst befalls me, Sarah will return to her Father’s house, where I trust little Edward will be well cared for. To you, my dear friend, I entrust the documents of which we have spoken. You will understand that they are not safe in my Possession. If I do not return, you must do with them as you see fit.
They say that Mr P. has engaged a pair of bravos, for what purpose they do not know. Let him then send his bravos.
Your obedient servant and friend
51
The last thing I wanted in my current state of mind was Rachel asking awkward questions and interrogating me about Laura. She’d demonstrated several times that she could see straight through me. The only thing to do was get out of the house before she arrived home, and there was only one place where I could do my thinking.
It was only a few minutes’ walk to the Stowe Arms, and soon I was cradling a pint of Marston’s in my favourite corner, feeling the warmth and reassurance of the alcohol creeping through me. A few of the familiar regulars were in, and it seemed likely that somebody would soon buy a round, a game of darts would be started and the evening would take its predictable course.
Before long, though, my thoughts began to drift back to that afternoon I sat in the corner of another pub, the Earl of Lichfield, and did absolutely nothing until it was too late, as my Great-Uncle Samuel walked away to his death. The thought was uncomfortable, and it turned the taste of the beer sour in my mouth. I’d seen where being a coward and failing to act had led me. The time for doing nothing was past. I had to redeem myself in Samuel’s eyes, to reclaim my family name.