‘This is nonsense. For God’s sake, Salmond, you don’t believe this farrago of nonsense?’
‘I rather think I do, Sir Thomas.’ The jovial Father Christmas figure had gone, replaced by someone who sounded like a High Court judge about to pass the death sentence. ‘Let Lord Radcliffe finish before you start blustering.’
‘But although George Coates was vulnerable he was a very incompetent spy,’ Luc continued as though there had been no interruption. ‘You put pressure on him until he despaired and took his own life. You caused his death.’
‘Tsk.’ The sound was scornful, dismissive. ‘No loss. A weakling, a pervert. A molly. I have the right to protect my staff from prying by so-called colleagues who merely want to displace me.’
‘You clearly think so. And perhaps you thought you had done enough. Unfortunately your nephew believes in drastic action to remove embarrassment. I owe you a severe headache, Elliott Reece, and I would be obliged for the names and direction of your hirelings who attempted to kill my mother and Miss Lawrence.’
‘I never meant to kill anyone,’ Elliott protested. ‘I only wanted to frighten – ’
‘Shut up,’ his uncle shouted. ‘Be quiet, you talk too much, you young fool.’
‘Indeed he does. As do you,’ Luc said, his calm, cool voice cutting through the heated atmosphere like a blade. ‘In fact it would have been better for everyone if you didn’t say so much. If you had not, for example, complained long and loud to your wife about the despised weakling who had hanged himself to escape your clutches.’
‘My wife? My wife would never – ’
‘I am sure she would not. But your daughter overheard and what she heard broke her heart because she thought herself in love with Doctor Philip Talbot.’
‘Annabelle?’ Elliott said.
‘Yes. The cousin you got drunk and took advantage of. The girl you got with child,’ Lucian said. ‘She fell for her sympathetic doctor and then discovered he did not love women, but men.’
‘The man’s dead,’ Sir Thomas blustered.
‘Yes, killed by your daughter who confessed to it in this room, before witnesses, this afternoon.’
There was pandemonium. Sir Thomas was on his feet shouting, Elliott turned and tried to leave and was hauled back by the Count who ended up clipping him neatly on the chin to be caught by Garrick and stuffed, sobbing, back into his chair, Salmond was nose to nose with Sir Thomas giving as good as he got. Luc and James circled the quartet clearly trying to work out the best way to calm them all down.
Suddenly I realised I was alone in my hiding place.
‘Silence!’ The battlefield roar of Sir William created instant quiet. ‘Sit down all of you. I am General Sir William Abernethy, Justice of the Peace. This is Percival Grainger, King’s Counsel and his clerk Mr Mayhew. We are all three witnesses to your daughter’s confession and to what you have just said. I suggest you consider your positions very carefully and send for your legal advisors.’
‘Indeed.’ Mr Grainger took the chair drawn forward by Garrick who had appeared silently from around the screen. ‘Let me see now. Sir Thomas, even if you have committed no actual crime with your activities in the Home Office, I would suggest your position is untenable and that you should offer your resignation immediately. Mr Reece, you are accused of ravishment, of associating with known enemies of the realm, with inflicting a serious injury on Lord Radcliffe and conspiring to murder Lady Radcliffe and Miss Lawrence. I believe you also used your position to launch a raid on a legitimate establishment last night, wasting the time of a magistrate and his men. I would suggest, Sir William, that your constables take Mr Reece into custody immediately.’
I came out from behind the screen and walked round to Luc’s side. I wanted to look those two in the face. With a snarl Elliott Reece lunged for me.
Chapter Twenty Three
I hardly saw Luc move, but there was a thump and Elliott went flying backwards to sprawl on the polished boards. I would have rather liked to fell him myself, but it was very gratifying to see Luc in action and I am sure he felt much better for it. Besides, I would have trouble explaining expertise in unarmed combat to most of the people in the room.
James escorted me out with a firm hand under one elbow and I went, like the obedient young lady I was supposed to be. I didn’t want him around the men responsible for his friends’ deaths any longer and anyway, I was beginning to shake. ‘Take me back to Albany, James.’
He didn’t argue and we sat in silence in the carriage as it negotiated the short distance back across Piccadilly and into the familiar courtyard. When we got inside he made up the fire and lit it and we sat on the hearthrug, arms around each other.
‘Do you want her to hang?’ I asked him.
‘No.’ His answer came immediately, which surprised me. ‘There’s been too much death. What good would it do them?’
I nodded, hoping that no-one ever told him that Talbot had known about his lover’s death before he was struck down, that he’d had time to weep. ‘I wish there was someone for you. Someone who loved you back, I mean.’
‘So do I,’ he said, surprising me again. ‘I’m over Miles, I just hadn’t realised it until last night. I don’t know when it happened, I think this shook me out of feeling sorry for myself and made me realise I was holding on to the idea of loving him when, actually, that feeling had died.’
We leaned into each other, watching the fire, occasionally throwing coal on. ‘Do you love him?’ James asked suddenly.
‘Luc?’ Idiotic question. ‘Better if I don’t, wouldn’t you say?’
‘Perhaps. When you leave this time – will you come back?’