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acquiescence to whatever he wanted to do.
If you were a mathematician you d not have had such
doubts. A replication of circumstances is sure to bring about a
duplication of results. If we fell in love the first time, we were
bound to repeat the deed.
Stewart luxuriated in Orlando s pomposity, knowing that it
simply showed the depths of the man s feelings. You should
have written the sonnets. Shall I compare thee to a summer s
day will sound like the rag-and-bone man s call to my ears now.
He drew Orlando closer, stimulated by the feel of flesh on flesh,
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breath on skin which was already overexcited. I m not sure I can
hold out much longer. All getting a bit close, you know.
Well, if it were done, then twere well it were done
quickly. Orlando s mouth twisted up into a shy smile.
Jonty s heart melted at the phrase quick, clever words
which must have been learned for just such an occasion. Trust
Orlando, adorable innocent Orlando, to hit straight at the heart of
things. Then make it so, please. More is thy due than more than
all can pay. I can t ever repay you for the love you ve shown me,
or the happiness you ve brought. All I have is this& Jonty kissed
his lover again and moved his hands to where they could best
settle up accounts.
They lay together afterwards, gossiping and giggling,
enjoying the wonderful familiarity with each other s bodies they
were reconstructing. Think of it, Orlando. Tonight, above stairs,
there will be three couples sharing beds. And I bet only one of
them won t be sharing the last favours in some form or other.
Jonty! Are you suggesting that your sister& ?
No, I m actually suggesting that my mama and papa will be
canoodling tonight. They had a wild look in their eyes, the pair of
them. I suspect that father s brush with this flu has made mother
realise anew how much he means to her and that she needs to take
every opportunity of reminding him. It ll be poor Ralph who ll get
nothing but a cuddle tonight.
How can you assume that? Doesn t Lavinia like him?
Orlando, she s crazy for him, but she had such a terrible
shock on her wedding night, no idea how men were built or what
the parts were designed to achieve. Came crying home to Mama,
who d neglected to tell her about things, rather like the countess
my grandmother had neglected to tell her own only daughter.
Although father would be a rather different kettle of fish, I guess,
for a girl who knew little but was eager to learn.
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Lessons in Discovery
Orlando thought of the kindness and patience that Jonty had
shown to him two nights before and realised that there was a
wealth of empathy and consideration in the Stewart blood. If Mr.
Stewart had been as tender and careful with his wife as Jonty had
been with him& He stopped thinking such thoughts abruptly,
horrified at the News of the World type speculation they were
embroiling him in. Are you staying the night?
I m sorry, Orlando?
Will you spend the night in my bed or are you off to your
own?
Well, if you ll have me, I m staying, you great clot. Jonty
rolled off the bed, fetched his favourite pyjamas and slid into
them. The silk felt cool against his heated skin, another simple
pleasure for which he was truly grateful, as he was for Orlando s
arm that slipped around him as he snuggled down under the
covers.
They didn t speak any further, content with the crackling of
the fire and the rattling of the windows in the wind. There were no
protestations of endless love or deathless devotion to each other
alone. Such things weren t needed.
December the twenty-seventh and Richard Stewart was
bouncing around the house like a puppy. The ban had been lifted
and the Woodville Ward papers could be studied again. There
were four of them at it now, Ralph adding his not inconsiderable
brains to the task. Despite the fact that Mrs. Stewart had allowed
no discussion of the case nor secret workings on the letters, she d
not been able to infiltrate her husband s brain and make him not
think about it.
And I ve remembered a book I bought about the famous
patrons of Swavesey church when I was a student. A privately
published thing, little more than a pamphlet, but making reference
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Charlie Cochrane
to the Breton family and their patriarch, Johan. I ve been
surreptitiously looking for it don t you dare tell Helena but to
little avail.
The attentions of the four men turned from mince pies and
cold cuts of meat to codes and letters, so effectively that by the
middle of the afternoon they d cracked another one. To Orlando s
continued disappointment it was Ralph and Jonty working in
tandem who succeeded.
Nothing new was revealed in this translation, although it
appeared to support many of their theories. Predating the letter
which Jonty had cracked a few days earlier, this one spoke of
Gaveson being identified as the king s spy and Shaa s speculation
that the man was being employed to gain incriminating evidence
to disgrace him. It emphasised the need for the true story to be
recorded, albeit in coded form, so that future generations might
know the truth.
Ralph had received a full briefing on the case not long after
breakfast and had put his finger straight on the crucial point. He
raised it again now. There are four men here, the key players we
can call them, and I suspect that we can discard all the rest,
certainly on the grounds of lack of evidence. Shaa, Breton,
Gaveson, Stephen, four to start with and then just two. Breton on
his boat off to start a new life and one body down a well, whom
we can safely assume, wasn t Shaa. Unless we consider the
possibility that this all went wrong and the intended victim
became the murderer.
Orlando groaned. I ve certainly considered that possibility
and if these letters produce nothing more then we must present it
to Dr. Peters as an option. Although at least we could then put a
possible name to the killer.
The others nodded, although if it turned out to be such a
damp squib, they d never live down the shame.
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Lessons in Discovery
Ralph continued. So we have two men we still can t
account for and we ll assume that they re Shaa and Stephen.
Where do they go? It s clear they effectively disappear and are
recorded as missing but what happened to them? I can imagine
that poor Stephen got tipped down a mineshaft or over a cliff by
Shaa, who wouldn t have wanted any stray witnesses to his
misdemeanour left around to idly discuss it. Except it s hard to
lose a body permanently you have to be either very clever or
very lucky. Unless you tip your victim overboard in a weighted
sack.
They all went back to their studying, feeling unnaturally
depressed until a great shout of triumph split the air, making three
men start, dropping their papers and the fourth, the one making
the noise, blush profusely. I m so sorry, it s just that I seem to
have got somewhere with my letter. Just the first line so far but it
makes sense, so the rest must follow, if you ll give me a while to
finish it. Richard Stewart was obviously trying very hard not to
beam in his triumph.
Shall we help, Mr. Stewart? Orlando offered. If you have
the key word we could use it on our copies.
Jonty drew him off to one side, ostensibly to look at his own
endeavours on the one remaining letter which eluded all their
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