Her head went up. ‘I will take that risk.’
Wolf knew he should forbid her to come, but for the life of him the words would not pass his lips. She was the one glimmer of light in his sorry, sordid history and he could not bear to lose it. Not yet.
When they had gone Wolf sat for a while, thinking over all they had told him, and when the warder arrived with his dinner he gave him a message for the magistrate.
* * *
Kennet brought Wolf’s breakfast the following morning, together with the latest newssheets and more fresh clothes. Once he was washed and dressed, Wolf dismissed his man and settled down to await his visitor. Noon passed, then one o’clock. Two. Wolf was lying on his bed staring at the square of blue sky through the little window when at last the door of his cell opened. He sat up.
‘Good of you to call, Sir Charles.’
Urmston sauntered in, a monogrammed handkerchief clutched in his hand. The cloying scent that wafted into the cell with him suggested he had soaked the linen in perfume as protection against the noisome odours of the prison. He glanced about him, a look of distaste on his florid features.
‘Hatcham said you wanted to see me. I had an appointment with my tailor and could not come this morning. However—’ he gave a mocking smile ‘—I knew you were not going anywhere.’
‘Aye,’ growled Wolf. ‘Thanks to you I am incarcerated in this cell and likely to be here for some time.’ He decided to go directly to the attack. ‘Why did you give Hatcham that poster for my arrest?’
Sir Charles spread his hands.
‘My dear Arrandale, I merely brought it to his attention, as any law-abiding citizen would do.’
‘Law-abiding?’ Wolf’s lip curled. He rose, towering over the man. ‘You killed Meesden, did you not?’
Urmston stepped back, but his cold, humourless smile did not falter.
‘Youwere caught with the knife in your hand and her blood all over you. No one will believe you did not murder her.’
‘But we both know I did not do it. And what about my wife?’ asked Wolf. He glanced at the closed door. ‘Come, man, now I am safely locked up, will you not tell me the truth?’
‘I will tell you nothing!’ Urmston spat out the words, his usual mask of urbanity slipping, but only for a moment. He looked down, tracing a crack in the floor with his silver-topped cane. ‘Is this why you wanted to see me, to try to foist the blame for your crimes upon me?’
‘I am innocent and you know it.’
‘But who will believe you?’ purred Urmston. ‘There are at least a dozen witnesses to testify against you and I am sure by now some of them even believe they saw you plunge the knife into that poor woman. And what could any character witnesses say on your behalf? You were hardly a model of propriety before you fled to France, were you? No, Arrandale, you will hang. And soon, I promise you. Now, if that is all I am off to my dinner.’ He lifted his cane to rap upon the door, then paused to say with studied indifference, ‘By the by, when you called on Meesden, did she tell you what had happened to the Sawston diamonds?’
‘Did she not tell you, before you killed her?’
Urmston’s eyelids flickered, but he gave a little shrug.
‘If you did not steal them, then I feel sure it was your wife’s maid. But that need not concern you, Arrandale, the theft will be laid at your door.’ Urmston called for the warder to let him out before he turned back to Wolf for one parting shot. ‘That, added to the two murders, will be more than enough to hang you.’
Alone again, Wolf sat on the bed. So Urmston did not know where to find the diamonds. That was encouraging, but it was not enough to save him from the gallows. Frustration gnawed at him, he wanted to be out of this place, instead he had to rely on his brother and an aged aunt to search for the necklace and try to build a case for his defence. If they could not—well, he would find a way to escape and go back to France, but somehow the life of an outcast no longer appealed to him. He wanted to remain in England with his family. With Grace.
He pushed the thoughts away and went back over everything Urmston had said, looking for any little clue that might help. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not hear the approaching footsteps, nor did he move when the key grated in the lock of his door. It wasn’t until the tall figure in a cloak and veiled bonnet stepped into the cell that he looked up.
He was on his feet in an instant.
‘You should not be here.’ He tried to mean it, but his heart was drumming erratically against his ribs. He could not take his eyes off Grace as she put back her veil.
‘I told you I would come.’
‘Yes, andItold you it was dangerous. Urmston has just left me. Did he see you?’
‘Yes, unfortunately. He was talking to Mr Hatcham when the warder was taking my details for the register.’
‘The devil he was! Grace, it was bad enough that you should visit me with my brother, but to come alone—’
She was unmoved by his fury.
