After lurching down the steps, he realised that he couldn’t even leave the building. Two of the young men who’d beaten him earlier were lounging either side of the doorway. They stiffened as he approached.
‘Go back to your hutch, Kearney!’ snarled one of them.
‘You’re going nowhere,’ said the other.
‘Our orders are to keep you here until Dermot Fallon comes for you. Now take yourself off or we’ll kick the daylights out of you again.’
It was no use. All that Kearney could do was to creep upstairs again.
Charlotte Skillen liked to think that she made a useful contribution both to the running of the gallery and to the disparate assignments that came their way. She was therefore thrilled when her husband wanted her more directly involved. Instead of being cooped up in an office, she would be working beside him for once. When they were getting ready to go out that evening, he outlined his plans, though he didn’t disclose Beyton’s name or his reason for wanting the necessary woman liberated.
‘The exchange will take place tomorrow in Hyde Park,’ he explained. ‘It will be in the middle of the afternoon.’
‘But there’ll be crowds about, Peter.’
‘That’s why they’ve deliberately chosen that time and place. The more people who are about, the better it is. They’ll act as a kind of screen. With so many bodies there, it will be more difficult to see what’s going on.’
‘What am I to do?’
‘Keep your eyes peeled, my love,’ he said. ‘I’ll watch from one direction and you’ll do so from the other.’
‘Does the gentleman have the money?’
‘He assures me that he’ll pick it up from the bank in the morning.’
‘What have you told him?’
‘I’ve said that he must follow my instructions to the letter. I don’t want him looking over his shoulder to see where I am. That will ruin everything.’
‘It’s a lot of money to hand over,’ she said. ‘He must care for Mrs Horner a great deal if he’s prepared to part with that amount.’ She nudged him. ‘Would you pay a large ransom if I was being held somewhere?’
‘I’d pay every penny I owned, Charlotte, but I’d also make sure that I got it back very quickly once you were safe. Your price is above rubies. As for this gentleman,’ he went on, ‘this will be a supreme test of his nerve.’
‘I thought you told him that he’d get the money back.’
‘He will,’ said Peter, ‘if you and I are as alert as we should be.’
‘I’ll do my best.’
Charlotte looked at herself in the mirror then turned to him for approval.
‘You look as gorgeous as ever, my love.’
‘Thank you, a night at the theatre is a rare luxury for us.’
‘Work must always come first.’
‘We’re entitled to some pleasure, Peter.’
‘What’s the play called?’
‘Venice Preserv’d. The talk is that Hannah Granville is nothing short of magnificent.’
‘Is it a comedy or a tragedy?’
‘Oh, I don’t believe she’d act in a comedy. Her gift is for tragedy.’
‘That’s a pity,’ he moaned. ‘We have enough of that in our daily lives. When I go to the theatre, I expect to enjoy a good laugh.’
‘Well, don’t you dare laugh in Venice Preserv’d.’
Reaching for his hat, he put it on then offered his arm to his wife. They left the house and walked together along the pavement. His mind veered back to the clerk.
‘This fellow is a lucky man,’ he said. ‘He can just walk into a bank and secure the ransom without undue difficulty. Most people would struggle to raise that amount. They’d either turn to their friends or fall into the hands of gullgropers.’
‘Paul did that once, didn’t he?’
‘Yes, he ran up debts at the card table and couldn’t afford to clear them. I was able to give him a loan but it was insufficient so he went to a gullgroper. They do business with unlucky gamblers all the time. The interest rate was exorbitant. Fortunately,’ said Peter, ‘my brother had a good win soon afterwards so was able to pay off the loan. Since then, he’s been much more careful with money.’
‘Paul has too many expensive tastes.’
‘It makes him work all the harder.’
‘Why aren’t you calling on him for assistance tomorrow?’
‘A woman is less likely to arouse suspicion, Charlotte. If you’re walking in the park, the kidnappers are unlikely to give you a second look.’
‘How many of them are there?’