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He felt strangely elated, unsettled, and it all dated from their visit to Taylor. He would need to discuss that
too, soon. At present he explained all that they d gleaned at Waite s and Trimbles, offering his and Mr.
Stewart s interpretation of it.
 It would fit in with what Taylor said. If he was keen to make a clean breast of things, then Jardine
might have felt the need to make a bolt for the continent, rather like all those men did when the Wilde trial
came up.
Orlando became even more unsettled.  But that would affect you, wouldn t it? If Taylor made some
sort of public admission and his lordship must have anticipated that the confession would come into
general knowledge if he felt the need to flee before it was spoken abroad it would mean your name being
dragged through the mud, too.
Jonty shrugged and looked rueful.  I knew that was a risk I d be running as soon as we chose to delve
into this case. I didn t realise that the wheels might already have been set in motion.
Orlando left his chair and snuggled beside his lover.  I ll stand by you, whatever the outcome.
 I know you will, noodle head. And Mama and Papa. I m really very lucky. Anyway, does any of this
information get us any closer to the real killer?
 It seems the wrong way round to me. If Taylor was threatening to tell all, then Jardine would have
been likely to kill him, not vice versa.
 That s my reaction, too. What s more, if the argument at the club had been overheard and someone
fancied chancing their arm at a bit of blackmail, then the same conditions would apply. You wouldn t kill
the goose if you could keep the golden eggs in steady supply. Jonty found a stray piece of pastry on his
sleeve and consumed it with a sort of schoolboy glee.
 I d still like to know if Taylor can account for himself on the night the murder occurred. We should
put that to Mr. Collingwood and his team of hounds.
 Collingwood is as sound a solicitor as any in the City and he s not afraid of using some slightly less
respectable help. He s got some friends of my brother Sheridan off the hook more than once. Jonty smiled,
like a child with a secret.  If there s stuff to be found out, he s the man to get to the bottom of it, as long as
we can point him in the right direction.
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Charlie Cochrane
Orlando rubbed his lover s leg.  I was really proud of you today. Couldn t have been at all easy, yet
you handled it with such aplomb.
 It turned out a lot easier than I thought, you know. When I saw Taylor, all the thoughts I d been
restraining about beating his head to a pulp just disappeared. He was such a pathetic specimen, I was
almost sorry for him.
 Had he changed very much? Orlando tightened his grip on Jonty s knee.
 He was never built like a barn door, but he was much stronger and athletic back& back then. He
seems emaciated now. I believe him when he says he s ill.
 Consumption, do you suppose?
 Perhaps. Or what my father might describe as a visitation wrought by the sins of the flesh. Jonty
grinned again.  Well don t look so puzzled. However will you develop your detecting skills if you don t
understand how the world works? I mean a venereal disease, caught off some poor boy he d hired, I dare
say. Jonty may have been sorry for Taylor, but the rancour in his voice remained.
Orlando nodded, trying to appear wise but secretly determined to go off and find a dictionary and
delve into the V section. Sometime when Jonty wasn t present.  He doesn t frighten you any more?
 No, Orlando. Best part of fifteen years I ve had him as some sort of bogey man in my mind and
when I eventually met him, well, I felt rather superior to him. Not just morally, socially as well, if you
catch my drift. Look at me, I m fit and healthy. He s only four years older than I am yet he looked like a
man in his late forties. And I have something that I m sure he s never found. Jonty took his lover s hand.
 If I could make what happened at school disappear, never have occurred, but the ultimate cost was losing
you, I have no doubt what my decision would be.
Orlando s eyes began to well but, both hands being occupied, he could neither dry nor hide them.  Do
you really mean that?
 Do you doubt me? Jonty stroked the hands which held his.
 No, never. Not my Jonty.
Bustling sounds filtered up from the street, voices, hooves and wheels. Somewhere a peal of bells
rang out, London at her lively best. It couldn t spoil the atmosphere within the room, the sense of difficult
waters navigated and the safe passage ensured. Orlando shifted closer, placed a gentle kiss on his lover s
brow.
 You kiss me so beautifully. Jonty curled into his friend s embrace.  Like you do everything. My
Orlando.
At any other time it would have been right and proper for the embraces to go further. Orlando would
have breathed into his lover s ear, Jonty would have giggled, and things would have gone to their natural
conclusion. Not now, not with this shadow hanging over them. Orlando was sure he could feel a reticence
in his friend s touch, a hint of reluctance and regret. The sooner this wretched case was solved, the better.
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Chapter Five
Matthew Ainslie watched the contrasting pair of figures meander down the road to the hotel where
they were lunching. Tall, dark, saturnine Orlando s looks only did themselves justice when he smiled,
when no one could deny he was handsome. Different in both appearance and attitudes, somehow they
formed a perfect pair. Jonty was shorter, stockier, a bright little figure almost dancing along the pavement.
Matthew waved as they approached.  And how have you gentlemen been spending your Sunday
morning? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]