“Old man changed his mind at the last minute and was too cowardly to tell her about it,” Jerry said, and Fred, looking rather extinguished, nodded along.
“What was he ill with? If it was dementia or something like he wasn’t in possession of his faculties,” Hilary offered, and settled back at Peter’s approving nod.
Lanyon said, “The husband did it,” and to general uproar added, “ah, but I know the family. At least if it’s the people I’m thinking of, his name’s Straike and she has a grown son from an earlier marriage.”
“And that has made all the difference,” Peter said, and released Harriet, moving back into the room to clap Lanyon on the shoulder. “We’re done here. Go with Harriet and play the familiar face while she snoops.”
Under Peter’s eye, Lanyon’s face smoothed out of its stricken look. He might have been one of the effigies Harriet had taken rubbings of in church, calm and somehow primitive. Where a sensible man, feeling as much as he did, would have declined and tucked tail back to the Admiralty, he said, “Yes my lord,” and caught Fred’s flailing arm without bothering to turn around.