on the cheek. ‘I think you are a heroine, Aunt Polly.’
‘Stuff and nonsense, girl.’ Polly’s pale cheeks flooded with colour, but despite her harsh tone she was smiling. ‘We agree on one thing, and that is the need to do everything we can to clear Billy’s name.’
‘That’s the only reason we’re appearing on stage, and now we have to work tomorrow night as well.’
‘But tomorrow is Sunday,’ Polly said, patently shocked by such a notion. ‘Your father wouldn’t like that.’
‘I hope he won’t find out, and that’s where we need your help, Aunt. Mrs Blunt has Sunday afternoon and evening off, so Cora and I do the washing-up. If we could have Maisie to do that for us we could get away without anyone being the wiser.’
‘I’m not sure that I ought to collude in such behaviour, but you can have Maisie. Heaven knows, she’s not much use here. She faints if she sees a cut finger, let alone a woman in labour. On occasions we can’t get an expectant mother across the road to the Lying-In Hospital, and sometimes they simply refuse to be moved. I don’t know how she will cope when her time comes.’ Polly flapped her hands at them. ‘You girls need to hurry home. It’s very late, but at least you have a capable-looking man to see that you get there safely.’
‘I love you, Aunt Polly,’ Rose said, blowing her a kiss as she opened the door. ‘Come on, Cora, don’t waste time primping in the mirror. It’s too dark outside for anyone to notice you.’
Bennett was waiting for them in the entrance hall. ‘What is this place?’ he asked, frowning. ‘I’ve heard screams coming from a room upstairs, and a baby crying.’
‘This is a home for fallen women,’ Cora said shyly. ‘Aunt Polly helps unfortunates who have nowhere else to turn in their time of greatest need.’
‘Papa thinks that we come here to help look after the poor souls.’ Rose grimaced at the sound of a fierce argument upstairs. ‘We wouldn’t be able to perform at Fancello’s were it not for Aunt Polly.’
‘Yes,’ Cora added. ‘We change our clothes here, and then we go on to Fancello’s. We do this in reverse on our way home.’
‘I’m not sure I understand why you feel the need to complicate matters in this way.’ Bennett looked from one to the other, frown lines furrowing his brow.
‘Because the lingering smell of tobacco smoke and the fumes of alcohol would be noticed at home,’ Cora said earnestly. ‘We would have difficulty in explaining that away.’
‘I admire the way you’ve thought things through, but I have to agree with your aunt. You’re exposing yourselves to enormous risks.’
‘Our brother’s life is at stake,’ Rose said coldly. ‘Would you have us sit at home and do nothing?’
‘That’s a question you should be asking William, not me.’
‘I wish I could see Billy,’ Rose said passionately. ‘I would tell him that we’re doing everything in our power to secure his release.’
‘Poor Billy …’ Cora’s voice broke on a sob.
Bennett opened the front door and ushered them out into the cold night air. He walked on with lengthy strides. ‘Gawain Tressidick is dead. He was a young man with a promising career ahead of him.’
Rose had to quicken her pace in order to keep up with him. She held her sister’s hand, towing her like a small, tired child. ‘He was Billy’s best friend. I’ll never believe that our brother struck the fatal blow.’
‘Nor I,’ Cora said faintly. ‘Billy abhorred violence of any sort.’
‘But I understood he was something of an expert in the noble art of pugilism.’ Bennett came to a halt, facing Rose with a steady look. ‘He was, wasn’t he?’
Rose gulped and swallowed. It was a question she had been dreading. ‘He regarded it as a science as well as a sport. Billy would have defended himself, but he would never start a fight. I’d stake my own life on it.’
‘He was a southpaw,’ Cora said proudly. ‘He told me so, although to be honest I’m not exactly sure what that means.’
‘Billy is left-handed?’ Bennett’s dark eyes glinted with the golden reflection of the gaslights as he met Rose’s questioning look with a triumphant smile. ‘Is that correct?’
‘It is,’ she said slowly. ‘But I don’t see what that’s got to do with anything.’
‘This piece of information might have a huge bearing on the case.’ He smacked his hand on his forehead. ‘Why didn’t I think of that before?’
Rose and Cora exchanged baffled glances. ‘I don’t understand,’ Rose said, frowning. ‘What difference does it make?’
‘I can’t be certain, but it might be the one fact that has been overlooked. I have to return to Cornwall first thing in the morning.’
‘So soon?’ Rose stared at him in surprise. ‘But you said you needed to know more about Billy.’
Bennett started to walk, hands clasped behind his back. ‘This could be just what I was searching for. I couldn’t understand how a young man who was destined for the clergy could suddenly turn into a vicious killer, which is why I accepted the brief in the first place.’
Rose forgot that her feet hurt and her throat was sore from singing in a smoky atmosphere. A glimmer of hope had been ignited in her breast and she wanted to know more. She caught him up, leaving Cora to stumble along behind them. ‘Why is it so important, Mr Sharpe? Don’t keep me in suspense.’
‘I don’t want to raise your hopes too high. You will have to trust me in this. I’ll leave a message for Scully and he’ll keep you informed as to my progress, or the lack of it.’
‘Stop here,’ Rose said breathlessly. ‘This is where we live.’
Bennett came to a halt, staring at the vicarage as if committing every brick and tile to memory. ‘Then I’ll say goodbye for now. Will you explain my absence to your aunt, and ask her to accept my apologies?’
‘I will, but I know she’ll be overjoyed to think that there is hope.’ Rose held out her hand. ‘Thank you from the bottom of my heart.’
Bennett raised it to his lips. ‘I promise you I will do my utmost for Billy.’
‘Are you leaving us, Mr Sharpe?’ Cora caught up with them, holding her side and panting. ‘We’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘I’m afraid not, Miss Cora. Rose will explain everything, but I hope to see you when I return to London.’
‘When will that be?’ Rose asked anxiously. ‘Please don’t leave us in suspense.’
‘I don’t know. Everything depends on what I discover when I return to Portmorna.’
A shiver ran down Rose’s spine. ‘Billy was staying at Portmorna House.’
Bennett slipped his hand into his breast
