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‘We left the Mitre, Ella and I, both furious. I asked her if she knew what Toby had meant when he said he could deal with me, and she told me he had found out somehow. You must realise that if he’d gone to the police, it would have brought down a lot more than me. The nurse and doctor, the people who sent women our way, the women who had had procedures. God knows what harm he could have done, purely to be rid of me.’
‘Yes,’ Jem said. ‘And I’m sorry to say it, but that sounds like an awfully good reason for you to make sure he didn’t talk.’
‘Jem—’
‘Hear me out. If Toby was threatening you with a life sentence, plus all the consequences to others, I can see how you might defend yourself. I could understand it if you did.’
‘Well, I didn’t,’ Aaron said. He looked immensely weary all at once. ‘We had the row in the Mitre, and I never set eyes on him again. Ella and I went off to walk and talk it out. We discussed what we were to do, and what might happen if Toby was cad enough to go to the police.’
‘Whatwereyou going to do?’
Aaron’s jaw tightened. ‘I concluded that we had to let him win.’
Jem blinked. ‘You broke off the engagement?’
‘What else could I do? Hold fast to my beloved at any price like some damn fool romantic hero in a novel? Murder her twin brother? Don’t be ridiculous. Of course we ended it. He’d won, and there was no course remaining except to hope he was magnanimous in victory.’
‘What did Ella think of that?’
Aaron’s face tightened. ‘Leave Ella out of it.’
‘That’s not really possible, is it? Did you both agree that you had to break the engagement?’ Jem couldn’t imagine her acquiescing. She’d wanted Aaron, and she would not have backed down lightly.
‘We discussed it. The conclusion was obvious.’
‘Did she think so?’
‘Ella understood the situation as well as I did.’ His voice was stiff.
Nicky had once told Aaron,If you must lie, confine it to single words. The more you speak, the more embarrassingly obvious it becomes.Jem nodded. ‘And she went and spoke to Toby? To tell him he’d won? And then the two of you—newly disengaged—spent the next hour or so walking in the Parks. It must have been difficult, spending that long together when you’d just decided to end things.’
‘Naturally.’
‘And Ella must have had a very difficult conversation with Toby too. How did she say it went?’
‘He accepted her assurance that we would not marry and assured her he would take no action against me.’
‘And she believed him?’
‘Toby was a gentleman,’ Aaron said, then held up his hands at Jem’s look. ‘All right, yes, but he gave his word all the same. He’d won. Why would he pursue the matter?’
Jem could think of several reasons, but they didn’t matter because he didn’t believe any of it. Aaron had been telling the truth about the abortion ring, he was sure, but none of this about Ella sounded remotely plausible. ‘Why did you and Ella end things?’
‘I just told you.’
‘No, afterwards. Toby was no longer a threat. You could have married. Why didn’t you?’
‘That is none of your business.’
‘But you must have considered it. You hadn’t wanted to break things off, and once he was dead, you didn’t have to.’
‘You seem not to have heard me.’
‘Ella said she was with you till ten, when the gates were shut. That gave you an alibi,’ Jem said. ‘Or, alternatively, it gave her an alibi. Which was it, Aaron?’
‘She was with me all that time, and this conversation is over.’ Aaron rose. ‘And I’d advise you not to continue it with anyone. Who have you told about this?’
‘Nobody. Nor will I unless I have to. I’m not trying to cause trouble for anyone except the murderer.’
