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‘I put them away. Put the kettle on, will you?’
It had to be filled at the bedroom sink. Jem returned to see Nicky standing by the fire, holding a small piece of paper. The pamphlet page, he realised.
‘You found that,’ Jem noted.
‘In your jacket last night.’
‘It had been left on the desk, in the middle, lined up, so I—or whoever came in—couldn’t miss it.’
Nicky went very still. ‘Is that so.’
‘It’s hard not to feel there was malicious intent there.’
‘It is, isn’t it.’ His voice was flat.
‘I’m hardly going to take the word of whoever sent me down those stairs. But it does seem like someone wanted me—or anyone looking into what had happened to me—to look at you. Why would they do that?’
‘Everyone looks at me,’ Nicky said. ‘And since you are looking at me now, what do you conclude?’
‘A devil of a lot,’ Jem said. ‘Can we sit down? I think I may know who killed Toby. Or, at least, I’ve found a damned good reason for it to be done.’
Nicky’s face was tense, expressionless. ‘And that is?’
‘A crime. Something that could get one of us in appalling trouble. It will ruin this person if I go to the police with what I know. And if I’m wrong about Toby’s death, that would be an unspeakable thing to do.’
‘I did warn you,’ Nicky said. His voice was flat.
The kettle was sounding shrilly, like a police whistle. Nicky took it off the fire and poured water into the teapot. Jem watched him as he made the preparations, trying to make a decision. What was right, what was fair, who to trust. Nicky worked without speaking, letting the silence stretch till the pressure on Jem’s chest forced him into speech.
He took a deep breath as Nicky handed him a cup. ‘Aaron was doing something, at college, that could have got him a very long prison sentence. Not something terrible—or some people would count it terrible, perhaps?—’
‘A crime against law but not humanity?’ Nicky suggested. ‘My speciality.’
‘Toby found out. He threatened to go to the police if Aaron didn’t end things with Ella.’
Nicky’s face was very still. ‘And?’
‘He says they broke it off that night. That she went to Toby to tell him he’d won. And he still claims he was with her all evening after she left Toby, although he’d insisted on breaking the engagement and I gather she didn’t want to. I don’t believe that.’
‘It doesn’t sound likely. I can’t I imagine Ella taking that well. Any of it.’
‘No. And Aaron said he hadn’t seen her since, but they were together in Seal’s yesterday. I saw them having coffee in the afternoon.’
‘Were they now,’ Nicky said slowly. ‘But that doesn’t necessarily mean they have been associating in secret.’
He was always quick. ‘All I know is, I wrote those letters and now they’re here, in Oxford, together. And it’s not just them. Hugo is here too.’
‘Hugo? What the blazes is he in Oxford for? The government is teetering and there’s talk of Balfour resigning at any moment. The Liberals might be asked to form a government as early as next week. I can’t imagine him leaving Westminster except to sleep, and perhaps not even that.’
‘Well, he’s here. On his father’s business, he said. He sought me out because of the letter.’
Nicky grimaced. ‘What did he have to say?’
‘He was awfully nice, actually. He said he wanted to be sure I was all right and that he’d stand by me if there was trouble.’
‘Really.’ Nicky tapped his fingertips together, slow and reflective. ‘Did you come back to your room at any time between all this dissipation with old friends?’
‘No. I left around six, saw Aaron and Ella in Seal’s, then I met Hugo in the Lodge, and we went to the Randolph for a drink.’
