‘But that’s not what happened, Lawrence,’ said Gill contentiously. ‘We staged A Trick To Catch A Chaste Lady at the Guildhall and won many plaudits. Owen Elias was as masterful in the role as you.’
‘It’s true,’ said Hoode. ‘Owen was another Lawrence Firethorn.’
‘With more compassion than you could ever muster.’
‘And a touch more humour, I fancy.’
‘Can this be so, Nick?’ asked Firethorn, angered by the remarks.
‘Owen was our salvation,’ said Nicholas with a quiet smile. ‘Most of the company gave a poor account of themselves that afternoon but Owen could not be faulted. I’ve never seen him conquer an audience so completely. He had them at his mercy. We were horrified when you disappeared but we certainly did not wither away in your absence. In some ways,’ he recalled, ‘it brought out the best in us.’
‘Hell and damnation!’ roared Firethorn, waving an arm. ‘I expect to be missed.’
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About the Author
EDWARD MARSTON was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over forty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre and is a former chairman of the Crime Writers’ Association. Prolific and highly successful, he is equally at home writing children’s books or literary criticism, plays or biographies.
www.edwardmarston.com
By Edward Marston
THE BRACEWELL MYSTERIES
The Queen’s Head • The Merry Devils • The Trip to Jerusalem
The Nine Giants • The Mad Courtesan • The Silent Woman
The Roaring Boy • The Laughing Hangman • The Fair Maid of Bohemia
The Wanton Angel • The Devil’s Apprentice • The Bawdy Basket
The Vagabond Clown • The Counterfeit Crank • The Malevolent Comedy
The Princess of Denmark
THE RAILWAY DETECTIVE SERIES
The Railway Detective • The Excursion Train
The Railway Viaduct • The Iron Horse
Murder on the Brighton Express • The Silver Locomotive Mystery
Railway to the Grave • Blood on the Line
The Railway Detective Omnibus:
The Railway Detective, The Excursion Train, The Railway Viaduct
THE CAPTAIN RAWSON SERIES
Soldier of Fortune • Drums of War • Fire and Sword
Under Siege • A Very Murdering Battle
THE RESTORATION SERIES
The King’s Evil • The Amorous Nightingale • The Repentant Rake
The Frost Fair • The Parliament House • The Painted Lady
THE HOME FRONT DETECTIVE SERIES
A Bespoke Murder • Instrument of Slaughter
Five Dead Canaries
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
12 Fitzroy Mews
London W1T 6DW
www.allisonandbusby.com
First published in 2003.
This ebook edition first published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2014.
Copyright © 2003 by EDWARD MARSTON
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–1526–8