Page 73 of A Sense of Fate
‘Sit down,’ Archie said curtly. ‘I’m not wasting my time with you. You must be aware how foolish you’ve been to allow a vendetta of your own making to lure you into rash decisions.’
Conrad scowled but said nothing.
‘Answer his lordship,’ Pawson said in a mordant tone from the back of the room.
‘You’ve won, just like your sort always do.’ Conrad remained defiant. ‘Is that what you want me to say?’
‘You have one chance to evade the full force of the law,’ Archie replied, eyeing the miserable excuse for a man who had caused him so much physical pain dispassionately. ‘What punishment you receive for your ill-considered actions is entirely in my hands.’
Conrad gave a cynical roll of his eyes. ‘Of course it is.’
‘We are aware that Latimer carries out exorcisms and that you are heavily involved. Tell me about the entire scheme; who participates and who benefits, and I will go easy on you.’
‘Lord above knows why, guv’nor,’ Pawson remarked, ‘given what he did to you all those years ago like the snivelling coward that he is.’
A taunting smile played about Conrad’s lips. ‘You don’t know very much at all.’
‘True enough. But what I do know came from your own brother’s lips.’
‘Ah.’ Conrad threw back his head and laughed. ‘I rather blotted my copybook there. Got a bit too pally with one of his fellow honourable members.’ He spoke with an edge of sarcasm in his tone. ‘But I’ll tell you. Why should I not? I certainly don’t owe Latimer any loyalty. Besides, it’s all over now. Pity. It was sweet whilst it lasted.’
‘I’m listening,’ Archie said, leaning back in his chair with one elbow on its arm, rubbing the side of his index finger across his lips. Wondering if the sweet taste of Flora still lingered there or whether he’d merely conjured it up in his imagination.
‘Latimer is a fanatic; he believes he’s the next Messiah. Not sure why, but there was something in his youth that made him terrified of the devil. One of my clients at Coutts told me that he carried out exorcisms, that badly behaved children from the foundling home were sent to him for correction.’
‘Dear God!’ Pawson muttered.
‘I doubt God had much to do with it,’ Conrad said. ‘Latimer is a sadistic bastard. It wasn’t enough for him to chant over the poor wretches, sprinkle holy water and praying and what have you. Religious materials to show the child the error of its ways never saw the light of day. Brute force was more his style.’
‘Whippings,’ Archie said, thinking of Melanie.
‘Right. It excited him, made him feel all powerful.’
‘What happened to the children?’ Pawson asked.
Conrad shrugged. ‘The poor little blighters didn’t have much of a chance in life anyway.’
Archie knew it was pointless taking exception to his casual response. Men like Conrad didn’t know the meaning of compassion. ‘There’s more,’ he said, keeping his revulsion in check.
‘I went along with the client who told me about the sessions. He thought it was the greatest possible sport. So did the other men admitted to the spectacle; perverted bastards the lot of them. And Latimer allowed them to watch, to take part, because it made him feel omnipotent.’
‘They violated and abused innocent children, and you saw a way to make money from it?’
Another shrug. ‘Why not? They were wealthy men, satisfying a perversion that they were willing to pay heavily to feed. Latimer wanted to salt away as much money as he could. He knows he’s not popular within the church, that he coerced his way into the deanship and that the knives were out for him as a consequence. Perhaps he’s thinking of his old age, I don’t know. But he was easy enough to convince. Charge the perverts for their pleasures and have a hold over them at the same time so we could squeeze more money out of them later.’ Conrad sat forward. ‘There, that’s it.’
‘Latimer thought that Flora knew or suspected the truth, and that Melanie had overheard the two of you talking?’
‘I imagine so. Anyway, it was no hardship to make myself agreeable to the chit.’ He lifted one shoulder. ‘I didn’t have much of an appetite for it until I met her.’ He grinned. ‘There’s something about her that appeals, but you don’t need me to tell you that. She’d have taken to me as well, if you hadn’t got there first.’ He glowered at Archie. ‘Again.’
‘You overestimate your appeal to a lady of discretion.’
‘Perhaps. It doesn’t matter now.’ He paused. ‘Can I ask you something?’
‘You can certainly ask.’
‘Why didn’t I fit in at Oxford? Was it because of my background? Wasn’t I high born enough?’
‘You tried too hard. You cheated at your exams, and at cards—at every damned thing. Now, I want the names of all the men who participated in this scandalous scheme of yours.’
