Leach loitered outside the factory until the hooter sounded. It was not long before the mass exodus took place, hundreds of bodies streaming out of the building in a rush to get home. Ruby Cosgrove was walking arm in arm with two friends. When she saw Leach, she broke away and trotted across to him.

‘I’ve been dying to see you, Gordon,’ she said, accepting a kiss.

‘That’s good to hear. I thought you were angry with me.’

‘Why should I be angry?’

‘You didn’t like the idea I put to you.’

‘That was because I didn’t really take it in,’ she explained.

It was impossible to have a private conversation in the middle of a crowd so they walked down the road and turned into a quiet side street. Ruby’s face was glowing with expectation. He was relieved to see that she’d recovered all of her buoyancy and good humour.

‘Mummy and Daddy hated it at first,’ she told him, ‘but they slowly came to see that there were advantages. In the end, they were in favour of us getting this three-day licence to marry. Daddy said it would save him a lot of money if we didn’t have the reception we’d planned. He liked that.’

‘Actually,’ he said, ‘I’ve had a change of heart.’

Her face clouded. ‘You mean that you don’t love me any more?’

‘Of course I do.’

‘Then what are you talking about?’

‘It’s this three-day licence, Ruby.’

‘All the girls at work thought it was so romantic,’ she said, dreamily. ‘They were very jealous. They all want to be swept off their feet and carried to the altar as quickly as that.’

‘But your aunt is making the wedding dress. That will take time.’

‘No, it wouldn’t, Gordon. I went round to see her last night. Auntie Gwen said she’d only need ten days or so to finish it. She works very fast.’

‘What about the church? It’s already booked.’

‘We simply tell the vicar that we’ve changed our minds.’

‘But that’s the thing, Ruby,’ he said, awkwardly. ‘I haven’t.’

She stared at him with surprise tinged with a sense of betrayal. When she left home that morning, it was with the certainty that she could marry him far sooner than planned, with the added bonus of taking him out of reach of conscription. Once they’d thought about it, her parents and her aunt had given their approval and her friends at the factory had all been enthusiastic about the notion. Suddenly, there was a problem. Having made her elated, Leach had just dampened her spirits. Ruby couldn’t believe that he would let her down like that.

‘I thought it was what you wanted,’ she said, lower lip quivering.

‘It was, Ruby, but things have changed.’

‘What sort of things?’

‘I talked it over with Fred and Mansel.’

‘I’m marrying you, Gordon Leach, and not them.’

‘But we came to this agreement, you see,’ he said. ‘All four of us — Cyril included — vowed that we’d take a stand against conscription together.’

‘That was then — this is now.’

‘They made me look at it in a different light.’

She flew into a rage. ‘In other words, you don’t want to marry me.’

‘There’s nothing I want more, Ruby.’

‘I hate you for this,’ she cried. ‘You get my hopes up, then you dash them. Wait till the girls hear about this — they’ll have a good laugh at me. You’re cruel, Gordon, you really are. What’s so special about Fred and Mansel? You always said you put me first. Why let them tell you what to do?’

‘Calm down,’ he said, trying to put an arm around her.

She pushed him away. ‘Leave go of me!’

‘There’s no need to fly off the handle, Ruby.’

‘Is this how it’s going to be? Every time we need to make a big decision, will you have to go and take the advice of your friends first?’

‘It’s not like that at all.’

‘Well, that’s how it seems, Gordon.’

‘I’ve got … obligations.’

‘I used to think you had obligations to me.’

‘I do,’ he said, getting flustered. ‘Listen, I can’t explain when you’re in this sort of state. Why don’t we wait until we can talk this over quietly? There’s no need for an argument. I love you, Ruby. We’re on the same side. Don’t you see that?’

‘All I see is that you’ve made me look a fool.’

‘That’s not true.’

‘I’ve got to go back home to my parents and tell them that it was a joke. You never really wanted to get married to me at short notice, did you?’

‘I did!’ he protested. ‘Part of me still does.’

‘Well, I don’t want part of you, Gordon Leach. I want all of you. If I can’t have that, I’ll have nothing at all.’

Pulling out a handkerchief, she turned round and scurried off down the street. He ran after her and grabbed her by the shoulders to bring her to a halt. Ruby was trembling all over.

‘Why don’t we discuss this another time?’ he said, desperately. ‘We’ve obviously got off on the wrong foot.’

‘There’s nothing to discuss,’ she said, laying down her ultimatum. ‘It’s time you made your choice. Who is more important to you — me or your friends? I’m not prepared to share you with them, Gordon. I really mean that.’

Brushing away his hands, she walked off again and he was too dazed to follow. Leach was mortified. Because of his folly, he was in danger of losing her altogether.

Caroline Skene could not be rushed. Marmion could see that. When he got to the police station, she was brooding on the bench. Glad to be rescued from the place, she said nothing as they got into the car. Marmion wondered what she was doing in Shoreditch but did not press her on the subject. When he suggested that they should drive back to Lambeth, she shook her head vigorously. He used his own initiative. Ten minutes after picking her up, they were sitting side by side on a park bench. There was no danger of anyone overhearing them there. Sensing that she wouldn’t have got in touch with him unless she had something important to divulge, he was patient and considerate.

‘There’s no hurry,’ he said. ‘Take all the time you need, Mrs Skene.’

It was almost over a minute before she finally spoke.

‘I owe you an apology, Inspector,’ she began.

‘Why is that?’

‘There’s something I should have told you when we first met,’ she said, ‘but I was too confused by what had happened. The news of Cyril’s death shook me to the core. I still haven’t got used to it.’

‘Tell me about this apology.’

‘I’m related to the Ablatt family. Gerald is my cousin.’

‘That explains how you met his son.’

‘We’ve known each other for years. It was a very long time before we … got closer to each other.’ She looked up at him. ‘Don’t be too critical of us.’

‘Is that why you were in Shoreditch?’

‘Yes, Inspector — I went to offer comfort. If I’m honest, however, I was there for another reason altogether.’

Marmion was ahead of her. ‘Did you want to retrieve something, perhaps?’

‘Yes, I did,’ she admitted. ‘I’d sent him letters and given him keepsakes. I didn’t want his father finding them. It would have hurt him beyond bearing.’

‘And did you find what you were after?’

‘I was lucky. The vicar called at the house and that gave me the chance to go upstairs. I searched every nook and cranny. There’s nothing left to incriminate us.’

‘Falling in love with someone is not a crime, Mrs Skene.’

‘It is in this case. It was forbidden love, Inspector. I was married and Cyril was much younger than me. It felt wrong from the start but we couldn’t help it.’

‘There’s something else, isn’t there?’ he asked. ‘I don’t think you’d have got in touch with me unless you had important information to give.’

She lowered her head. ‘You’ll think ill of me when I tell you.’

‘I’ve no reason to do that, Mrs Skene.’

‘In a way, it’s hampered your investigation. I should have been honest.’

‘You were trying to absorb some frightful news,’ he said. ‘You’d suffered a terrible blow. Anyone would be bewildered in those circumstances.’