“Not so barren, surely? What about the inhabitants already there? There are very many of those, I think.”

He shrugged. “Some, who scratch a living. But they are removed when necessary.”

“It must be hugely expensive.”

“That it is. And many men have put money into the venture, although the reward is so certain it presents little risk, except where villagers or landowners delay the work.”

“So it is not certain, then?”

“All problems can be overcome. If squatters object, they are ejected; if landowners refuse to cooperate, then ways are found round their objections. Some straightforward, others”—here his eyes twinkled with amusement—“others less straightforward.”

“But surely no landowner objects?”

“You’d be surprised. For all sorts of mean and ignorant reasons, people have put obstacles in our way for upward of thirty years. But most are seen to now the Prestcott problem has been solved.”

My heart quickened at the words, and I was hard put not to let out some exclamation. Fortunately, Collop was not an observant man and Kitty, seeing my shock, diverted him for full ten minutes with inconsequential court gossip.

“But I interrupted you, dear sir,” she said brightly after a while. “You were telling us about your battles. Who was the man you mentioned, Prestwick? Was that it?”

“Prestcott,” Collop corrected her. “Sir James Prestcott. A thorn in our side for years.”

“He did not see the advantages of being rich, did he?” Strange how some people require some convincing.”

Collop chuckled. “Oh, no. He knew the advantage of wealth. It was his jealousy that was the problem.”

Kitty looked enquiringly, and Collop was more than happy to oblige, little aware of how he was condemning himself and others with every filthy word he uttered.

“He did not benefit as much from the division of land and feared the arrival of greater men than he in an area his family had dominated for generations. So he incited the local inhabitants to damage our works. We built dikes, the rabble came out at night and drove holes in them, flooding the land again. We brought cases against them and he, as a magistrate, found them all not guilty. It went on for years.

“Then came all the troubles, and this Sir James went into exile. But the war also made the money dry up, and in any case, part of his land cut straight across the line of a river we needed to dig, and he would not sell it to us. Without it, an entire river would have to be diverted, or some fifteen thousand acres abandoned.”

“Surely then it would have been wise to offer more?”

“He would not take it,” Collop wagged his finger with a smirk on his face. “But then the goodness of the Lord shows itself,” he said. “For what do we eventually discover when we are on the point of despair? That all the while good Sir James is in fact a traitor. My lord’s cousin, Sir John Russell, had it from Sir Samuel Morland himself, and he provided all the information we needed to make Prestcott flee abroad once more. The trustee of his property was forced to sell up to avoid bankruptcy, and we had our river dug just where we wanted it.”

I could not bear even to look at his gross, smug face any longer, and was seriously afraid that, if I heard much more, I would run him through on the spot. A red haze spread over my eyes and my head spun with dizziness as I walked to the window. I could barely think, so powerful was the pain that gripped my head, and I felt the beads of sweat running down my forehead and onto my clothes as I fought for breath. To be forced to listen as this dirty man of no name encompassed the downfall of my father to gain a profit made my soul revolt. I had no appetite to exult in the fact that I was so much closer to my goal, for to find motives so mean and tawdry made me tremble with sorrow. Now, at least, I knew why Sir John Russell had refused even to cast eyes on me at Tunbridge Wells; he could not have borne the shame and lived.

“Are you not well, sir?’’ I distantly heard Kitty anxiously enquiring, as she must have seen my face pale as I stood by the window trying to control myself. It was as if she spoke from a great distance; she had to repeat the words several times before I could attend to them.

“Yes, thank you. It is a migraine, to which I am prone. I think it must be the city air, and the heat in your apartment. I am not used to it.”

Collop at least had the grace to offer instantly to withdraw. I heard the ceremonious and courteous way in which she thanked him for calling, and summoned the servant to show him out. It was some considerable time, I think—it could have been minutes but just as easily hours—before I was able to leave that window. She had, by then, produced a cold compress which she placed on my forehead, and a glass of chilled wine to restore my senses. She was, in fact, a naturally kind woman, one of the kindest I have known.

“I must offer you my apologies,” I said eventually. “I fear I must have caused you grave embarrassment.”

“Not at all,” she replied. “You lie there until you feel able to move. I did not understand the import of the words entirely, but I could see they were a grave shock to you.”

“That they were,” I said. “Worse than I imagined. I should have known, of course, that something this mean was behind everything, but I have looked so long that its discovery took me entirely by surprise. I am not, it seems, a man for a real crisis.”

“Would you like to tell me?” she said as she bathed my forehead once more. She was close to me, and her perfume no longer repelled me, but had the precise opposite effect; the warmth of her bosom against my arm similarly excited hidden feelings deep inside me. I held her hand as it rested on my chest and drew it close, but before I could make my desires known further, she stood up and walked back to her seat, giving me a sad, and I think regretful, smile.

“You have had a shock,” she said. “It would be best not to follow it up with a mistake. I think you have more than enough powerful enemies already without seeking to make new ones.”

She was right, of course, although I could have answered that with so many, one more would make little difference. But she was not willing; that would have made no difference with the Kitty I originally knew, but I was as under the spell of the times as much as anyone. Despite everything, I could not but treat her as a woman of standing, and so desisted, even though to continue would have brought much needed release.

“So? Are you going to explain why you turned so pale?”

I hesitated, then shook my head. “No,” I said. “This goes too deep. It is not that I do not wish to confide in you, but I am anxious lest anything be known of my progress. I do not wish to forewarn anyone. But please tell your lord of my gratitude, and my intention to act on his words speedily.”

She agreed to this, and reined in her curiosity with dignity. For my part, my business was done, and I prepared to leave. Again and again, I thanked her for her kindness and her usefulness, and wished her well in her fortune. She kissed me lightly on the cheek on our parting, the first time, I believe, a woman had ever done such a thing to me, for my mother never touched me at all.