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He sounded embarrassed, no doubt both for his failure and that his attempts at concealing them had been uncovered, and his shame stirred the emotion she was trying to curb. It felt wrong for them to stand so close together and yet be separated by some invisible barrier, the subject of their annulment unspoken. What she wanted was to turn her back on it completely, revoking what she’d said that day among the scent of apples and damp earth, but it wasn’t that easy. Despite his efforts to free her from the baseless charges against her, the situation had not yet improved, and if she abandoned what she knew to be right in favour of her own selfish desires Jacob would still end up paying the price.

‘Where were you intending to go tonight?’ she asked. ‘What was next on your list of targets?’

There was a pause before Peter’s mumble. ‘The Duck and Drake.’

‘The Duck and Drake!’ Meg didn’t mean to speak so loudly, but horror raised her pitch to a half-shout. ‘That’s the roughest inn for miles!’

Her brother looked as though he wanted to roll his eyes but didn’t quite dare. ‘I know. That’s why I was saving it for last.’

Her eyebrows rose so sharply they almost disappeared into her hair. ‘You are not setting foot inside that place, Peter. Not even Pa goes there. It’s a disreputable tavern frequented by even more disreputable men.’

‘That makes it the perfect place to find your villain!’ he argued back. ‘Where else is a murderer likely to spend his leisure time than among others of his kind?’

‘No. You are absolutely not going, and that’s that.’ Folding her arms, Meg invoked the spirit of their mother, laying down the law with a finality even her brother couldn’t overcome. ‘The only place you will be going tonight is back home to bed. I won’t stand by and allow you to risk yourself for my sake.’

‘But Meg…’

‘No.’

She watched his narrow shoulders sag in defeat. His disappointment was unmistakeable, and she almost felt guilty at having been the one to cause it before her good sense returned to the fore. She’d always done her best to shield him from anything unpleasant, so for the tables to have turned was troubling and moving in equal measure. She was the protector, yet he’d been prepared to throw himself into that role to keep her safe, and she wasn’t sure how that made her feel.

Meg took in her brother’s downturned face. For a split second she recalled him as he’d been as a toddler, beaming as he’d wobbled along holding her hand, and a rush of love swept over her so powerful it nearly knocked her off her feet. He was a good boy and she regretted now that she’d doubted his intentions in sneaking out at night, poaching probably the last thing on his mind whilst worry for his sister came above everything else.

She took his hand. Neither of them wore gloves and she felt the callouses on his palm, a testament to how hard he was willing to work to provide for his family since their father had been injured. He didn’t seem to want to meet her eye but she stooped slightly to peer into his face, aware even as she did so that it wouldn’t be long before she had to look up at him rather than down.

‘I appreciate everything you’ve tried to do for me. I’m touched that you care enough to try to clear my name…but the only person who will be accompanying Jacob anywhere this evening is me.’

Rearranging his cloak to ensure it fully covered the giveaway good quality of his jacket, Jacob knew he shouldn’t have been surprised at the turn the night had taken.

Of course she’d insist on coming with me. Why did I imagine otherwise?

Meg hadn’t said much during their walk from the Wellbourne estate to the tavern on the edge of the next village. After despatching Peter, they had gone on alone, and now as they prepared to enter a shabby-looking building on the side of an overgrown road he stole a glimpse of her from beneath the edge of his hood.

Being with her again, even under such unfortunate circumstances, made him happier than anything else. He hadn’t attempted to touch her but being close enough to hear her breathing was sufficient, the occasional brush of her arm against his as they’d pushed through the trees coming as the most precious of caresses. He’d hoped to have some good news to share before he told her what he and Peter had been doing, but he should have known she was too shrewd to be kept in the dark for long. Despite his failure, it was almost a relief that the secret was out in the open.

‘Are you ready?’

Meg’s nod was definitive. ‘Yes. Let’s go.’

Together they approached the peeling door. Lamplight flooded through a wide crack at the bottom of it, accompanied by raucous laughter and the sound of someone singing woefully off-key. Between the scruffy façade and drunken voices coming from inside the prospect of entering wasn’t particularly appealing, but all the same, Jacob reached out for the handle, only stopping when Meg unexpectedly caught his arm.

‘Wait.’

At his enquiring look she coloured slightly, the light streaming through cracked windows illuminating her flushed cheeks. ‘Thank you for doing this. Even if we’re not able to find out anything useful, I appreciate that you tried.’

‘I’d try anything if it meant you might reconsider an annulment,’ he said simply. ‘Even if the next tavern was at the ends of the earth, I’d charter a ship and set sail.’

He hadn’t meant his reply to come out quite so poetically, but it was the truth. To keep Meg as his wife he would have weathered any storm and it seemed only right that she should know it, and the fact that his words made her pretty blush even rosier was an added bonus.

She peeped up at him, a suggestion of bashfulness in her half-hidden face. ‘You’re not making it easy to keep my resolve, you know. When you say things like that, I could kiss you here and now.’

That was an opening he couldn’t ignore. ‘You’d be very welcome to. I certainly wouldn’t try to stop you.’

The lips beneath her hood tilted upwards, but she didn’t speak. Instead she gripped the handle he had just surrendered and gave it a firm push, and with only the briefest of hesitations she stepped through the door.

Following close behind, Jacob felt almost every eye in the drab room turn towards them. A few of the patrons were too inebriated to notice the two newcomers, but anyone able to stare did so, the selection ranging from coolly curious to bordering on hostile. Clearly strangers weren’t especially appreciated, and just as Jacob’s hackles began to rise he heard Meg address him out of the side of her mouth.

‘Leave the talking to me. One word from you and everyone will know you’re from a class that doesn’t belong here.’