Free Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor

hand vigorously. "Delighted to meet you, dear boy." His bloodshot eyes slid from Marcus to Lydia and then back again. "Not quite sure why we haven't managed it before. Still, better late than never, eh?"
    "Marcus was just leaving," Lydia said.
    "The thing is, sir, there's been a bit of a misunderstanding," Marcus said. "I came here to smooth things over and take Lydia back home."
    "Splendid," Ingleby-Lewis said.
    "I've a taxi waiting outside."
    "I don't want to go back with you," Lydia said. "I'm staying here."
    "Darling, be reasonable. You can't stay here. It's not fair to anyone."
    "I want to stay here."
    Marcus took a step toward her. "Now look here, Lydia--you must see sense."
    Ingleby-Lewis cleared his throat.
    Marcus turned to him. "I'm sure you agree, sir. A woman's place is with her husband, and all that."
    "I must admit, it's not something I've noticed from personal experience."
    "Father, please. I'd prefer to stay here. Anyway, I'm not going with Marcus."
    For a moment, no one spoke. Ingleby-Lewis shuffled over to the sofa, sat down heavily and closed his eyes. He sighed and said slowly, "If Lydia wants to stay here for a few days, it's up to her."
    Marcus glared at her. "This is ridiculous."
    "Go away," she said. "Just go away. Please."
    "We'll discuss this later. You're making a great mistake."
    Her temper flared. "Has it occurred to you that if it's not me who's infertile, then perhaps it's you who should see a doctor?"
    His lips were bloodless. He turned on his heel and left the room, leaving the door open. She listened to his footsteps on the stairs. The front door banged. Her father's eyes were still closed and he was breathing heavily. The air smelled of whisky and tobacco.
    She went to the window and looked down on Bleeding Heart Square. It was quite absurd, so Victorian. Her fate had apparently been in the hands of two men, her husband and her father, a young bully and an old drunk. Marcus was walking across the cobbles to the taxi. From this angle he looked like a dwarf.

    The following day, Friday, Lydia sold the first piece of jewelry. Captain Ingleby-Lewis said that it made sense to sell outright rather than to pawn: you received more money, and of course you didn't have the bother of redeeming it. She chose a small brooch, a ruby set round with diamonds which had once belonged to a great-aunt. The setting was too ornate for modern taste but she thought the stones were good.
    Her father took her to a poky little shop in Hatton Garden and negotiated on her behalf with a tall, hunched man who would not offer them more than twenty-three pounds.
    Ingleby-Lewis lit a cigarette. "Dash it all, Goldman, you strike a hard bargain. Still, I don't choose to haggle over it. But you'll do the business at once, eh? I don't want to be kept hanging around."
    Mr. Goldman inclined his head. "Is that agreeable to you, madam?"
    Lydia nodded. She had not expected to feel so humiliated.
    "One moment, sir." Goldman opened a door behind the counter and retired into a room beyond.
    "We'll not get a better price elsewhere," Ingleby-Lewis confided in a hoarse whisper. "Goldman knows he can't pull the wool over my eyes. And he's not going to keep us waiting either. That's what some of these sheenies do--they give you a price and then take their time paying it. But Goldman's all right as these people go. Serridge uses him a good deal."
    "Mr. Serridge sells jewelry for a living?"
    Her father glanced sharply at her. "No, no. But he occasionally has pieces he wants to dispose of."
    Lydia wondered whether she had imagined a furtive expression on his face. "What does Mr. Serridge do? Is there a Mrs. Serridge?"
    "Ah--no. I believe not." He turned aside to blow his nose. Then he rapped the counter with his knuckles and called out, "Come along, Goldman. We haven't got all day."
    Afterwards, outside in the chilly bustle of Hatton Garden, Ingleby-Lewis laid his hand on Lydia's arm.
    "Ah...perhaps you would like me to look after the money for