Betrayal at Lisson Grove - Anne Perry [0]
ANNE PERRY
www.headline.co.uk
Copyright © 2010
The right of Anne Perry to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
First published as an Ebook by Headline Publishing Group in 2011
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library
eISBN : 978 0 7553 7683 4
This Ebook produced by Jouve Digitalisation des Informations
HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Anne Perry is a New York Times bestselling author noted for her memorable characters, historical accuracy and exploration of social and ethical issues. Anne Perry was selected by the Times as one of the twentieth century’s ‘100 Masters of Crime’. She lives in Scotland.
Praise for Anne Perry:
‘A beauty: brilliantly presented, ingeniously developed and packed with political implications that reverberate on every level of British society . . . delivers Perry’s most harrowing insights into the secret lives of the elegant Victorians who have long enchanted and repelled her’
New York Times Book Review
‘Anne Perry brilliantly captures the snobbery and prejudices of the ruling elite and the difficulties the courageous Pitt faces as the class divisions between Upstairs and Downstairs hinder his investigations’
Lady
‘The novel has a totally contemporary feel and is admirably wellwritten’
Guardian
‘Full of colourful characters and packed with atmosphere’
Good Book Guide
‘Perry stirs your conscience as well as your soul’ Northern Echo
‘Perry’s characters are richly drawn and the plot satisfyingly serpentine’
Booklist
‘A complex plot supported by superb storytelling’
Scotland on Sunday
To Ken Sherman
for years of friendship
Chapter One
‘That’s him!’ Gower yelled above the sound of the traffic.
Pitt turned on his heel just in time to see a figure dart between the rear end of a hansom and the oncoming horses of a brewer’s dray. Gower disappeared after him, missing being knocked over and trampled by no more than inches.
Pitt plunged into the street, swerving to avoid a brougham and stopping abruptly to let another hansom past. By the time he reached the far pavement Gower was twenty yards ahead and he could see only his head with its flying hair. The man he was pursuing was out of sight. Weaving between clerks in pinstripes, leisurely strollers, and the occasional early woman shopper, with her long skirts getting in the way, Pitt closed the gap until he was less than a dozen yards behind Gower. He caught a glimpse of the man ahead: just bright ginger hair and a green jacket. Then he was gone, and Gower turned, his right hand raised for a moment in signal, before disappearing into an alley to the left.
Pitt followed after him into the shadows, his eyes taking a moment or two to adjust. The way was long and narrow, bending in a dogleg a hundred yards down. The gloom was caused by the overhanging eaves and the water-soaked darkness of the brick, long streams of grime running down from broken guttering. People were huddled in doorways; others made their way slowly, limping, or staggering beneath heavy bolts of cloth, barrels or bulging sacks.
Gower was still ahead, seeming