Dear Bernard Cornwell, On 18 Jul, 2006 Kimberly Scott asked ‘how the secret figurine in the seal of St. John disappeared between the two books.’ [Crowning Mercy and Fallen Angels] You replied ‘It was written so very long ago that I can’t remember. Sorry’I have just finished reading Fallen Angels and if it doesn’t seem like barefaced cheek, I have a theory about what it might signify. While Fallen Angels isn’t a sequel to Crowning Mercy it does refer back constantly and tells us something more about the first Toby and Campion (though not why Toby was made an earl, sadly – presumably for services to the King during the Civil War). Toby and Campion in book 2 both look like their namesakes in book 1 and there are some other parallels as well as differences. Kit Aretine is not, as I recall, referred to explicitly in book 2, but his first name (Christopher) is used for Gitan, and Aretine is one of the fifth earl’s names. The painting of Narcissus (which is also of Kit) has been brought into the fold as it were and is hung in Lazen Castle. It seems to have lost its sinister quality. Campion identifies it with Gitan. In addition, both Kit and Gitan appear to be playing both sides. So we have a Kit/Gitan parallel, as well as the Toby and Campion parallels. The seals aren’t instrumental in the plot of Fallen Angels, as they are in the first book, but they are an important feature. There is no explanation given as to why the figurine in St John’s seal is missing. However, this was the seal belonging to Kit Aretine and the figurine represented what he most feared ‘a mirror’ in other words he couldn’t face himself. This is said explicitly at the end of Crowning Mercy. I like to think that the absence of the mirror in book 2 means that Kit Aretine had come to terms with himself, probably by saving his daughter. In this way, we learn what happened to him after Crowning Mercy, as well as what happened to the first Toby and Campion. Just a thought – I hope you don’t mind the presumption. Elizabeth Smith PS Is the wicked Marquess of Skavadale in Gallows Thief the son or grandson of the Marquess of Skavadale in Fallen Angels, or was this just coincidence?