whom he had a daughter. The marriage was unhappy and Ruth died in childbirth in the 1918 influenza epidemic. Honours scandal In 1918, Sir Basil Thomson, head of the Special Branch, asked Maundy Gregory to spy on Grayson, suspecting him of working as an agent for the new communist government in Russia or for the Irish Republican Army. Grayson discovered that Gregory was spying on him and, with the help of some important friends, found out that Prime Minister David Lloyd George was using Gregory to sell political honours. At a public meeting in Liverpool, Grayson accused Lloyd George of selling honours for between £10,000 and £40,000. He declared: "This sale of honours is a national scandal. It can be traced right down to 10 Downing Street, and to a monocled dandy with offices in Whitehall. I know this man, and one day I will name him." Grayson's "monocled dandy" remark let Gregory know that he was in danger of being exposed. At the beginning of September 1920, Grayson was beaten up in the Strand. This was probably an attempt to frighten him, but he continued threatening to name the man behind the corrupt system. Disappearance By 1920, Grayson was living in an expensive suite of rooms in Piccadilly, although he earned only a modest income from occasional pieces of journalism. Biographer David Clark believes that, having alienated both the socialists and the trade unions, Grayson had entered into blackmail in order to fund his lavish lifestyle. On 28 September 1920, Grayson was out drinking with friends when he received a telephone message. He told his friends that he had to go to the Queen's Hotel in Leicester Square and would be back shortly. He did not return. Journalist Donald McCormick claims that artist George Flemwell had been painting a picture of the Thames when he saw Grayson passing him in an electric canoe, along with Maundy Gregory. Flemwell further observed the two men entering a house (Number 6, The Island, Thames Ditton) on the river bank on 28 September 1920. Flemwell knew Grayson, having painted his portrait before the war, but did not realise the significance at the time because Grayson was not reported missing until several months later. An investigation carried out in the 1960s revealed that the house that Grayson entered was owned by Gregory. Research by Andrew Cook suggests that McCormick may have fabricated the story.