Grenville scowled. "The little bugger. He ruined my suit."
"Hang your suit," I said evenly. "You are lucky you aren't dead. Sutcliff is a murderer, and I do not intend to let him get away with it."
"Nor do I," Denis said coolly.
"He'll be arrested," Sir Montague said. "We'll pin it to him, a murderer and a blackmailer, too. Madame Lanier, you may have to give evidence in court, but if we find the blood-covered suit, it will help a great deal."
"I will show you where it is," Jeanne said, raising her head. "But Captain Lacey told me- "
"I know what the good captain told you," Sir Montague said. "Yes, madam, if you help us, I will help you. I have given my word."
He clicked his glass to the table and heaved himself to his feet. "Thank you, Mr. Denis, for your hospitality. I will send for Pomeroy, and we will depart for Berkshire. Madame, if you will remain here until I return from Bow Street?"
Sir Montague, for all his bulk, could move swiftly and decisively. I also believed that he wanted his hands on Sutcliff and the evidence in case Denis, in his anger, decided to act on his own.
Denis, too, rose and bowed coldly. "I will provide your transportation, Sir Montague. Captain, will you remain behind? I wish to speak with you."
As if responding to a cue, his servants came forward, removed the port glasses, and opened the doors. Our gathering was at an end.
Sir Montague stumped out of the room, a smile on his face. The servants helped Grenville from his chair. He moved slowly to the door, his form upright, his face white with pain. Matthias and Bartholomew hovered near him, but he walked out of the room without assistance.
Only Jeanne Lanier remained, fixed on the settee. Denis said nothing to her. I wanted to linger and thank her, but Denis ushered me out and closed the doors before I could so much as say good-bye.
Once upstairs in his study, Denis seated himself behind his desk and motioned for me to sit down. A refreshment of brandy was offered, and I declined it.
"I wanted to speak to you privately," he said without preliminary, "to thank you for clearing up this matter for me."
He might have been speaking of my having thwarted a minor piece of gossip at a garden party. I inclined my head. "I wanted Sutcliff found out."
"I imagined," he said, "that you would discover the murderer's identity and a manner in which to gather the proof sooner than the magistrates, and you did not fail me. I am pleased at the outcome."
"Grenville nearly died," I said, tight-lipped. "I want Sutcliff to pay for that."
"He will. Captain, you can understand my anger about Middleton, because it matches yours about Grenville. Sutcliff had no right to do what he did."
He sat back, palms flat on the desk. "Sir Montague will arrest him and bring him to trial. That will be an end to it. Though you may not like my gratitude; in this case, you have it."
I nodded. I did not like Denis, but I decided to unbend and at least accept his thanks.
"In return," he said, his voice still cool. "I will give you this."
He removed a folded, sealed piece of paper from his desk and pushed it across the bare wooden surface to me.
I went still. No writing appeared on the outside of the paper, but I knew what it was.
He had offered me this information before, the whereabouts of my wife and daughter, in return for steadfast loyalty to him. He wanted to own me utterly, he'd said, and had pulled whatever strings would draw me into his web. He had found the right strings with my wife and daughter.
Now he gave this to me freely, as a reward. I did not need to take it. Taking it would indicate that I accepted payment for a task he had bid me to do. Thus he would win a round of the endless game that he and I played against each other.
I stared at the paper for a long time, my thoughts stilling. Then, my hands unsteady, I reached for it. Under Denis' scrutiny, I broke the seal and unfolded the paper.
Written in a clear hand was a direction, the name of a house in a village. Near Lyons, it continued. France.
I stared at the words for a long time. Carlotta and Gabriella were there. Alive, in the French countryside near Lyons. Years of wondering, of doubt, of fear fell away, and my eyes grew moist.
"Thank you," I said.
I folded the paper, put it into in my pocket, rose from my chair, and walked out of the room.
I accompanied Sir Montague, Jeanne Lanier, and Pomeroy back to Berkshire to the boarding house in Hungerford. Under the scrutiny of an avidly curious Mrs. Albright, Jeanne pulled up the board in her room and removed the suit of clothing that Sutcliff had worn when he murdered Middleton.
Leaving Jeanne at the boarding house, Pomeroy, Sir Montague, and I went to the Sudbury School, found Sutcliff, and, to Rutledge's great fury, arrested him.
Sutcliff fought, but Pomeroy, tall and muscular, was practiced at bringing down culprits. "Now then," he said, locking his great arms around Sutcliff to the delight of the boys looking on. "It's a wicked murderer you are. A nice reward I'll get for this conviction."
The other boys, led by Timson, shouted with glee that their tormenting prefect had been taken, until Rutledge bellowed them all to silence.
I left them with the magistrate and went back to Hungerford to fetch Jeanne Lanier. She waited for me in the tawdry parlor with its shabby furniture, where I had spoken to her before.
The day had darkened, and the room was lit with a sconces that flickered in the gloom.
Jeanne's face had lost its animation. Her lips were white, her eyelids dark. "It is done?" She spoke the words tiredly.
"Yes," I said.
She let out her breath. "Good."
We stood in the center of the room, facing each other. I still carried the paper Denis had given me inside my pocket. It felt heavy to me, knowledge that burned.
Jeanne stepped close to me. "I want to thank you, Captain, for your promise to not have me arrested. It was good of you."
I was not certain I wanted any more thanks. Rutledge bellowing at me at the school had actually seemed refreshing. "You had the best evidence," I said. "You might have made it to France had I not told Denis to stop you. Do not thank me."
She made a small shrug. "If I had reached France, what then? I believe you would have found the means to arrest Frederick sooner or later. But what would have become of me?"
"I believe you will endure very nicely," I said.
I had great belief in this woman's resilience. She felt frightened and alone at present, but I knew she would soon wrap another gentleman around her finger.
Her worried look left her, and she flashed me a smile. "Touche, Captain. You have seen my true colors, peeked beyond my facade. Can you forgive me that?"
I hadn't forgotten the afternoon I'd spent here in her company, and how she'd made me feel-amusing, intelligent, wanted.
"I believe I can forgive you," I said.
Humor glinted in her eyes. "You are too kind." She hesitated. "You may think me a fool, but I wonder whether, when all this is over, you might condescend to receive me as a friend." Her voice softened, and she sounded almost shy. "Indeed, I believe we might have many interesting conversations together."
My lips parted as I gazed at her in astonishment. Her smile was hopeful, her eyes warm. She was asking, if I was not mistaken, whether I'd be willing to be the next gentleman whom she wrapped around her finger.