“Bloody hell, I will,” I replied.
“I dinna want ye here!”
I had seen him angry countless times, at times directed at me, but never like this. When I reached out to touch him, he pulled away sharply.
“You need to trust me,” I told him then. “Iwillfind the man responsible for Ellie Sutton’s murder.” It was the only way to clear him, and seeing him bloodied and bruised for Abberline’s cruel pleasure, perhaps save his life.
“I shouldna ha brought you into any of this…” he whispered.
He turned back to that corner of the room and slowly disappeared into the shadows.
“Trust me,” I told him once more, then knocked at the door to let the constable know that I was ready to leave.
Munro took one look at me as I returned to the coach.
“Aye.”
The rest of the trip back to Sussex Square was made in silence.
There is something to say regarding someone who knows you so well because they are very much like you.
At first, my great-aunt said nothing when we returned, waving away the servants as well as Lily and Mrs. Ryan.
I sayat first, as she left me to my anger, my frustration, my thoughts, and the fear—not something I usually allowed. Then...
“We could storm the gates and break him out. It would be quite an experience,” she suggested as luncheon was served, for which I had no taste whatsoever.
“I could call in a favor for that. Or we might simply have Mr. Munro take care of Abberline when he leaves Scotland Yard for the day, self-satisfied that he has Brodie in his clutches.”
She seemed to have a healthy appetite for luncheon and her proposed scheme. She eyed me thoughtfully.
“Or have you decided to leave Brodie to his fate? I do suppose an arrangement could be provided by Sir Jamison, an annulment rather than a divorce, and be done with the man.”
I looked at her sharply. Although by the brief and painful conversation with Brodie it did seem that he regretted my involvement.
“Or not,” she added. “If you have set upon a plan? If you have not…”
I suddenly rose from the table, threw down my napkin, and went in search of Munro.
“Sir Avery made it clear that he wouldna be involved in the murder case,” he said when I explained what I intended to do.
It did not include storming the gates of Scotland Yard, or having Munro assist Mr. Abberline in simply disappearing. Although that was tempting…
Sixteen
“As I have said,I cannot intervene in a personal matter such as the murder case that Brodie has pursued,” Sir Avery Stanton of the Special Services reminded me from his desk in the Tower.
“What about a case that involves a man who has provided exemplary services, even at the risk of his own life?” I demanded as I circled his office once more, unable to sit still and unwilling to accept official statements.
As I had arrived at the formidable fortress earlier with Munro, I had experienced a feeling of dread that Brodie might very well find himself within those walls where it was said those who committed crime against the Crown were still taken. It seemed a good set of gallows never went overlooked.
I had pushed on, most determined. And now more than ever. I had never let an initial response get in my way, as I inspected the framed certificates on Sir Avery’s wall and the letter below a Royal Warrant, signed by no less than Victoria herself.
“In service to the Realm,” I read and the motto in Latin, “Semper Occultus—Always Secret,”I translated from an agonizing year of studies.
“Service to the Realm,” I repeated. “That would mean to the people of Britain, would it not?” I asked as I turned around.
Sir Avery watched me, much like a bug under a microscope. “It would,” he finally replied.
