As interesting as O’Rourke being assigned to the escape of Croydon.
Hudson did not bother to correct O’Rourke. Instead, he inclined his head toward Chance. “Thank you for bringing me to Chief Inspector O’Rourke. Please do remember to give Mrs. Chance my good wishes.”
Chance nodded. “Of course, sir, my lord duke. I will. Thank you.”
The lad bowed and then nearly collided with another sergeant passing through the busy offices. Grimly, Hudson turned his attention back to O’Rourke. “I understand you have been given the task of apprehending Reginald Croydon.”
O’Rourke stiffened. His reaction was slight, almost imperceptible, but Hudson noticed. The reaction was intriguing and puzzling.
“I have been, yes.”
“I wish to offer my assistance,” he said. “Given my involvement in his previous case, there may be some insight I am able to offer.”
“Assistance is not required,” O’Rourke dismissed coolly.
He had not known what reception he would receive upon his first return to Scotland Yard since his abrupt departure. There was no denying the disparity between Chance’s excited greeting and the grim disapproval of the man before him. But never mind that. He had no intention of being swayed from his course.
“Has Croydon been caught?” Hudson countered calmly.
Chief Inspector O’Rourke’s jaw clenched. “He has not yet been recaptured, no.”
“Then the assistance of one more set of hands ought to be welcome, surely.”
“You are no longer a part of Scotland Yard.”
“I offer my aid in an unofficial capacity.” Hudson forced a smile, for he wanted to push the man but not too far. He wanted to goad O’Rourke into agreeing, not into telling him to go to hell. “I wish to offer my time and information,gratis.”
“You are arrogant, sir.” O’Rourke’s voice dripped with ice. “Do you think Scotland Yard incapable of carrying on without you? I daresay we didn’t even notice you were gone.”
Devil take it, this was not going as he had hoped.
“I think nothing of the sort, Chief Inspector O’Rourke.” He clung to all the sangfroid he possessed to keep the irritation from his tone. “Having so recently been a Chief Inspector, I know the limitations binding you and your detectives. Not enough bodies on the ground, not enough pay to lure skilled men, and crimes running rampant. I am here to be a help rather than a hindrance, and most certainly not because I believe Scotland Yard incapable of apprehending Reginald Croydon. Quite the opposite, and I must beg your pardon if my offer led you to believe otherwise. Insult was never my intention.”
“Hmm.” O’Rourke made a noncommittal hum, his frown severe. “I cannot in good conscience allow a civilian, and a former member of Scotland Yard at that, to obtain information privy to my men.”
He had expected this particular objection, and he had a ready reply. “Fortunately, I do not require you to provide me with any information. All I need to know is which doors have been knocked upon in an effort to find Croydon. A starting point, if you will.”
“I must warn you that your efforts will likely be for naught,” the inspector said, seemingly beginning to relent. “All the information we have gleaned thus far suggests he has left the country.”
There was something about the inspector’s demeanor that made Hudson’s suspicions heighten. Perhaps it was the manner in which O’Rourke’s gaze darted away from his, or the slight twist to his left, the tapping of his right foot.
“Left the country,” Hudson repeated, thinking it highly unlikely that a criminal of Croydon’s notoriety would have so quickly and easily fled England’s shores. “That would have required a vast sum of money and many fellow conspirators in place at the time of his escape, would it not? As I understand, it was not even one week ago that the man disappeared. Do you have evidence to support this supposition?”
O’Rourke raised a brow, the sharp angles of his face and his sunken cheeks rendering him reminiscent of a corpse. “Indeed, sir. I have evidence to support my conclusion. Evidence which, regretfully, cannot be shared with you. You are a fancy lord now, are you not?”
A duke, but Hudson would be damned if he was going to admit it now.
“I recently inherited unexpectedly,” he acknowledged.
“Right you are, sir. You would be far better served to turn your attentions toward your own concerns rather than the worries of others.” O’Rourke flashed him a brief smile that was nonetheless every bit as grim as the rest of his countenance. “Let Scotland Yard do our work. You are no longer welcome here in our ranks.”
No longer welcome.
Here, in Scotland Yard, which had been the entirety of his life for so many years. The blow was every bit as strong as if it had been a physical one. Hudson’s jaw clenched. But then, what should he have expected? Likely, many of the men with whom he had walked the streets were embittered over his rise in station. Perhaps O’Rourke was just such a man.
He nodded. “As you wish, Chief Inspector O’Rourke. I will take my leave.”
“That is best, my lord.”
