“But…” The man protested, his eyes wide and skin a pallid with a clammy sheen. At the sight of Kit’s frown, he abandoned his protestations. I had been on the receiving end of it so often that its foreboding nature was somewhat lost on me, but Kit could glower a man to death.
Bates grabbed his coat and stumbled toward the door, yanked it open, and rushed away.
The rest of the clerks returned to their paperwork simultaneously, feigning disinterest with impressive alacrity.
“Will, are you all right?”
Wasn’t that a question.
“I don’t rightly know.”
“Go on then. I can find something to keep this lot busy.”
“Really?”
“Bring me a little cake thing in the morning.”
“Done.”
I followed Bates out to the street. Every part of me wanted to trace the now familiar path to Celine’s house. Instead, I returned to my apartment above the office, folder still in hand.
The sun had just begunto set when I finished sorting the entirety of Gabriel’s deception.
I wasn’t overly knowledgeable about horse racing or breeding. I’d only attended the one race and only because I was certain to find him there. But he had charged obscene studding fees.
And they were more than enough to put a dent in Parker’s annual income, if not outright obliterate it.
The scheme was clever. Two similar looking studs, one with a pedigree to put royalty to shame, the other just slightly above average. Charge a small fortune for studding the exceptional one. Occasionally use its inferior twin instead. Keep exceptional records, reap secondary rewards in two to three years betting against the inferior’s offspring when they debuted. Collect an even larger fortune.
Parker was one of the unfortunate souls Gabriel had duped twice. I hadn’t studied the man’s finances, but certainly the banknote was enough to ruin him and his offspring for generations to come.
There were other drafts in the folder as well, but only one with a signature that matched the flourishedWI had studied so closely in recent weeks.
I knew I ought to go to Celine with this. To see how she wished to proceed.
But I wanted to confront the man. Toss him into a cell and throw the key in the Thames. Demand to know why he hadn’t just made his suspicions public and shamed Gabriel into returning the funds. Hurt him the way he hurt my Celine.
Except she wasn’t mine. Not anymore. If she ever was. She had found the answers on her own, she had no need of me now.
Idly tracing my finger along theWwhile I considered my options, I was startled by atap, tap, tapat the window. There, perched on the sill was Celine’s damned bird. He gave his usual disgruntled two-tone chirp before tapping at the window once again.
“Shoo!”
Tap! Tap! Tap!More rapid this time.
“Begone you. Go bother your mistress.”
The tapping increased in pace and intensity, threatening to break the window. I rose and strode over to the window, yanking it open with a force that should have sent the bird skyward.
Instead the beast flitted up to my hand for a peck. The nip of its beak was severe, drawing a drop of blood.Could birds have rabies?
It did a little loop in the air before coming back down on the sill and tapping the glass hard once again.
That motion did it. Just in my periphery, I saw movement. Below my window, I found a new pile of straw, and the familiar form of Bates as he knelt fussing with something.
It took a moment to fully grasp what I was seeing. It was only the damn bird pecking me again that launched me to action.
I sprinted through the door and down the stairs, half-tripping in my haste. I rushed around the side of the building to see Bates fanning the familiar spark of a tinderbox.
