He raised his nose from the book, his expression turning oddly tentative. Unlike those of his younger brother, his inner feelings weren’t always easy to discern. “Not really.” The bed creaked as he shifted against the pillows. “Mr. Tyler has asked if I want to assist him in Lord Wrexford’s laboratory on the days I don’t have lessons. He said I could be of help in calculating some of the equations they need for their chemical experiments.”
It was said casually, but Charlotte sensed it meant more tohim than he was letting on. His innate talent for mathematics had recently become apparent. “That sounds like a very exciting project.” She hesitated. The earl was careless about a great many things, but science was not one of them. He was very serious and disciplined about his experiments. “And Wrexford is aware of the arrangement?” she asked gently.
“Aye,” answered Raven. “Mr. Tyler said he suggested it.”
Another surprise. Though after a moment’s thought, she realized it shouldn’t be. For all his mercurial moods and snappish sarcasm, Wrexford had always been very tolerant of the boys.
“Well, then, by all means, you must take advantage of such a splendid opportunity.”
Raven gave a small shrug. Unlike his younger brother he was guarded about showing his emotions. But she saw through the fringe of his dark lashes a glimmer of happiness at her approval. “I s’pose it may be halfway interesting. Mr. Tyler says I can help him polish the instruments, and perhaps learn how to work the microscope as well.”
“Excellent,” murmured Charlotte, uncomfortably aware that another debt of thanks must be added to the earl’s side of the ledger. The tally was growing dangerously unbalanced.
Seeing her shift the rolled drawing from hand to hand, Raven quickly set his book aside. “You need for us to deliver that?”
“What?” She had nearly forgotten why she had come. “Oh, yes. I’d be grateful if you would. Mr. Fores is expecting it.”
Both boys were up in a flash.
“And then, after that,” she added slowly, “if you are willing, I could use your help in another task.” Charlotte didn’t like to ask it, but with Nicky’s life hanging in the balance, she set aside her reluctance. The boys were the only ones who could do the task.
“As if you need to ask, m’lady,” replied Raven, fixing her with a reproachful look. His gaze then turned probing. “Does it have to do with the toff who was knifed in the Palace gardens?”
“Oiy, what can we do to help?” chimed in Hawk.
They were frighteningly quick to sense trouble—a skill that had likely kept them alive in the dog-eat-dog world of the stews.
“Yes, it concerns the gentleman who was killed on the night of the scientific soiree.” Charlotte took out her notes on the Bloody Butcher murders. “I have reason to believe that the person arrested for the crime is innocent,” she explained.
“They say his brother did it,” said Hawk, his expression turning troubled.
“Yes, and I think they’re wrong,” assured Charlotte. The boys had survived a grim childhood with only each other to depend on. The idea of such an ultimate betrayal must seem like an unimaginable evil. “But I must try to gather the proof of it.”
“Go on,” said Raven, in unconscious imitation of the earl’s coolly detached drawl.
A ghost of a smile passed over her lips, before her expression quickly tightened. “I need to dig deeper and learn more about the Bloody Butcher’s first three murders. Someone must have seen something. A detail, no matter how small, might help me figure out the identity of the real killer.”
The people who lived in the shadows of the city’s alleyways and hellholes had not offered any help to the authorities. But with the right coaxing, they would speak freely to the boys and their ragged band of urchin friends.
“I’m looking for anything,” continued Charlotte. “The description of any stranger spotted in the neighborhood, the sound of a voice, a footprint—every detail, no matter if it seems unimportant, is key to gather.”
She rechecked her notes and gave them the locations, along with a reminder of the dates and time of day. The denizens of the streets didn’t gauge time by clock or calendar, but they would remember the murders on account of the mutilations.
Raven nodded in understanding. “We’ve friends in those areas. If anyone saw something, we’ll winkle it out of them.”
“Thank you.” Charlotte thought for a moment. “I knowyou’ve done it once, but please ask again around Kensington Gardens. Your contacts said they saw naught but gentlemen leaving the grounds around midnight . . .” Including Nicholas. “But if possible, I’d like a more complete description of them.” It might only be grasping at air, but she couldn’t afford to overlook any chance of finding a telltale clue.
The boys quickly fetched their jackets. She passed over the print and followed them down the stairs to the front door.
“One last thing—both you and your friends must be very careful in how you go about the questioning,” cautioned Charlotte, keeping hold of the latch for a moment. “Whoever is responsible for these crimes is a ruthless killer. He won’t hesitate to strike again.”
CHAPTER 6
“This way, gentlemen.”
A Nubian porter, swathed in a scanty crimson toga that displayed a goodly amount of oil-sheened ebony muscles, opened the portal wider and beckoned Wrexford and Sheffield to follow him through a curtain made of jewel-tone glass beads. The whispery chatter as it fell closed behind them seemed redolent with the promise of more exotic experiences to come.
Illusion was often just as seductive as reality, thought the earl as he watched the light of the wall sconces flicker over the erotic murals of the corridor.
