“Sergeant O’Malley and I are old friends. Will you join me?” She lifted her glass. “It’s not Irish, I’m afraid, but it’s a lovely single malt from Scotland.”
“Thank you, Lady Aldridge. That’s grand.”
Julia poured and invited him to sit, so the sergeant eased into a chair.
“I have news, and the first is from the Yard.” O’Malley looked into his glass, and his jaw tightened. “The decision’s come down from on high. All the big fish will be slipping the net.”
Dr. Lewis gasped. “I can’t believe it. No prosecutions for the clubmen? After what they’ve done? It’s damnable.”
“No one’s paying any piper except the two fellas we caught in the act, thanks to Johnny Osborne. After his article, at least they’ll be explaining themselves to their wives and sweethearts. Doctor Scott, I’m thinking, is explaining to his Maker. But that’s all.”
“It’s not enough,” Julia said. “The chairman, this Reginald Bruce, surely—”
“Claiming ignorance, he is. Rawlings is a liar, and Allen has scarpered. It helps when your cousin is the ninth Earl of Elgin and your friend is the Prince of Wales.”
Lady Aldridge said, “Surely His Royal Highness had no part in this.”
“He dines at the Topkapi,” O’Malley said, “and runs with a fast crowd, but not as fast as the Harem.”
Julia asked, “What about Sidney Allen?”
“The Yard won’t exhaust itself over the chase. The creature would be shouting all the big names if they tried to prosecute.”
“And the little fish?” Lady Aldridge asked. “What happens to them?”
“Ah . . . interesting, that is. Yesterday, I’m hearing the Crown will dangle transportation to Australia. Seven years instead of a longer stretch in an English nick. Rawlings, Stackpole, and a few others we arrested will be jumping at the chance.”
“But I thought the government had halted transportations,” Dr. Lewis said.
“There’s one last convict ship sailing for the Antipodes. All the little fish will be on theHougoumontwhen it leaves for Western Australia. They’ll be far from our shores, swimming in southern waters before anyone’s the wiser for it.”
Julia set her glass aside. “Inspector Tennant must be furious.”
“Spitting mad he was last night. ’Tis the second reason I’m here. After tying together some loose ends, I got back to the Yard late this morning and found his desk cleared out. All he left behind was a note.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Andrew Lewis said.
“It said he’s seeing the commissioner for a brief leave of absence, but that empty desk tells the tale.” O’Malley shook his head. “Chief Inspector Clark will be hoping he’ll never come back.”
“I’ll bet,” Julia said, frowning. “But surely Richard won’t give Clark the satisfaction.”
“I thought I’d catch the inspector at Russell Square, but his housekeeper said he took the 12:10 from Victoria Station to his house in Kent.”
“What do you think, Sergeant?” Dr. Lewis said. “Will a little time away in the country soften his disgust?”
“His note had a finality about it. Apologizing for not seeing me, saying some nice words, and thanking me. And that was that. I think he’s planning to resign from the Yard.”
“No,” Lady Aldridge said. “That cannot be. Someone must go after the dear boy and change his mind before he makes it up.”
* * *
Julia had the first-class carriage to herself, and the 12:10 to Dover gave her two hours to think before it arrived at Richard’s village of Adisham.
That morning, she’d scrambled to install her grandfather at the clinic for the day and arrange the services of Dr. Barnes through Sunday. A note delivered by hand to Tennant’s housekeeper had secured his country address and the information that Julia could hire a pony trap from the blacksmith near the railway station. The smithy’s boy would drive her the last two miles to Tennant’s house.
Aunt Caroline had urged her to go to him, but in the morning, concern for the proprieties sunk in. “Does Richard have a housekeeper in Kent?” Her aunt had eyed the bag Julia’s maid packed for several nights away from home. Then Lady Aldridge left to telegraph for a room at a Dover hotel.
The train sped through Surrey and crossed into Kent. Julia closed her eyes and thought about her trip to Dover with her grandparents.Nearly ten years ago . . .
