“Mynameis Melissande.”
“This is a Bow Street Runner, Lady Dentry.” He motioned toward Dresden. “Followed Mr. Jeremy Noble up from London.”
Jeremy cringed and sent an apologetic look Gabriel’s way.
“He heard the whole thing, which leaves me in a bind.” Lord Dentry tapped a finger on the chair. “What shall we do?”
“I care little what you do,” his wife said. Gabriel had never seen her as bitter as she was now. Utterly defeated, an ugly sneer on her face.
“Oh, but I think you do. And moreover, I care. I won’t have you disgrace my name any more than you already have.” He silently tapped for a few seconds, a large show of emotion from an altogether stern and unemotional man. “It would be in your best interest were you to be arrested, I will tell you that right now, for I am going to make the rest of your days quite…unpleasant.”
Lady Dentry’s face turned white, and Gabriel squeezed Marietta’s hand as grim approval coursed through him.
Lord Dentry’s eyes moved around the faces in the room. “The question is what to do now.”
“He is the Middlesex murderer. He needs to be brought to justice,” Dresden said, eyes narrowed on John.
Everyone in the room stiffened at his pronouncement. Gabriel closed his eyes. All their secrets would become public. He had put safeguards into place, but this situation was entirely bigger than what he’d planned for. All of London would know in one fell swoop. Printed in every paper and on the lips of every citizen. And John…
“No. You can’t.” Marietta stepped forward. “Please. Let Gabriel handle it.”
Dresden’s eyes narrowed on her. “Noble? I trust him no more than I do the rest of you. He’ll release Alcroft as soon as they leave.”
“He brought Worley to your attention. Deliberately put his own secrets at risk in order to help your investigation.”
“He wasn’t helping my investigation, he was helping his own.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Don’t you see—it hindered him. You are a smart man; you put the pieces together enough to follow Jeremy out here. Why did you do that?”
Dresden’s lips pulled tight. “That is neither here nor there. Why should I trust him to turn over the murderer?” He pointed a thumb at Alcroft. “His lifelong friend.”
“Don’t you see? Gabriel is the reason you know all of these things. He allowed you to know them. Took the chance that under all of your stuffy, upright theatrics, you are a decent man.”
Dresden was taken aback. Gabriel could only sympathize with that state at the moment. Could only keep his jaw from sagging as Marietta made her passionate declarations.
“And Lord Dentry.” She turned to him. “Gabriel has said nothing publicly about your wife, nor your own unwitting part in this. Trust him to continue that. Support whatever story plays.”
Lord Dentry inclined his head an inch.
“And you think he’ll do right by you, do you?” Dresden’s eyes were narrowed upon her.
“He has done right the entire time,” she said simply. “He hasn’t hurt anyone, when he could have. I’ve placed my trust in him, we all have.” She looked at Jeremy and his father, then back to Gabriel. “And none of us have been betrayed.” Her brown eyes were beautiful and clear. A spring shower washing away his sins. He nearly staggered under the impact. She looked back to Dresden. “Please.”
The entire room seemed to take a breath.
Dresden’s eyes scrunched. “I don’t like people mucking around with the law. Mucking around with justice.”
“No, not mucking. Just giving justice a chance to succeed in a different way. To prevent the innocents from being hurt.”
Dresden looked around the room. “What innocents?”
“My brother, for one.”
“It will hardly hurt him when he is exonerated by Mr. Alcroft being taken into custody.” But the corners of Dresden’s eyes loosened a fraction.
“The innocents taken advantage of by Lady Dentry and her—” Her mouth turned down. “—club.”
When Dresden’s eyes softened another fraction, Marietta stepped forward. “Please. I know you want the letter of the law followed, but those victims, those boys, will never get their justice this way.”
