I noticed that Mrs. Beltan had made a start at replacing the faded wallpaper. Instead of shepherds and shepherdesses gazing at one another in old-fashioned garb, I looked upon a blue-green toile pattern of dizzying curlicues. I wasn’t certain it was an improvement.
Brewster swung open the door to my rooms on the first landing and froze. Worried Mr. Arthur had appeared to send me another warning, I quickened my pace.
I reached the top of the stairs and peered around Brewster’s bulk. “Bloody hell.”
James Denis sat comfortably in the armchair before my flickering fireplace, an open book in his hands. At my exclamation, he looked up from his reading and gave me a nod. “Captain.”
Chapter 15
“Do the jailors in Newgate know you are gone?” was the first coherent sentence that came out of my mouth.
Denis calmly marked his place in the book with a strip of paper, closed it, and set the book on the table beside him.
“They do. I was released this morning at an early hour.”
“This morning?” I repeated, dumbfounded. “Could you not have sent word?”
“It was too early, even for you,” Denis said. “I meant to dispatch a message through your landlady for you to meet me in these very rooms, but Mrs. Beltan indicated you had an appointment here anyway, so I decided to wait for you.”
“Why here?” I demanded. Brewster still would not move, though Robbie stood guard at the window. I knew no enemy was within—that is, no enemy of Denis. “Do you fear to return home?”
Irritation flickered across Denis’s face. “I have been home. For a much-needed repast and rest. I came back here to intercept you after your appointment had concluded.”
Brewster finally stepped aside to allow me fully into the room. “I am all a-flummoxed,” I said. “How did you convince them of your innocence?”
“I did not. However, my barrister spoke to a High Court judge who decided there was not enough evidence to hold me in Newgate for the murder, at least for the moment. I had to give my oath I would not leave the metropolis, but otherwise I can go about my business.”
“What about the inquest?” A coroner’s jury might very well have decided Denis had plenty of opportunity and should be tried for the crime.
“I was not required to give evidence. The verdict returned was murder by person or persons unknown.”
Meaning he had people behind the scenes to manipulate events. Any of us mere mortals would have faced a coroner’s jury who were in complete agreement we should be kept imprisoned until our trial at the Old Bailey.
The coroner’s verdict, however, didn’t acquit Denis. The investigation would continue, and he could be arrested anew if all evidence led back to him.
“Spendlove will not like this,” I said decidedly.
“Which is why I wished to speak to you. I would like you to continue looking into the matter and discover who truly killed the man.”
“Do you?” My temper rose. “When I visited you in your rather comfortable quarters in Newgate, you told me plainly to leave it alone.”
“I did then, yes.” Denis touched his fingertips together. “It was necessary for you to keep clear until I could be released. Things were in motion I did not wish you to interrupt.”
“Do I understand this aright? You already had a scheme worked out to get yourself released, and now that that this plan has come off, you expect me to find the correct culprit for the Runners?”
Denis nodded. “You put it bluntly, but essentially, you are correct.”
“And you could not tell me this—” I ceased my rant as a woman in a large bonnet and swirling coat passed sedately in the lane below. Lady had arrived for our appointment. “You will have to excuse me, I am afraid,” I said stiffly. “I have a previous engagement.”
Part of me was pleased to see Denis’s eyes widen with surprise. Without further word, I turned on my heel and stalked out of the room.
Brewster followed me down. I heard Denis come after him, his steps light, and then Robbie’s more heavy tread. The four of us emerged, one by one, into the dank air of Grimpen Lane, where a light rain had begun to fall.
Lady had disappeared into the bakeshop. I signaled to Mrs. Beltan, who’d poked her head out, to let her know I’d be there in a moment.
“Come to Curzon Street when you are finished,” Denis told me with his usual air of cool command. “I would be interested to hear what conclusions you have drawn on this problem.”
I eyed him coldly. “Why do you suppose I have drawn any conclusions? You told me plainly to leave the matter alone.”
