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“So, your brother and Mrs. Devlin ended whatever was between them and then you formed an attachment with her in its place.”
Pennington’s tawny brows drew together. “Not in its place, no. What passed between myself and Demeter was genuine and not at all fleeting.”
“You are in love with her, is that it?”
“Yes.” He looked almost proud, or perhaps relieved, to claim it.
“When was the last time you saw Mrs. Devlin?”
He scrubbed a hand across his clean-shaven face. “Not for a couple of days.”
Gideon could see that the admission cut him to the quick.
“I wish I could say I had,” Pennington added more quietly. “I miss her rather dreadfully, but we had a…falling out of sorts. I suspect she merely needs time for tempers to cool.”
“So, the attachment between you is a serious thing. Do you plan to offer for the lady?”
His mouth curved into a tremulous smile. “I’m not sure that she would be amenable to such an offer. But if she was, I certainly would.”
Gideon bent his head to jot down a few observations, and to give the gentleman time to say more.
“She means a great deal to me, Inspector. If you find out where she is—”
“Do you know where I might find her? I understand she was lodging at Regent Square, but the housekeeper has not seen her in days.”
Pennington shook his head. “She has gone off to think, I suspect,” he said, his tone lighter than the emotions reflected on his face. “When she’s ready, I’m certain she’ll return to me and we’ll make amends.”
“Then I must be the one to ask you. If she does return and seeks you out, please inform me, Mr. Pennington. I must speak with her.”
“Understood, Inspector.”
“The first time we met, you told me that you were at the theatre on the night of the twenty-eighth of July, but subsequent inquiries suggest you were not.”
Pennington looked roused, like he was ready to protest, but Gideon had an instinct about where the man might have been.
“Were you with Mrs. Devlin?”
“I was with her during the course of the day and into the early evening, but then I did go to the theatre.”
The insistence struck Gideon, considering how sure the theatre staff had been when speaking to Thacker about the man’s absence.
“What time were you with her during the day?”
“We met at around two and were together a few hours at my lodgings in Soho.”
“When you parted, did she tell you where she intended to go?”
“No.” That fact seemed to pain him.
“Is that the last time you saw her?”
Pennington eyed him for a moment, a penetrating stare. “I saw her a little later that evening.”
“Around what time?”
“Approximately six, half six.”
“And what was her demeanor?”
