That was likely true.
Fletcher turned to Martin. “The Dread Master managed to get you a position at Chelmsford’s place,” he said. “Have you learned anything there?”
Martin shrugged. “Chelmsford’s jumpy. The staff’s noticed, but no one seems to know why.”
“Haveyouany inkling why?” Fletcher pressed.
“He’s been thumbing through papers, whispering to himself about how he did the best he could, how he ought to have been appreciated by someone who, apparently, don’t appreciate him.” Martin shrugged. “And I heard him say, ‘Who could still be angry aboutthis?’ So he’s trying to sort who is angry about something or other.”
“Sounds like Lord Chelmsford is thinking along the same lines we are,” Barnabus said. “He’s being blackmailed over the Radlett case because someone is still angry about how it played out.”
“But who?” Elizabeth asked. “And why are they so upset with him that they’d go to these lengths?”
“I’ve crossed paths with Lord Chelmsford a couple of times,” Martin said. “I’ll see if I can’t manage to talk a bit with him. Protocol among the staff makes that sort of thing difficult, but maybe not impossible. Another one of the footmen had a quick exchange with him: offering a good morning and asking if there were anything he could do for Chelmsford. I may be able to build on that approach.”
They all nodded but without the firmness that came with conviction. The situation was tough to sort. It was frustrating to not have a clear way forward.
Brogan rose from his seat to top off his glass, and Stone walkedwith him. Hollis, Martin, and Fletcher put their heads together, trying to devise a plan for getting more information.
Elizabeth, who sat beside Barnabus, turned her attention to him. “How is Gemma holding up? It must have been an overwhelming thing for her to have her family find her, knowing who and what they are.”
He nodded. “She’s wary, but she’s always been strong. Being with the Donnellys has helped.”
“I suspect being withyouwould help more,” she said.
“I did ask her if she’d come back to Finsbury, but she was not amenable to the idea.”
That seemed to surprise Elizabeth.
“She doesn’t want to bring this danger to my house on account of my patients and the women and girls I help to rescue.”
“I can understand that,” Elizabeth said. “But I suspect she is also protectingyou.”
“Like Sorcha does for Duncan?”
With a half smile that was one hundred percent mischievous, Elizabeth said, “I haven’t the first idea why you’re asking me.Mr. Kingis the author of that penny dreadful.”
Elizabeth was, of course, Mr. King. But no one outside of the Dread Penny Society knew that.
“Well, Mr. King saw fit for his protective heroine to spend timewiththe not-entirely-incompetent hero rather than send him on his way ‘for his own good.’”
“Mr. King’s brave hero also isn’t choosing to keep his distance,” Elizabeth tossed back. “I can’t imagine Duncan’d be making the least bit of progress otherwise.”
“I have made a little progress,” Barnabus said. “Gemma kissed me last night. Well, I kissed her, but she did too.”
“Each other,” Elizabeth said dryly. “The description you are searching for is ‘each other.’ ‘We kissedeach other.’”
He could smile at that. “Is it terribly obvious I don’t have a great deal of experience with this?”
“What is terribly obvious is that you love her.”
“I do. Took me a devilishly long time to put the right word to it.”
“Has she told you how she feels?”
He shook his head. “Not recently, at least. She told me once, years ago, but I—”
“Broke her heart?” Elizabeth guessed with every indication she already knew the answer.