Page 4

“Yes.”

“And all these conversations occurred at house parties, you say?”

“Or at immediately adjacent gatherings.”

Baines crossed slowly back toward the hearth.

“Servants?”

“Too obvious.”

“Mistresses?”

“Too dangerous.”

“That has never discouraged anyone.”

“No, which is precisely why it cannot explain the consistency,” Renforth agreed dryly.

Baines fell silent. That, more than anything, convinced him the matter possessed substance. Wryly, he acknowledged it was difficult to render him speechless, even temporarily.

Outside, rain rattled faintly against the windows. The fire shifted, low within the grate. Somewhere downstairs a clock struck midnight with solemn determination.

“And you believe the answer lies at Blackthorn?” he asked at last.

“I believe Blackthorn provides the best opportunity to observe the exchange.”

“Exchange of what, precisely?”

“That is what you are to discover.”

Baines smiled slowly. Theft of information, he mused. Not another gathering of half-drunk reformers proclaiming liberty over cheap claret and poor grammar, but something hidden beneath manners, flirtation, music, card tables, and chandeliers. Something, in fact, which moved invisibly through Society itself. It was precisely the sort of challenge he excelled at solving.

“Conversational investigations.” He grinned. “My speciality.”

Renforth’s mouth twitched faintly.

“Which means I am to travel north, flirt harmlessly, listen intently, and prevent Scotland revolting all at the same time.”

“In essence.”

“At last, a commission suited to my talents,” Baines declared, feeling a resurgence of his customary irreverence.

Renforth selected another paper. “Sir Lionel’s niece manages the household.”

“A niece?”

“Miss Judith Finch.”

Something in Renforth’s tone made Baines suspicious. “What are you not saying?”

“She is reputedly efficient.”

Baines groaned aloud. “Must you always begin there? Efficient women despise me on principle.”

“Miss Finch keeps the estate accounts, oversees the servants, organizes guests, and apparently prevented her uncle from bankruptcy on no fewer than three occasions,” Renforth continued mercilessly.

“Monstrous.”