Part 19 (1/2)

'Only that Narraway is out of Lisson Grove,' Pitt replied. 'I have no idea why, or what happened.'

'I know why,' she sighed, and he saw the sadness in her eyes. She looked pale, and tired. 'He has been charged with the embezzlement of a considerable amount of money, which-'

'What?' It was absurd. Ordinarily he would not have dreamed of interrupting her it was a break of courtesy unimaginable to him but the disbelief was too urgent to remain concealed.

A flicker of amus.e.m.e.nt sparkled in her eyes, and vanished as quickly. 'I am aware of the absurdity, Thomas. Victor has several faults, but petty theft is not among them.'

'You said a large amount.'

'Large to steal. It cost a man's life because he did not have it. But if Victor were to steal, it would be the crown jewels, or something really worth the price of his position in Special Branch. I doubt anything short of the Queen's crown would be sufficient for him. Someone engineered this very astutely. I have my ideas as to who it may have been, but they are no more than ideas, insubstantial and possibly quite mistaken.'

'Where is Narraway?'

'In Ireland,' she told him.

'In prison?' he asked. 'And why Ireland?' He must find out. He had expected him to be in London.

'Not in prison so far as I know, but I have not heard. He went of his own will, because he believes that whoever was the author of his misfortune is Irish, and the answer to that person's ident.i.ty is to be found there.' She bit her lip very slightly. For her it was a gesture of anxiety so deep he could not recall having seen her do it before.

'Aunt Vespasia?' He leaned forward a little.

'He believed it personal,' she continued. 'An act of revenge for an old injury. At the time I thought he might have been correct, although it was a long time to wait for such perceived justice, and the Irish have never been noted for their patience, especially for revenge. I a.s.sumed some new circ.u.mstance must have made it possible . . .'

'You say ”a.s.sumed”-were you wrong?' he asked.

'After what you have told me of your experience in France, and of this man Gower, who was your a.s.sistant, and of whom neither you nor anyone else in Special Branch appeared to have any suspicions, I think Victor was mistaken,' she said gravely. 'I fear this trumped-up allegation may have had nothing to do with personal revenge, but have been a means of removing him from command of the situation in London, and replacing him with either someone of far less competence or very much worse of sympathy with the socialist cause. It looks as if you were removed to France for the same reason.'

Pitt smiled with a bitter humour. 'I am not of Narraway's experience or power,' he told her honestly. 'I am not worth their trouble to remove.'

'You are too modest, my dear.' She regarded him with amused affection. 'Surely you would have fought for Victor. I think you are fond of him, but even if I am wrong in that, you owe him a great loyalty. He took you into Special Branch when the Metropolitan Police dismissed you, and you had too many enemies to return there. He took some risk doing so, and made more enemies of his own. It is not appreciated in certain circles. Most of those men are gone now, but at the time it was a dangerous act. You have more than repaid him with your ability, but you can now repay the courage. I do not imagine you think differently.'

Her eyes were steady on his. 'Added to which, you have enemies in Special Branch yourself, because of the favour he showed you, and your somewhat rapid rise. With Victor gone, you will be very fortunate indeed if you survive him for long. Even if you do, you will be forever watching over your shoulder and waiting for the unseen blow. If you do not know that, you are far more naive than I think you.'

'The loyalty would have been enough,' he told her. 'But, yes, of course I am aware that without Narraway's protection I won't last long.'

Her voice was very gentle. 'My dear, it is imperative, for many reasons, that we do what we can to clear Victor's name. I am glad you see it so clearly.'

He felt a sudden chill, a warning.

She inclined her head in a.s.sent. 'Then you will understand why Charlotte has gone to Ireland with Victor to help him in any way she can. He will find it hard enough on his own. She may be his eyes and ears in places he is unable to go himself.'

For a moment Pitt did not even understand, as if her words were half in a foreign language. The key words were plain enough Charlotte, Narraway and Ireland but the whole of it made no sense.

'Charlotte's gone to Ireland?' he repeated. 'She can't have! What on earth could she do? She doesn't know Ireland and she certainly doesn't know anything about Narraway's past, his old cases, or anyone else in Special Branch.' He hesitated to tell her she had misunderstood. It sounded so rude, but it was the only explanation.

'Thomas,' Vespasia said gravely, 'the situation is very serious. Victor is helpless. He is closed out of his office and all access to any a.s.sistance from Special Branch. We know that at least one person there, highly placed, is a thief and a traitor. We do not know who it is. Charles Austwick is in charge-'

'Austwick?'

'Yes. You see how serious it is? Do you imagine that without your help Austwick will find the traitor? Apparently none of you, including Victor, were aware of Gower's treason. Who else would betray you? Charlotte is at least in part aware of the danger, including the danger to you personally. She went with Victor partly out of loyalty to him, but mostly to save his career because she is very sharply aware that yours depends upon it also. And another element, which you may not yet have had time to consider: if Victor can be made to appear guilty of theft, how difficult would it be for the same people to make you appear guilty with him?'

It was a nightmare again: frightening, irrational. Pitt was exhausted, aching with the pain of disillusion and the horror of his own violence. His body was bruised and so tired he could sleep sitting in this comfortable chair, if only he could relax long enough. And yet fear knotted the muscles in his back, his shoulders and his neck, and his head throbbed. This last piece of news made his whole situation worse. He struggled to make sense of it.

'Where is she? Is she safe?' Safe was a stupid word to use if she was in Ireland with Narraway.

'Thomas, Victor is out there with her. He won't let any harm come to her if he can prevent it,' Vespasia said softly.

Pitt knew Narraway was in love with Charlotte, but he did not want to hear it. 'If he cared, he wouldn't have-' he began.

'Allowed her to go?' she finished for him. 'Thomas, she has gone in order to honour her friends.h.i.+p and loyalty, and above all to protect her husband's career, and therefore the family's means of survival. What do you imagine he could have said or done that would have stopped her?'

'Not told her he was going in the first place!' he snapped.

'Really?' Vespasia raised her silver eyebrows. 'And left her wondering why you did not come home after chasing your informant through the streets? Not that night, or for days afterwards? She might have gone to Lisson Grove and asked, by which time she would be frantic with fear. And she would have been met with the news that Narraway was gone and you were nowhere to be found, and there was no one in Lisson Grove to help or support you. Do you feel that would have been preferable?'

'No . . .' He felt foolish panicky. What should he do? He wanted to go immediately to Ireland and make sure Charlotte was safe, but even an instant's reflection told him that might do at least as much harm as good. And anyway, the heart of the problem was not there but in London. He had no idea what Narraway's old case was; there were so many. And it now looked as if that were a red herring anyway. If, however, it was what had lured Narraway to Ireland, and Pitt to France, by reacting thoughtlessly he would be playing directly into the conspirators' hands. It was an irresponsible, hot-headed thing even to think of.

'I'll go home and see Daniel and Jemima,' he said more calmly. 'If they have had a week of Mrs Waterman, they may be feeling pretty desperate. She is not an easy woman. I must speak to Charlotte about that when she gets home.'

'You don't need to concern yourself-' Vespasia began.

'You don't know the woman-' he started.

'She is irrelevant,' Vespasia told him. 'She left.'

'What? Then-'

Vespasia raised her hand. 'That is the other thing I was going to tell you. She has been replaced by a new maid, on the recommendation of Gracie. She seems a very competent girl, and Gracie looks in on them every day. I have been in touch with Gracie. All is well. In fact, I must say that I rather like the sound of young Minnie Maude. She has character.'

Pitt was dizzy. Everything seemed to be s.h.i.+fting. The moment he looked at it, it changed, as if someone had struck the kaleidoscope and all the pieces had shattered and reformed in a different pattern.

'Minnie Maude?' he said stumblingly. 'For G.o.d's sake, how old is she?' To him, Gracie herself was little more than a child. His own intelligence told him that was because he had known her since she was thirteen, and she had not grown much taller than she was then. He knew her ability and her courage through experience. Who was this Minnie Maude left alone in charge of his children? She could be anyone!

'About twenty,' Vespasia replied. 'Gracie has known her since she was eight. She has courage and sense. There is nothing to concern yourself about, Thomas. As I said, I kept a discreet eye on the girl via Gracie and everything was satisfactory. Perhaps just as importantly, both Daniel and Jemima like her. Do you imagine I would allow the situation to remain if that were not so?'

Now he felt clumsy and deeply ungracious. 'No.' He knew an apology was appropriate. His fear had made him foolish, and rude. 'Of course not. I'm sorry. I . . .' He hunted for words.

She smiled. It was a sudden, beautiful gesture that lit her face and restored everything of the beauty that had made her famous. 'I would think less of you were you to take it for granted,' she said. 'Now, before you leave, would you like tea? And are you hungry? If you are I shall have whatever you care for prepared. In the meantime we need to discuss what is to be done next. It is now up to you to address the real issue behind all this ploy and counterploy by whoever is the traitor at Lisson Grove.'

Her words were suddenly and hideously sobering. How like Vespasia to discuss the fate of revolution, murder, and treason in high places over tea and a plate of sandwiches in the withdrawing room. It restored a certain sanity to the world. At least something was as it should be.

Pitt drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, steadying himself. 'Thank you. I should very much like a good cup of tea. The prison in Sh.o.r.eham had only the most moderate amenities. And a sandwich would be excellent.'

Pitt arrived home at Keppel Street in the early afternoon. Both Daniel and Jemima were still at school. He knocked on the door, rather than use his key and startle this Minnie Maude in whom Vespasia seemed to have so much confidence.

He stood on the step s.h.i.+fting his weight from one foot to the other, his mind racing over what changes he might find: what small things uncared for, changed so it was no longer the home he was used to, and which he realised he loved fiercely, exactly as it was. Except, of course, Charlotte should be there. Without her, nothing was more than a sh.e.l.l.

The door opened and a young woman stood just inside, her expression guarded.