“Yes.” The earl looked grim. “I will undertake that task. What is his name?”
“He didn’t give it at the theater,” Teresa replied. “He told Jeanne just to call him John.”
“Not his name then,” said Tom.
“No.” The earl’s expression didn’t bode well for the man. “But he must have been there before. Perhaps he let something drop.”
“I will ask the other dancers and send word to you,” said Teresa. Now that she had a specific target, she was certain she could learn more.
“I’ll scout out that house in the country,” added Tom. “See what’s what.”
“You shouldn’t go there alone. It is too dangerous.” Teresa would not see Tom hurt as well.
“I know how to do it,” the lad replied.
“He does, actually,” said Lord Macklin before Teresa could argue. “He’s proved that before.”
“I kin be a right sneak,” said Tom with a shadow of his old grin. “And I’m good at not being noticed.”
“You will be careful,” replied Teresa. It was not a question.
Tom put his hand on his heart and bowed.
“I will speak to Mr. Rigby,” she went on. When the others looked inquiring, she added, “The man at the gate looked like someone he might know.”
“Good thought,” said Tom.
All this was agreed. And then it was time for the earl to go. He took his leave with his customary courtesy and no sign of any change in his opinion of her.
“Thank you,” said Teresa. She offered her hand.
He brought it to his lips, and the look he gave her then shook her to the depths of her being.
Eleven
Arthur walked with Tom up to the door of Señora Alvarez’s house, all his senses sharp with anticipation. It had been only two days since he’d seen her, but it seemed much longer. This was what he’d come to; the hours felt empty if she was not near. And now he would see her home, the place she had made for herself. It felt like a privilege.
They knocked and were admitted by their hostess. As he took off his hat and gloves, Arthur absorbed the feel of the single large room. Clearly there had not been much money to spend on it, but the place had a simple elegance that did not surprise him in the least.
“I have sent my maid to visit her family,” said the señora. “I did not wish her to be involved.”
“Eliza’d probably like to be,” replied Tom. “She took a real pleasure in cozening Dilch.”
“She did, but this matter is more serious, and she is a young woman. Like those who were taken.”
“Right. Probably for the best, because there’s something going on in that house you found that they don’t want nobody to see.”
Señora Alvarez led them to seats. “Tell us,” she said.
“I found the place just where you said,” Tom continued with a nod to her. “And I went sneaking around the walls in the dark.” He grimaced. “They’re closed up tight as a drum. Not so high you can’t climb ’em, mind. But whoever lives there has dogs. Meanest looking dogs I’ve ever seen. They were onto me soon as I put a leg over the top of that wall. I had to jump and run.”
“You promised to be careful!” exclaimed the señora.
“I was. Nobody saw me.”
“They might have chased after you. You can’t outrun dogs.”
Tom shook his head. “They stay behind the walls. I asked at the nearest villages the next day. Just like I was wanting work, you know. Offering to lend a hand with deliveries and such, so’s I could get a look inside that way. But the grocer told me they unload everything at the back gate and carry it onward theirselves. It’s made the neighborhood right curious about ’em.”
“So it’s not going to be easy to get in,” said Arthur.
“We have to find a way past the guards and the dogs,” Tom replied.
“Mr. Rigby made some inquiries,” said Señora Alvarez. “He has heard of men, from among the sort of people he knows, hired for a job in the country. Men with few scruples, he said.”
“Rigby said ‘scruples’?” Tom asked, raising his eyebrows.
It didn’t sound like the pub keeper, Arthur thought.
“Well, no,” said their hostess with a slight smile. “But his meaning was clear.”
“Not men you want to cross,” said Tom.
She nodded. “And according to what Mr. Rigby heard, the pay is very good.”
“Some’ll do just about anything for money. Whatever they’re ordered.”
“Those who care only for money can be…repurchased,” Arthur pointed out.
“That’s so.” Tom looked more cheerful.
“I have put a name to the man you followed,” said Arthur to Señora Alvarez. “The clues you gathered from the other dancers and the redoubled efforts of Tom’s friends led me to a young sprig called Lord Simon Farange.”
“Bella sneaked a look at him after you sent me word,” Tom put in. “He’s the one took Jeanne out driving.”
Arthur nodded; he had already heard this. “He is the third son of the Duke of Yarbridge,” he continued. “I am acquainted with his father. A harsh man. Perhaps because the family is in decline. They have lost most of their lands to gambling and poor management. Lord Simon is not prominent in society. He receives few invitations because his behavior cannot be…relied upon.”
“And because he doesn’t have a fortune to make all smooth,” said Señora Alvarez.
“Indeed,” Arthur acknowledged. “He is renowned for his ill temper and dissipation. Many wonder how he can afford his current indulgences. It is assumed that he is heavily in debt.”
“Ripe for mischief then,” said Tom.
“In many different ways.” Arthur pressed his lips together in distaste. “I tracked him down at a gaming hell last night. He was well into his cups and quite surprised to be addressed by me. I doubt he will remember much of our conversation, which I found most unpleasant.”
“Did you ask him about that house?” Tom wondered.
“I couldn’t trust he was that drunk,” Arthur replied. “Our exchange was more general, an effort to feel him out. I judge Lord Simon to be utterly self-centered. He cares nothing for others, and he treats those below him on the social scale as scarcely human. Opera dancers are no more than playthings for men like him. He feels that he has the right to do whatever he pleases with them or indeed anyone he can gain power over.”