Betrayal at Lisson Grove (Treason at Lisson Grove)

“No, I don’t,” he admitted. “I have considered several possibilities. In fact the only people I am certain it is not are Thomas and a man called Stoker. It makes me realize how incompetent I have been that I suspected nothing. I was always looking outward, at the enemies I knew. In this profession I should have looked behind me as well.”

She did not argue. “So we can trust no one in Special Branch, apart from Stoker,” she concluded. “Then I suppose we need to concentrate on Ireland. Why does Cormac O’Neil hate you so much? If I am to learn anything, I need to know what to build upon.”

This time he did not look away from her, but she could hear the reluctance in his voice. He told her only because he had to. “When he was planning an uprising I was the one who learned about it and prevented it. I did it by turning to his sister-in-law, Sean’s wife, and using the information she gave me to have his men arrested and imprisoned.”

“I see.”

“No, you don’t,” he said quickly, his voice tight. “And I have no intention of telling you any further. But because of it Sean killed her, and was hanged for her murder. It is that which Cormac cannot forgive. If it had simply been a battle he would have considered it the fortunes of war. He might have hated me at the time, but it would have been forgotten, as old battles are. But Sean and Kate are still dead, still tarred as a betrayer and a wife murderer. I just don’t know why he waited so long. That is the one piece of it I don’t understand.”

“Perhaps it doesn’t matter,” she said somberly. It was a tragic story, ugly even, and she was certain he had edited it very heavily in the telling. “What do you want me to do?”

“I still have friends in Dublin, I think,” he answered. “I cannot approach Cormac myself. I need someone I can trust, who looks totally innocent and unconnected with me. I … I can’t even go anywhere with you, or he would suspect you immediately. Bring me the facts. I can put them together.” He seemed about to add something more, then changed his mind.

“Are you worried that I won’t know what is important?” she asked. “Or that I won’t remember and tell you accurately?”

“No. I know perfectly well that you can do both.”

“Do you?” She was surprised.

He smiled, briefly. “You tell me about helping Pitt when he was in the police, as if you imagined I didn’t know.”

“You said you didn’t know about my sister Sarah,” she pointed out. “Or was that … discretion rather than truth?”

“It was the truth. But perhaps I deserved the remark. I learned about you mostly from Vespasia. She did not mention Sarah, perhaps out of delicacy. And I had no need to know.”

“You had some need to know the rest?” she said with disbelief.

“Of course. You are part of Pitt’s life. I had to know exactly how far I could trust you. Although given my present situation, you cannot be blamed for doubting my ability in that.”

“That sounds like self-pity,” she said tartly. “I have not criticized you, and that is not out of either good manners or sympathy—neither of which we can afford just at the moment, if they disguise the truth. We can’t live without trusting someone. It is an offense to betray, not to be betrayed.”

“As I said, it is a good thing you did not marry into Society,” he retorted. “You would not have survived. Or on the other hand, perhaps Society would not have, and that might not have been so bad. A little shake-up now and then is good for the constitution.”

Now she was not sure if he was laughing at her or defending himself. Or possibly it was both.

“So you accepted my assistance because you believe I can do what you require?” she concluded.

“Not at all. I accepted it because you gave me no alternative. Also, since Stoker is the only other person I trust, and he did not offer, nor has he the ability, I had no alternative in any case.”

“Touché,” she said quietly.

They did not speak again for quite some time, and when they did it was about the differences between Society in London and Dublin. He described the city and surrounding countryside with such vividness that she began to look forward to seeing it herself. He even spoke of the festivals, saints’ days, and other occasions people celebrated.

When the train drew into Holyhead they went straight to the boat. After a brief meal, they returned to their cabins for the crossing. They would arrive in Dublin before morning, but were not required to disembark until well after daylight.

DUBLIN WAS UTTERLY DIFFERENT from London, but at least to begin with Charlotte was too occupied with getting ashore at Dun Laoghaire to have time to stare about her. Then there was the ride into the city itself, which was just waking up to the new day; the rain-washed streets were clean and filling with people about their business. She saw plenty of horse traffic—mostly trade at this hour; the carriages and broughams would come later. The few women were laundresses, maids going shopping, or factory workers wearing thick skirts and with heavy shawls wrapped around them.