fear.'
'Certainly you must,' said John Henry, astonished that Ragoczy could sound so reluctant to protect himself from theft. 'It cannot be overlooked or allowed to continue. If they have stolen from you, it may be that there are others who have been so lamentably'
'Yes,' said Ragoczy, cutting him short. 'No doubt you are right.' He looked at the figures one last time. 'Would you be willing to make a copy of these two pages for me? I will send my manservant to get them from you tomorrow, if that would suit you. He will also return the key to Mr Tubbs, with my apology for keeping it so long.' There was a quality to his words that disturbed John Henry.
'I will do as you like, Count,' he said, a chill tracing itself up his spine.
'That is very good of you,' said Ragoczy. 'All in all, it has been most interesting to meet you, Mr Brodribb.'
'Thank you,' John Henry said, and suppressed a shudder. Then, before he could master himself, he blurted out, 'Are you Doctor Faustus?' Beginning to realize he had actually spoken his apprehension aloud, he stepped back, the enormity of what he had done coming over him; he could think of nothing to say that would be a sufficient apology.
Ragoczy looked faintly amused. 'No, Mr Brodribb, I am not. Nor am I ' going to and fro in the earth and walking up in down in it' , as Mephistopheles is said to do.' He looked John Henry over carefully. 'You will probably succeed very well at your chosen profession; you have a keen eye and an insightful nature, which should take you far.'
'I did not mean it was' John Henry faltered.
'Do not fear,' said Ragoczy with an ironic chuckle. 'In my time I have heard worse.'
'How old are you?' John Henry demanded, convinced that he was in too deep to attempt to escape now.
'If I told you,' said Ragoczy at his most urbane, 'you would not believe me.'
'Oh, I would,' said John Henry, too caught up to be frightened. He knew the terror would come later, when he was safe in bed and his imagination would have free rein.
'I think not,' said Ragoczy, closing the subject.
'Are you going to demand anything of me now? Order me to silence or face a terrible fate?'
Ragoczy cocked his head. 'This is not a performance. You are not playing a role now, Mr Brodribb. I rely on your discretion and good sense to keep your various speculations to yourself.'
'Or I will suffer for it?' John Henry knew he had gone too far again, and for a second time could not arrive at an adequate apology.
'No,' said Ragoczy quietly but beyond any dispute. 'You have nothing to fear from me: my word on it.' He walked away from John Henry towards the fire, then stopped and turned back to him, asking in a different voice, 'Tell me: how much would you need to put your acting plans into motion? Have you arrived at a figure for that in all your calculations?'
This change of subject jolted John Henry, but he did his best to answer. 'Well, I would need wigs and beards and paint, and all the rest of that; and swords and costumes, too.' He did not need to consult the pages of the notebook he kept in his waistcoat pocket. 'That would cost between forty and fifty pounds, all told. And then there would be the payment for the leading part. That would be another fifty pounds, if I am to do Romeo.' He brightened as he said this, but his enthusiasm waned as he listened to himself, thinking that it would be impossible for him to earn enough to achieve his dreams.
Ragoczy tapped his small, well-shaped hands together, fingertips to fingertips. 'Suppose,' he said, 'I should settle a portion of what I recover from this firm upon you for the service you have rendered me? From what you have discovered, the amount might be considerable.'
Chagrined, John Henry shook his head. 'It would appear that I have been bribed to show things in your favour, at least that could be claimed by the partners to the court. And the other clerks would probably believe the worst of me, because I am the newest of them. The partners might well have a claim against me, one that the courts would uphold.'
'A legacy, then,' said Ragoczy, undaunted by John Henry's protestation. 'You must have a relative somewhere who might leave you an inheritance.'
John Henry sighed. 'Why should any of my family do that? Not that most of them have ten shillings to spare for anyone. And coming immediately after I have helped you, it would not be a useful ruse, in any case. Someone here would be bound to question how I came by it.'
'Listen to me,' said Ragoczy firmly. 'Suppose that six months from now a distant shall we say uncle? of yours leaves you a hundred pounds. The money would be handled by a solicitor in the north, and there would be no question of compromising you, no matter what the courts might or might not do to the partners here. Could you then afford to start on your theatrical career?'
Little as he wanted to admit it, John Henry's pulse raced at the thought. He calculated what it would mean to him to have the money, and he set his prudence aside. 'It might work, saying it was left to me, if it happened later.' His excitement was building and he could not contain the satisfaction he felt.
'Six months, then. My London solicitors should have made all the necessary arrangements for recovering what is owed me by that time.' Ragoczy watched John Henry with interest.
'Will things be unpleasant for you here when my claim against the firm has been filed? There could be police involvement, you understand.'
'It is possible they could hold me to blame,' said John Henry. 'It is no secret that I have been copying your ledger. They will have to assume you had your information from me.'
'But they need not know you discovered the theft,' Ragoczy said persuasively. 'I could charge my London solicitors to review the ledgers; I could require a full disclosure of the state of my account. That would spare you the brunt of the partners' displeasure. I do not like to think you would be punished for being an honest man, Mr Brodribb.'
'When I leave the company, it will not matter,' said John Henry.
