“So even if we expose Mr Nettles, it might affect you and Charlotte?”
“It might, but the longer that it goes on, the worse it will be. Stop him now, get us out of it now, and we can take any small scandal, I hope. Another month of this and we will be so enmeshed there will be no escape. And we cannot say no to him. We simply cannot.”
“Where does this cove live?”
Robert stopped walking. “Are you proposing we turn up like a pair of thuggees and beat it out of him?”
“It is tempting but my shoulder is playing up these days. No, I am curious only as to where he lives.”
“It’s not far from here. There’s a quiet little row of houses with a private park in front.”
It wasn’t as quiet as Robert had promised. Although they had dined early, many other people were holding fashionably late dinner parties, or paying calls to soirees and after-dinner entertainments. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to receive an invitation only to attend after the meal, and this meant there was a crush of cabs and carriages thronging the otherwise very exclusive areas of wealthy London. As they went through Mayfair, Robert pointed out who currently lived where, and proved to be as much of a gossip-monger as Adelia or even his own mother Grace. Both ladies would deny that they gossiped, of course. For them, information was their stock-in-trade and an essential way to navigate the very best drawing rooms of town.
“That’s Digby Nettles’ house,” Robert said, the scorn audible in his voice. It looked just the same as all of the other tall, pale houses with square windows and black-painted ironwork that fenced off a small area at the front. Like its neighbours in the terrace, while one set of wide steps led up to the main entrance, a narrow set led down into the basement level for tradesmen and servants as the rear of the buildings in the city were not always accessible or easy to locate. “For all his spite and bitterness about the upper classes, here he is among them.”
“What is his background? He speaks like a man well-born.”
“And he is. I don’t know why he is such a firebrand, especially at his age. One mellows as one ages, does one not?” Robert said. “Or at least, becomes more traditional and less revolutionary.”
“So I am told. I haven’t tried it myself,” Theodore commented, though he did wonder if that were true. He had mellowed but it had started as soon as he had met Adelia. It was a shame Charlotte had not had the same steadying influence on Robert, according to Adelia at least. Indeed, it was as if they urged one another on in their pursuit of pleasure.
The sooner they started a family, the better for all, he decided.
“Wait – who is that?” Robert put out his hand and they both stopped. They were standing under a gas light and didn’t bother to try to hide. After all, there were plenty of people out on the streets, hurrying this way and that between carriages and houses. If they tried to act invisibly they would surely stand out even more.
But two figures not far away were clearly not enjoying the festivities. One was a male figure, in what appeared to be a formal dinner jacket or some dark suit, and he was standing in the doorway of Digby Nettles’ house. He was gesticulating, his arm raised up and jerking about. Then he retreated into the house very suddenly and slammed the door.
It was impossible to tell whether it had been Mr Nettles himself or perhaps a smartly dressed manservant in muted livery. It had seemed slightly more likely to be a gentleman but the darkness, the light fog and the general crowds cast doubt in Theodore’s mind.
As for the other figure, one could not even tell the gender of them. They wore a long cloak that hid their shape, and a hood which was pulled over their face. The hood came to a long and curious point like that of a mediaeval jester. This figure looked around but kept a gloved hand up at their face to pull the cloth over their features, making them look very suspicious indeed. They darted down the steps and plunged into the crowd, immediately lost from view.
“How curious. That was someone who did not wish to be seen,” Theodore said.
“Indeed so. But London is full of odd characters especially at this time of year. Well, this is the house. Have you seen enough?”
“Let us walk on. Yes, we can hardly pay a call on him unannounced and why would we want to? Anyway, we have been tarrying too long and I am getting cold.”
“I know a friendly inn just ten minutes this way; shall we partake of a nightcap?”
“Marvellous idea. Just a quick one to chase the chill away.”
ONE DRINK BECAME TWO but Theodore was mindful of the ladies waiting for them at home. Furthermore, the inn was becoming just a little too loud and rowdy for his sensibilities and he began to think longingly of bed. He persuaded Robert to leave the comfortable warmth of the inn and they headed back out into the night. They failed to hail a cab so set about walking briskly. The distance was less than a mile, so they knew they would be back home
