Page 88 of A Ruse of Shadows
It was quarter past four. The very first suggestion of light glimmered along the eastern edge of the sky.
Charlotte’s eyes were dry and the back of her head ached. But for someone who did not enjoy staying up late, her mind felt unusually sharp. Nimble, even. Her bottom, however, was numb from sitting on the cold rock. Lord Ingram had got up ten minutes ago to stretch his legs and now stood next to Mrs. Watson. Charlotte rose to her feet and shifted her weight around.
At her motion, Lord Bancroft, who had been staring at the dirt lane from which no cavalry had ridden to his rescue, wheeled around. “You did this, didn’t you, Charlotte Holmes?”
They’d been in place almost an hour. Either Moriarty had abandoned him or something had happened.
Charlotte took a step back—she did not want to be any closer to Lord Bancroft. “Sir, you pay me a great compliment. But please remember, until a fortnight ago I was in Paris, minding my own business. And since then I’ve been running around London looking for Mr. Underwood and his murderer. You think that in my few minutes of spare time I could have managed to sunder your alliance with Moriarty?”
Lord Bancroft pointed an accusatory revolver muzzle. “You were up to something before that. In your note to me you said that you happened to already be in England because Ash broke his limb.”
The revolver now jabbed in Lord Ingram’s direction. “There is nothing the matter with Ash. He lied about it so you could come back to England.”
“He did indeed lie about that, but it was only so that he could see me.” She turned toward her lover, her voice gentle. “And you would not do such rash, childish things anymore, would you, Ash?”
Lord Ingram lowered his face and appeared commensurately contrite. “No, Holmes. I won’t make you worry ever again.”
She sighed. “You didn’t make me worry. I guessed that you simply missed me too much. But poor Mrs. Watson, how she imagined all the worst.”
“Oh, Miss Charlotte,” piped up Mrs. Watson from beside the carriage, “don’t give the poor boy a hard time. He was fine. We are fine. Everyone will be fine.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” growled Lord Bancroft.
“Wherever you were planning to go, my lord, Lawson can still drive you,” said Charlotte soothingly. “And if you need some money until you can sort things out with Moriarty, there is twenty pounds in the satchel in usable denominations.”
“I meant, I do not believeyouwill be fine.” Lord Bancroft ground out the words.
Charlotte took another step back. “Still trying to hold on to your bargain with Moriarty even after he has abandoned you?”
“He did not abandon me—his men have been delayed. And yes, I will still uphold the bargain.”
“What did you promise to do for him?”
The question came from Lord Ingram, his voice heavy.
There was almost enough light to make out the sneer on Lord Bancroft’s face. “I promised him that your Holmes would no longer be a nuisance to him—or to me, for that matter.”
And there it was finally his intention in the open, the last shred of pretense ripped away.
“It made sense, your bargain, given the agreement that now exists between myself and Lord Remington,” mused Charlotte. “Moriarty would be wary of harming me himself, lest Remington’s reprisal did more damage to his organization than what benefit he could reap by eliminating me as a potential threat. You, on the other hand, are not afraid of similar reprisals from your brother.”
“Exactly. Given all that, why shouldn’t I fulfill my bargain honorably and be rid of the person who robbed me of everything?”
Charlotte did not bother to explain that he had been the one who had destroyed his career and his standing: Lord Bancroft and his ilk blame only others, never themselves.
“Because you have bargained with a highly unsuitable party,” she said instead. “Have you forgotten Moriarty’s interference in the Stern Hollow case? Sherlock Holmes was but an investigator doing what investigators are paid to do, but Moriarty’s involvement was entirely malicious, meant only to hasten your downfall.”
Lord Bancroft was silent.
“I see you have not forgotten. How could you? Had you been looking for an ally and promisedmethat, in our shared enmity, together we would vanquish Moriarty, now you might already be on a luxury steamer, headed for your new life.”
“And you would have had me as an ally?”
“Ash would have been the first person to tell you that my morality is quite flexible. Instead of holding my sister hostage, had you set three thousand pounds in front of me, I’d have broken you out of Ravensmere.”
“You?” Lord Bancroft snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself, Miss Holmes. You might be able to dig up some facts and make some deductions, but I wouldn’t put any program that requires intricate planning and coordination into your hands.”
This hardly corresponded with his earlier accusation that she’dbeen the one behind de Lacey’s nonappearance, but Charlotte was pleased. She would be even more pleased if Moriarty believed likewise. What greater advantage could she enjoy than a consistent underestimation on the part of her sworn enemies?
