Page 101 of Their Master

“The less you know about this, the better,” Smith said. Gideon opened his mouth, doubtless to argue, but Smith said, “On this I stand firm.”

Gideon shrugged. “Fine.” He smirked like a man who knew he would eventually convince Smith otherwise. “What about Blois’s son?” Gideon asked. “Did you kill him?”

“Gideon,” Edward said, briefly turning to stare at the ceiling, as if seeking divine assistance.

“What?” Gideon demanded. “We all know what Smith has done in furtherance of the syndicate’s interests” He sneered at Edward. “Or do you believe the number of deaths that occur whenever somebody displeases Smith is acoincidence? The man is like a bloody human plague.”

Humor glinted in Malcolm’s eye when he glanced at Smith and he could see his laconic friend was amused and charmed by Gideon’s open, outrageous manner.

Smith looked at the younger man. “I’m not a child-killer, Gideon,” he said. “Although I suppose being a child abductor is hardly any better. In my defense, Blois was a cold, manipulating bastard who made his other children’s lives—both illegitimate, and his three legitimate daughters—a misery. And his wife was a lover of Morpheus long before I took her infant son twenty-one years ago. The couple I gave the boy to couldn’t have children.” He gave Edward a significant look. “They are neither rich nor poor, but good, salt of the earth farmers. Yves—as the newComtede Blois is now called—is happily married with a child of his own on the way. Fortune has smiled upon Yves and he is a wealthy man in his small village.” Smith had seen to that. “If he had remained with Blois he would have been warped and twisted and probably like his father. And also poor after I finished with theComte.” Smith shrugged. “So you could claim he is better off, all around.”

“Still, you took him from his parents,” Gideon said. As a new father himself, Smith could see the notion was a nightmare to him. “Blois never knew whether his son was alive or dead?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Did you at least tell him the truth before you shot him?”

Smith smiled. “No.”

“Christ, Smith.” He shook his head. “That is so cruel there should be some new word to describe it. The poor man must have gone insane.”

“Thatpoorman killed my entire family,” Smith said coolly. “I will neither attempt to justify nor apologize for my actions.”

“We’re not asking you to,” Edward said hastily. “Are we, Gideon?”

Gideon’s jaw clenched, but he finally dropped his gaze and shook his head. “No.”

“So,” Malcolm said after yet another uncomfortable silence. “Only one name left.”

“Only one.”

“We are here for you if you need any assistance giving Clayton what he deserves,” Edward said.

Gideon nodded. “Too right we are.”

Malcolm nodded.

Smith merely said, “Thank you.”

“Clayton is rumored to be a dangerous, slippery bastard,” Malcolm said. “One part of his responsibilities was allegedly handling some of Britain’s most lethal, er, covert operatives.”

Smith knew he meant the government agents who sometimes carried out Her Majesty’s commands in a quieter, far less legal manner. Killers, in other words.

Smith took another sip of whisky, savored it, and then smiled at his oldest friend. “It is fortunate for me that I enjoy a challenge.”

.

Chapter 23

Moira and Sandrine talked until dawn, and still Smith had not returned.

She learned Sandrine was married to a solicitor and had two children. And that she lived in a village only a short distance outside London.

Moira knew she would be happy for her sister’s good fortune once the numbness wore off. But, for now, there were simply too many shocks still reverberating through her stunned mind.

Not the least of which was the knowledge that her sister had once been Smith’s lover.

Moira had never felt jealousy before, but she’d heard enough about the emotion to recognize it. She could see it in the way Sandrine spoke that she still cared deeply for Smith.

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