Betrayal at Lisson Grove - Anne Perry [100]
‘The loyalty would have been enough,’ he told her. ‘But, yes, of course I am aware that without Narraway’s protection I won’t last long.’
Her voice was very gentle. ‘My dear, it is imperative, for many reasons, that we do what we can to clear Victor’s name. I am glad you see it so clearly.’
He felt a sudden chill, a warning.
She inclined her head in assent. ‘Then you will understand why Charlotte has gone to Ireland with Victor to help him in any way she can. He will find it hard enough on his own. She may be his eyes and ears in places he is unable to go himself.’
For a moment Pitt did not even understand, as if her words were half in a foreign language. The key words were plain enough – Charlotte, Narraway and Ireland – but the whole of it made no sense.
‘Charlotte’s gone to Ireland?’ he repeated. ‘She can’t have! What on earth could she do? She doesn’t know Ireland and she certainly doesn’t know anything about Narraway’s past, his old cases, or anyone else in Special Branch.’ He hesitated to tell her she had misunderstood. It sounded so rude, but it was the only explanation.
‘Thomas,’ Vespasia said gravely, ‘the situation is very serious. Victor is helpless. He is closed out of his office and all access to any assistance from Special Branch. We know that at least one person there, highly placed, is a thief and a traitor. We do not know who it is. Charles Austwick is in charge—’
‘Austwick?’
‘Yes. You see how serious it is? Do you imagine that without your help Austwick will find the traitor? Apparently none of you, including Victor, were aware of Gower’s treason. Who else would betray you? Charlotte is at least in part aware of the danger, including the danger to you personally. She went with Victor partly out of loyalty to him, but mostly to save his career because she is very sharply aware that yours depends upon it also. And another element, which you may not yet have had time to consider: if Victor can be made to appear guilty of theft, how difficult would it be for the same people to make you appear guilty with him?’
It was a nightmare again: frightening, irrational. Pitt was exhausted, aching with the pain of disillusion and the horror of his own violence. His body was bruised and so tired he could sleep sitting in this comfortable chair, if only he could relax long enough. And yet fear knotted the muscles in his back, his shoulders and his neck, and his head throbbed. This last piece of news made his whole situation worse. He struggled to make sense of it.
‘Where is she? Is she safe?’ Safe was a stupid word to use if she was in Ireland with Narraway.
‘Thomas, Victor is out there with her. He won’t let any harm come to her if he can prevent it,’ Vespasia said softly.
Pitt knew Narraway was in love with Charlotte, but he did not want to hear it. ‘If he cared, he wouldn’t have—’ he began.
‘Allowed her to go?’ she finished for him. ‘Thomas, she has gone in order to honour her friendship and loyalty, and above all to protect her husband’s career, and therefore the family’s means of survival. What do you imagine he could have said or done that would have stopped her?’
‘Not told her he was going in the first place!’ he snapped.
‘Really?’ Vespasia raised her silver eyebrows. ‘And left her wondering why you did not come home after chasing your informant through the streets? Not that night, or for days afterwards? She might have gone to Lisson Grove and asked, by which time she would be frantic with fear. And she would have been met with the news that Narraway was gone and you were nowhere to be found, and there was no one in Lisson Grove to help or support you. Do you feel that would have been preferable?’
‘No . . .’ He felt foolish – panicky. What should he do? He wanted to go immediately to Ireland and make sure Charlotte was safe, but even an instant’s reflection told him that might do at least as much harm as good. And anyway, the heart of the problem was not there but in London. He had no idea what Narraway’s old case was; there were so many. And it now looked as if