Betrayal at Lisson Grove - Anne Perry [129]
‘It wasn’t to seek recommendation for a new maid that you came at this hour of the morning,’ she finished for him. ‘What is it, Thomas? You look very troubled indeed. I assume something new has occurred?’
He told her everything that had happened since they last spoke, including Narraway’s arrest for murder and Pitt’s own dismay and disappointment over Stoker’s sudden change of loyalties, and the brutal details with which he had described Narraway’s falling apart.
‘I seem to be completely incompetent at judging anyone’s character,’ he said miserably. He would like to have been able to say it with some dry wit, but he felt so inadequate that he was afraid he sounded self-pitying.
Vespasia listened without interrupting. She poured him more tea, then grimaced that the pot was cold.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ he said quickly. ‘I don’t need more.’
‘Let us sum up the situation,’ she said gravely. ‘It would seem unarguable that you were wrong about Gower, as was everyone else at Lisson Grove, including Victor Narraway. It does not make you unusually fallible, my dear. And considering that he was your fellow in the service, you had a right to assume his loyalty. At that point it was not your job to make such decisions. Now it is.’
‘I thought Stoker was Narraway’s man too,’ he pointed out.
‘Possibly, but let us not leap to conclusions. You know only that he brought news of Victor’s arrest, and that what he reported to Gerald Croxdale about the embezzlement charge seemed to blame Victor, and also was untrue in other respects. He made no mention of Charlotte, as you observed, and yet he must have seen her. Surely his omission is one you are grateful for?’
‘Yes . . . yes, of course. Although I would give a great deal to know she is safe.’ That was an understatement perhaps only Vespasia could measure.
‘Did you say anything to Croxdale about your suspicions of Austwick?’ she asked.
‘No.’ He explained how reluctant he had been to give any unnecessary trust. He had guarded everything, fearing that because Croxdale had known Austwick a long time perhaps he would be more inclined to trust him than to trust Pitt.
‘Very wise,’ she agreed. ‘Is Croxdale of the opinion that there is something very serious being planned in France?’
‘I saw nothing except a couple of faces,’ he answered. ‘And when I look back, it was Gower who told me they were Meister and Linsky. There was talk, but no more than usual. There was a rumour that Jean Jaurès was coming from Paris, but he didn’t.’
Vespasia frowned. ‘Jacob Meister and Pieter Linsky? Are you sure?’
‘Yes, that’s what Gower said. I know the names, of course. But only for just one day, maybe thirty-six hours, then they left again. They certainly didn’t return to Frobisher’s.’
Vespasia looked puzzled. ‘And who said Jean Jaurès was coming?’
‘One of the innkeepers, I think. The men in the café were talking about it.’
‘You think? A name like Jaurès is mentioned and you don’t remember by whom?’ she said incredulously.
Again he was struck by his own foolishness. How easily he was duped. He had not heard it himself Gower had told him. He admitted this to Vespasia.
‘Did he mention Rosa Luxemburg?’ she asked with a slight frown.
‘Yes, but not that she was to coming to St Malo.’
‘But he mentioned her name?’
‘Yes. Why?’
‘Jean Jaurès is a passionate socialist, but a gentle man,’ she explained. ‘He was a campaigner for reform. He sought office, and on occasion gained it, but he fights for change, not for overthrow. As far as I know, he is content to keep his efforts within France. Rosa Luxemburg is different. She is Polish, now naturalised German, and of a much more international cast of mind. I have Russian émigré friends who fear that one day she will cause real violence. In some places, I’m afraid real violence is almost bound to happen. The oppression in Russia will end in tragedy.’
‘Stretching as far as Britain?’ he said dubiously.
‘No, only in so far as the world is sometimes a far