Nelson shrugged. “I don’t visit her every night. We have a firm understanding. Our relationship is quite free of entanglements.”
Sebastian grinned at his friend’s seeming indifference. After watching Nelson and the lovely Miss Gowans bicker back and forth most of the night, he was curious at Nelson’s sudden change of heart about his mistress. “Well, entanglement or not, I’m glad to have you with me this night.”
“You don’t think I’d let you have all the fun, should a fight break out, do you?”
Sebastian knew that was Nelson’s way of saying he would cover his back. “Thank you, friend. I have an overwhelming need to look for the scum that did this to her.”
“You mean the beautiful Miss Latham?” Nelson said.
Sebastian was silent for a long moment. “I know what you’re thinking—and you can un-think it. I have no intention of marrying. Not for a long time. My work takes me all over. And that is my life at present.”
“Then, if that’s how you feel, you’d best watch yourself around Miss Latham. I see the way she looks at you, with those big blue eyes. Latham would give you a good bashing if he thought you were dallying with his sister’s feelings. I’m not sure that his anger wouldn’t give him the edge.”
“I hear you. And I assure you, there is nothing to be concerned about,” Sebastian replied. The trouble was, more and more, Katie consumed his thoughts. Was he merely feeling protective over Katie? It made his blood boil when he saw the completed sketches of the men who’d accosted her.
The leader, in particular.
Katie had not shared everything with him, but men like that had no respect for women. Sebastian’s thoughts had gone to a very dark place as he pictured what they might have done or tried to do to Katie. But he had to push those thoughts aside. No matter how protective he felt toward her, no matter how much her beauty beguiled him, no matter how sweet and charming she was, he had to focus on the task at hand—tracking down and capturing the men who attacked her and killed Wendel Colborne.
For now, he needed to shelve his feelings towards her and find the man who helped with Colborne’s murder.
“Tuck your hair into your cap,” Sebastian said, pulling his own hat down as the carriage came to a stop. Sebastian had instructed his driver to let them off far enough away from the docks so they wouldn’t be seen descending from the conveyance. He pulled up the collar on his patched-up coat as he and Nelson strode toward the row of public houses located near the docks. The two of them resembled typical ship hands heading out for a mug or two of ale.
A few minutes later, they were seated in a darkened corner of The Rooster, each with a tankard of ale in hand.
“This could be our lucky day,” Nelson said in a low voice.
“Do you see him?”
“Tucked back in the corner with a buxom barmaid on his lap. Dark hair and dark complexion.”
“Well done,” Sebastian said. He lifted his tankard and took a sip. “He’s seated next to the back door. We’ll have to make sure he doesn’t bolt for it.”
Nelson snorted. “While he has that lap piece, I don’t think he plans to go anywhere.”
“I’ll block the door. You ask him nicely to leave with us,” Sebastian suggested.
A few minutes later, they stood outside the bar with Doogan, the tall beanpole who matched Paula’s second drawing.
“That was easier than I anticipated,” Sebastian said under his breath.
“So, what’s the job? Ye said ye have work fer me,” Doogan demanded, with his arms folded across his chest.
“In a manner of speaking. Think of it as re-work. We want you to tell us about a job you pulled off in front of the Drury Lane Theatre over a year ago. A toff and his woman. When she refused to give up her pearls to your leader, he stabbed the poor sod.”
Doogan’s eyes widened, and he took a step back, causing Sebastian to grab his shoulder. Nelson stood behind Doogan, neatly pinning the thief between them.
“I see you remember that night. You and your friends killed a man who was a well-known respected bloke in Society. Did you think all those powerful toffs would have forgotten that?”
“No one was supposed to die,” Doogan whined. “Else, me and Gummy wouldn’t ’ave ’elped ’im.”
“And who is him?” Nelson asked, taking a menacing step closer to the now cringing thief. “Gummy doesn’t sound like the name of a ringleader. Who’s the one who planned it?”
“He’ll kill me if I tell,” Doogan said. “Ain’t never met no one like ’im. He’s dangerous. Got no soul, I tell ye.”
“And you may hang for the murder if you don’t tell us more than that,” Nelson said.
Doogan’s grubby hands slid to his neck and his face twisted into a grimace. “All I know is, Gummy and I thought we was just supposed to rob a toff and his chit. He did the killing. We had nothin’ to do with the dandy dyin’.”
