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“Yes, and Benedict, you will never guess,” her voice shook with excitement and she went up on her tiptoes, angling her mouth toward his ear. “I’ve found out where she is!” Her eyes gleamed. “Shall we go for some refreshment so I can tell you all about it?”

It was a struggle, but somehow, he managed to murmur the affirmative. Fuck Maggie and Frank, he thought sourly as he towed Lizzie off to feed her. He didn’t want to talk about either of them. Fuck the tea tent too, he thought. He needed a real drink.

The good thing about receiving Lizzie’s confidences was as soon as they were seated in the beer tent, she brought her chair flush against his and leaned right into him. The bad thing he thought, slipping his arm around her back, was that her excited chatter was about his bloody family.

“ – and Niamh says that Maggie definitely had the impression that Frank was untrue to her,” Lizzie said breathlessly. “For Aggie told Niamh. So, that you see, is why Maggie went with her to Southend!” She leaned back to gauge his reaction to this piece of news.

Who the fuck was Aggie? Luckily at this point, the server approached with their pitcher of beer which stemmed the excited flow. Benedict poured their drinks, and Lizzie accepted hers with thanks, taking a sip and looking at him expectantly.

He wondered if it was safe to admit ignorance over Aggie. Had she mentioned an Aggie before? “Who’s Aggie?” he said, throwing caution to the wind.

“Oh, didn’t I say?” Lizzie lowered her glass. “Aggie was a performer in the Wonderous Females tent. The human skeleton, only in reality she was just rather gaunt with sunken eyes and they used greasepaint to accentuate the fact. Apparently, she was Maggie’s particular friend and confidante.”

That did ring a bell, though he hadn’t known the name of his sister-in-law’s friend. Then again, why the hell should he? Benedict took another swig of beer. “And what’s at Southend?” he asked, frowning in concentration.

“Aggie’s sister’s boarding house,” Lizzie replied patiently. “Oh, and Maggie. That’s the whole point. You see, Aggie took Maggie with her when she quit this life and went to help her sister run it.”

Benedict’s head spun. Aggie and Maggie? You couldn’t make this up. “What’s the sister called?” he muttered with some acidity. “Peggy?”

Lizzie looked a little taken aback. “I don’t think Niamh mentioned her name, now that you ask. Is that important?”

Benedict shook his head. “No,” he answered quickly. “Forget it.”

Lizzie nodded and took another sip of her beer. “So, I’ve been thinking about it,” she said seriously. “And I think I know what our next step should be.”

Benedict regarded her moodily. “Our next step?”

“Yes,” she agreed, sitting up straighter. “Let me know if you agree. I think we need to determine once and for all if Frank is innocent. My own inclination is that he is, but I think we need to make absolutely sure before I write to Maggie – ”

“You want to write to Maggie?” he echoed.

“Yes, because if she was lied to, Benedict, then she needs to know.” She placed her hand on his arm and looked so sincere that any acerbic words on his tongue shriveled away. “She was the wronged party, and I don’t like to tell you this, but there was something of a conspiracy against her, against them both, if Frank was innocent.” Someone from a noisy party behind them jostled against the back of Lizzie’s chair, pitching her forward against him.

“Sorry, love,” sang out a woman’s voice as Benedict glared in that direction.

“That’s quite all right,” Lizzie assured her. “Perhaps this isn’t the best place for me tell you all this, it is rather noisy,” she said ruefully as she disentangled herself.

“Maybe you should sit on my lap?” he suggested. “Then I could hear you better.” He met her enquiring gaze with perfect blandness.

“Oh, you think that would help?”

“It would definitely help me.”

Lizzie rose jerkily out of her seat and sat herself on his lap. The self-conscious look on her face should not have this effect on him, he realized dimly, but it made absolutely no difference to the fact he was getting hot under the collar.

Lizzie cleared her throat and leaned into him. “So, what do you think?” she asked, bringing her face closer to his.

“Hmmm?”

“About Frank.”

His eyebrows snapped together. “What about him?”

“If he is innocent of what they told his wife? That he betrayed her, I mean.”

Only by a huge effort did Benedict manage to get his mind on the issue at hand. “He didn’t,” he answered, rather gruffly. “He hasn’t had anyone since Maggie. Apparently, he tried to bed some whore, but he couldn’t get it up.” Seeing the way Lizzie bridled made him realize he’d put things rather crudely. “That was after she’d left him,” he clarified, clearing his throat. “Not before.”

Lizzie bit her lip. It was plain she did not consider this as the action of an altogether innocent man. “I must say I’m rather disappointed in Frank, but I suppose he did think she had left him for another man,” she said with a sigh.