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“I require an escort in my own home?” Miss Mahoney sneered.

“We will go downstairs with you,” Demeter Devlin said, stepping out from behind her sister and patting at her hair as if yearning to put it in order.

“She is not going to climb out of a two-story window, Inspector.”

“I want to be certain of that, Miss Mahoney. It is very important that I hear what she needs to tell me.”

“Come then,” Demeter said.

The four of them trudged down the stairs, with Miss Mahoney leading the way. Her sister’s hand clasped in hers, they walked side by side.

When the four of them stepped into the drawing room, Miss Mahoney refused to release her sister. They sat on the settee, still holding hands.

After a tense, silent moment, Mrs. Devlin began. “The first thing I would like to say is that you may not believe what I am about to tell you. Because of the things I've done. Because of the person I have become. But I swear it is the truth.” She offered her sister a sad smile. “My sister knows all the details now, and I am willing to put it in writing and attest to it as well.”

“I will most likely have you do that, Mrs. Devlin,” Gideon said, and it indicated to Electra that he expected a confession.

“Might we start with how you are acquainted with Percival Pennington?”

“I met him at my sister's salon.” She reached up and pulled her hair into a knot and kept her head held high.

“You were hoping for an arrangement with him?” Gideon asked.

“I was hoping for one with someone, and he had a certain charm about him. At least at the start. But then he seemed to lose interest, and the next time he came, he brought his brother.”

“Mr. Lancelot Pennington,” Gideon supplied.

She pressed her lips together and seemed to fight for composure at mention of the man’s name.

“Yes, and he was more than charming. He was very handsome and treated me in a way that gentlemen rarely do, particularly in those circumstances.”

“He developed feelings for you, and did you for him?” Gideon asked. He still maintained a soft, sympathetic manner, as if he feared Mrs. Devlin might bound from the room if he pushed too hard.

“Yes, I will admit that.”

“And you no longer felt that way about Mr. Percival Pennington?”

“They are very different men, Inspector. Lance was kind to me, almost doting. I said that Percival lost interest, but that is not entirely true. I realized that he was not a candidate to become my protector, but Percival wanted my company in an…intimate way, but without feelings of any sort.”

She closed her eyes for a minute, and Miss Mahoney reached her free hand so that she was clasping her sister’s hand with both of hers.

“He paid me for those encounters. Individually.” She snuck a glance at Miss Mahoney. “It was not something my sister would have allowed, and so I kept the truth of those encounters from her.”

“Did Lance Pennington know?”

“No. He only knew that he did he not have the funds to offer me any of the benefits I was hoping to obtain by finding a protector.”

“But he offered something else,” Electra said, sensing that her feelings for the younger Pennington were at the heart of her suffering.

“He fell in love with me. Other men said such things, but I knew that Lance felt them. Deeply. It was gratifying to know someone admired me, but he could not give me the kind of future I needed. More than anything, I yearn for security.” She blinked away tears. “Poverty takes that away from you, so that you never feel secure. I live in constant fear of the workhouse.”

Miss Mahoney leaned closer to her sister. “I told you not to worry. I told you I would take care of you.”

Mrs. Devlin smiled, but it faded quickly. “Yes, of course you did. But after being a married woman and having some measure of independence, I wanted that again.”

“Why not simply marry again?” Gideon asked.

Electra thought it a reasonable question. Mrs. Devlin was beautiful and still quite young. But she knew there were myriad reasons a woman might not wish to marry.