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Daniel hadn’t even thought of that, but Blackwell was perfectly correct. He sat upright with a sudden surge of hope.
Blackwell smiled and rolled his eyes. “Unimaginative, Daniel,” he said quietly. “How long was he in America? You want something that happened here. Perhaps that’s why he went? Did you think of that? Might have left home for the ‘colonies’ for the age-old reason. Want me to take a look?”
“Yes. Yes, please,” Daniel said immediately. He should have thought of it himself. People don’t suddenly behave so abominably. It builds up. “I’ll see what his reputation is. Someone will know.”
“Leave it alone,” Blackwell said sharply, leaning still farther forward. “You don’t know the right places to go. You’ll only get into more trouble.”
“And you do?” Daniel asked skeptically.
Blackwell’s face lit with a wide smile. “No, but Mercy does!”
Daniel thought back to Mercy’s help in the Graves case. He had not asked her where the information came from, perhaps because largely he did not want to know. That did not really satisfy his conscience, but it did answer his legal need to be honest in court. Mercy was still a handsome woman, maybe a little short for magnificence, but perhaps not? She had a presence, even without height. Her hair, black but with a dramatic white streak, hung beyond her waist when loose; piled up on her head, it was a veritable shining crown. Her face was bold: high cheekbones and magnificent eyes. But it was her intelligence and her fierce emotions that held the attention. Her loyalty was absolute, her convictions deep, her humor outrageous. Some people were terrified of her because she did not forget an injury. But then neither did she forget a favor.
“Please ask her to be careful,” Daniel said quickly. “I don’t know how important he is…”
“Of course,” Blackwell answered him. “And he may be innocent!”
Daniel did not bother to argue with him. Just at this moment he did not care about Sidney’s innocence so much as Patrick’s. He liked Patrick, but he cared deeply about Jemima, and he was afraid for her. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
CHAPTER
Four
THREE DAYS WENT by and Daniel heard nothing from Roman Blackwell. The only time he saw or heard from Patrick was on the third day, when he went to dinner at Keppel Street, arriving a little before seven.
He was greeted in the hall by his mother, holding the hand of Cassie, who stared at him with great interest.
“You remember your uncle Daniel, don’t you?” Charlotte asked the little girl.
Cassie hesitated only a moment. “Yes,” she said solemnly. “He said his daddy’s a policeman, like mine. Are you, too?”
“No. I’m a lawyer,” he replied.
“But what do you do?” she persisted.
“I argue with people…in a big room called a court. When people say someone has done something bad, I argue and say that he hasn’t!”
She stared at him in amazement, turning into awe. She looked up at Charlotte. “Grandma, when I grow up, that’s what I’m going to do. I love arguing!”
Charlotte smothered her laughter with great difficulty. “I already know that, sweetheart. Just like your mother, who could argue the leg off an iron pot!”
That had Cassie totally confused. She looked at Daniel. “Do you argue legs off…?” She had forgotten the rest.
“No. That’s Grandmama being silly. I argue so they don’t punish people, if they haven’t done anything wrong. Or sometimes, if they have, they make the punishment less.”
“Like not having any pudding? Or going up to bed early?”
“Pretty much,” he agreed.
“Oh. Would you do that for me?”
“Of course I would!” He wasn’t going to argue that one.
She smiled at him and then became shy, and hid her face in Charlotte’s skirt.
“You’ve acquired another client,” Charlotte told him. “You had better come in, or we shall be late for dinner. I’m going to take her up to bed. I think you’ve sown enough future trouble for one night. Come on, Cassie.”
Jemima came out of the sitting room and saw them. “I’ll take her up, Mama, and check on Sophie. You don’t need to. Go and talk to Daniel.”
