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“Not a social call, then?”What does he want now?
“It rarely is.”
“All right then.” Jarvis raised his brow and invited the man to sit down.
Gunning sat across from Jarvis and studied his face carefully.
“You look a lot better than the last time I saw you,” Jarvis said.
“Do I?”
“Yes, there’s a healthy glow about your face that wasn’t there before. Or have you, perhaps, shaved?”
Gunning laughed and caressed his jaw. “I definitely feel a little better. And how is your shoulder?”
Jarvis stilled. “Quite well.”
“Was it the right shoulder that bothered you or the left?”
“They are both quite worn out. Getting old is not pleasant.” Jarvis grinned.
Gunning let out a bark of laughter. “No need to assure me of that.”
“Did you come to discuss the Shadows again?” Jarvis tossed the morning paper toward the thief-taker. “I read all about last night’s attack.”
“Hm.” Gunning cocked his head to the side. “Do you know what I find curious?”
Jarvis shrugged. “I am certain I do not.”
“The night before this incident, I stumbled upon one of these Shadows. Well, I am not certain it was definitely one of them, but he was just as described: dressed in all black, kerchief over his face, a mask over his eyes. He was running, carrying the child away from the orphan house. It was very curious.”
“What were you doing in that area?”
“I heard about the children disappearing from the Lykai sanctuary, so every once in a while, I go there and look the place over. Technically, nobody is paying me to do it. But when I do not have paying clients, I like to stretch my limbs and do some good.”
“And did you save the child?” Jarvis asked, feigning nonchalance.
“No,” Gunning answered. “At least not from the Shadow-man. It turned out the masked man was not stealing him, but rather saving him from the bandits.”
“Hm.”
“Curious, right? And then I read this morning’s paper.” Gunning spread his hands. “Perhaps we got it all wrong, and these Shadows are not criminals but heroes.”
Jarvis narrowed his eyes on Gunning. “Is that what you truly believe?”
Gunning shrugged. “I do not know. But it is a notion worth entertaining, wouldn’t you agree?” He stood as if ready to leave.
Jarvis stood as well. “Gunning.”
“Yes?”
“What happened to the boy?”
A slow smile spread across the thief-taker’s face. “I brought him back to the orphan house. You’ll be glad to know that he is faring quite well.” He tipped his hat and walked away.
Jarvis stood for a moment, staring after the thief-taker, and then cursed. He’d walked right into the thief-taker’s trap and didn’t even notice.
As the days went by, Olivia had given up hope of ever seeing Jarvis again. She assumed he’d come to their doorstep acquiring after their health—after all, they’d been friends for a lifetime, and the entire family had just suffered a major shock—but he didn’t.
