really ended the betrothal,” Castelbranco replied. “But he has not denied the rumor. He smiles sadly, and says nothing.” His voice shook with anger and the color washed up his face. “Sometimes a silence can speak more than words.”
Pitt searched for something to say that would draw away the poison of what was being whispered, and failed. In Castelbranco’s place, Pitt would want to strike out at de Freitas—verbally, physically, anything to let loose some of the agony inside himself.
“I’ll speak to him,” he promised. “See if he’s willing to tell me anything, and if he does I’ll follow up. If not, I’ll warn him of the dangers of careless speculation at the expense of someone else’s reputation. I don’t know what result that will have, but I’ll try. Is his business in Britain?”
For a moment Castelbranco’s eyes softened. “At least some of it. Your words may have an effect on him. Thank you. There is no one else to defend my daughter. It makes me wonder if de Freitas was as good a choice to marry Angeles as we thought. How do you know the measure of a person, when often the event that betrays them comes too late?”
“Half my job would be unnecessary if I knew the answer to that,” Pitt replied.
Castelbranco rose to his feet. “Perhaps it was a foolish question. I thought I knew Tiago. I concentrate on the lesser pain of disillusion, to take my mind off the greater one of loss, imagining it will ease my grief.”
“I would do the same,” Pitt acknowledged, rising also and holding out his hand. “I will inform you as soon as I have anything to say.”
TIAGO DE FREITAS RECEIVED Pitt reluctantly. Pitt was sure he did it only because he could not refuse, considering Pitt’s station and the power it gave him. They met in a side office in de Freitas’s father’s highly prosperous wine import and export offices, just off Regent Street. The rooms were somber, but luxurious in their own way. There was a lot of exquisite wood, much of it carved. The furniture was embossed leather, and beneath the feet rich carpets silenced all movement.
De Freitas was a handsome enough young man, with fine dark eyes and a magnificent head of black hair. He would have been more striking still had he been a few inches taller. He regarded Pitt somewhat cautiously.
“What can I do for you, sir?”
He did not invite Pitt to be seated, which pleased Pitt. There was a certain informality to sitting, and he wanted the interview to be courteous, but not easy.
“First of all, Mr. de Freitas, I regret having to disturb you during what must surely be a difficult time. I will try to be as brief as I can,” he replied.
De Freitas stiffened almost imperceptibly, with just a movement of the muscles in his neck.
“Thank you,” he acknowledged. “But I am sure you did not come here just to express your condolences about my fiancée. Your card says that you are commander of Special Branch, which I am aware is a part of the Intelligence Service of this country. I will do all I can to assist you as a guest here, but I am Portuguese and I’m sure you understand the interests of my own country must come first.”
Pitt was about to deny that his business was anything to do with national interest, then he realized that would rob him of the power he needed.
“I would not ask it of you, sir,” he replied smoothly. “You just now referred to Miss Castelbranco as if she were still betrothed to you. I was informed that the engagement had been broken. Was that incorrect?”
De Freitas’s black eyebrows rose. His voice was not openly defensive, but it was guarded. “How can that concern you, Mr. Pitt?”
Pitt answered with a slight smile. “It has to do with another matter, one I cannot discuss. If you won’t tell me, I am obliged to suppose that the rumors I’ve heard regarding the entire situation may be correct. I am hoping they are not, and that for the sake of the pleasant relations that have existed between Britain and Portugal for half a millennium, I can lay them to rest.” He let the invitation hang in the air for de Freitas to pick up.
The younger man hesitated, caught in uncertainty. A very slight flush of annoyance colored his cheeks.
“I had preferred not to speak of it for the sake of her family, but you force