Max said, color splashing his cheeks. There was no love lost between him and his father, Lord Eastleigh, but it was plain for all to see how ashamed he was of his own flesh and blood’s involvement in the kidnapping ring. “To be honest,” he went on, “I have reason to believe Father might be in London.”
“Truly?” David’s brow shot up. His feud with Lionel was momentarily forgotten.
“What makes you so certain?” Lord Clerkenwell crossed his arms and stared at Max. “The most recent information Scotland Yard has places him in Southampton, attempting to book passage aboard a ship bound for his Caribbean holdings.”
Max shrugged. “I spotted my brother, George, in town just yesterday. George detests London in the summer. Only something monumentally important would drag him out of the country at this time of year, especially with my mother and sisters in residence in Hampshire.”
“Is there any way to prove Eastleigh is in London?” Lord Clerkenwell asked. “Any way to contact him or your brother?”
Max sighed and shook his head. “I’ve been utterly disowned by my family.” He exchanged a look with Stephen, who took his hand and squeezed it comfortingly.
A slight grimace pulled at the corner of David’s mouth. Max wasn’t the only man like them to be disowned when their true desires were exposed. He still had a sore spot in his heart from the last time he’d spoken with his father.
“Surely, there must be some way we can make contact, though,” Stephen said supportively.
“I doubt it.” Max rubbed a hand over his face, then glanced to Lord Clerkenwell. “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”
“You may yet be able to help.” Lord Clerkenwell frowned in thought. “If not in the search for your father, then in our attempts to capture the other two.”
“Do we have any idea at all where they are?” Stephen asked.
“Castleford was last spotted in Liverpool, attempting to leave England through that port,” Lord Clerkenwell said. “Though our latest intelligence suggests he’s gone inland, perhaps to Manchester, to wait things out for a while.”
David’s gut clenched at the mention of Manchester. He had never visited the city, but he had ties to it. Definitive ties. Specifically, John Dandie. He peeked sideways at Lionel, unsurprised to find Lionel eyeing him with equal parts wariness and hurt. Though it was hypocritical in the extreme for Lionel to look so emotional, given the way he’d behaved with Jewel.
“Chisolm has gone north,” Lord Clerkenwell went on, “though we’re not certain where at this time. I’ve dozens of men working on the case, however. Even a man like him won’t be able to hide forever.”
“We’ll find him,” David said, glancing to Lionel. He nodded, acknowledging Lionel as his business partner, rather than whatever other mess stood between them at the moment.
Lionel’s eyes widened slightly. “So you’re including me in your endeavors now, are you?”
A new wave of frustration crashed over David. He clenched his fists at his sides before he could stop himself. “You were always included, Lionel. Any exclusion has been your own creation.”
“Oh, yes.” Lionel’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “I am the cause of all my own problems, and I get what I deserve because of it.”
David’s brow furrowed in frustration. “What the devil are you talking about?” There was more to Lionel’s irritation than one of his usual, occasional bad moods. He hadn’t been right since the confrontation at The Chameleon Club.
“Never mind me,” Lionel went on with a wave of his hand. “I know very well where I rank in your estimation these days.”
David’s mouth dropped open, but he couldn’t think of a blasted thing to say in reply to Lionel’s peevishness. It was utterly out of character for a man who was usually in control to the point of being icy and aloof, as if Lionel had turned as hot and bristling as the summer heat that had invaded London and made the place miserable.
“Are the two of you going to be able to work together on this?” Lord Clerkenwell asked, glancing between them, like a headmaster who might have to separate two obstreperous students.
“Yes,” David answered.
“Of course,” Lionel said at the same time.
The two of them exchanged looks of challenge. David’s nerves were frayed enough from the sea of emotion that had grown so stormy between them in the past few weeks. He would almost have rather they return to Lionel’s habit of teasing him incessantly and arousing him to such a degree that he’d resorted to relieving himself while picturing