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accent in your voice. I’ll wager you spent a good deal of time in the West.”
    “I do not see what that has to do with this conversation.”
    “Neither do I, so let us move on to the more important topic.”
    “Which is?” she asked warily.
    “How you are going to save me.”
    “And just how will I accomplish that? Always assuming I am of a mind to do so.”
    “With luck, your ability to work dreamlight will be my salvation.”
    “I admit that I am a dreamlight reader,” she said. “But there is a vast difference between being able to perceive the residue of dream energy and being able to manipulate the currents of that sort of ultralight.”
    “I am convinced that you can do both,” he said.
    “What makes you believe that?”
    “My theory was confirmed yesterday morning when I heard about the man who was found unconscious in the alley behind the Avery Street brothel.”
    “He’s not dead,” she gasped. “I would have known . . .” She broke off abruptly, evidently aware that she had already said far too much.
    “He’s alive, but I’m told that his nerves were shattered by the nightmares he experienced while he was in a most profound sleep. They say that his companions were unable to awaken him for several hours.”
    Adelaide’s gloved fingers tightened around the handle of her umbrella. “He tried to seize me when I went downstairs into the alley to get away. Claimed he’d spotted me earlier in the evening and suspected that there was something off about me, as he put it. I recognized him as the enforcer the girls feared the most at that brothel. I was told that he could be quite brutal. But I fail to see how you made the connection to me.”
    “The rumors I heard made me think that whoever rendered him unconscious used psychical talent. There was not a mark on him, I’m told. The fact that he is even now babbling about vivid nightmares convinced me that the person responsible for his condition was in all likelihood a dreamlight worker.”
    “I see.”
    “That particular enforcer has killed men, Mrs. Pyne,” he said evenly. “You were damned lucky to survive the encounter.”
    She said nothing.
    He was wasting time trying to make her see the recklessness of her ways. Stick to the point , he thought. If the lady wants to take foolish risks, that’s her affair. But for some reason, consigning Adelaide Pyne to her fate was easier said than done.
    “If you knew my identity, what made you contact Mr. Pierce?” she asked.
    “I desired a proper introduction. He agreed to arrange this meeting.”
    “Because the two of you are allies?”
    He knew she was not going to like the answer.
    “Mr. Pierce also owes me a few favors,” he said.
    “Like the poor man who works at my bank.”
    “Pierce would never have given you up to me, if that is what concerns you. He agreed only to suggest the meeting to you but he made it clear that whether or not you accepted the invitation would be your decision. Perhaps the more intriguing question is why you consented to come here today.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “I had little choice in the matter. It was obvious that if you had gotten as far as making inquiries of Mr. Pierce it would not be long before you found me.”
    He did not respond. Her conclusion was right. He would have come looking for her if Pierce had not agreed to set up the meeting.
    “What is the precise nature of your problem, sir?” Adelaide asked. “I am well aware that you are not engaged in the brothel business so you have nothing to fear from a social reformer like me.”
    “What makes you so certain that I do not operate any brothels?”
    She waved one hand in a dismissive gesture. “The girls who come to the charity house bring a river of gossip from the streets. They collect far more information than most people, including their customers and the brothel keepers, realize. They are aware of who engages in the business of selling flesh and who does not. There are