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“My lady wife is in the drawing room, Lady Emma. May I escort you and have Crane bring tea?”
    â€œYes, please,” Emma said, “and if it is not too much trouble, I would like pen and paper. I should dash a note to my sister. I left her quite unexpectedly.”
    â€œCertainly.” The doctor motioned for her to accompany him, and Emma started for the stairs, looking back only once at the closed door of the patient’s room, where she could hear the low murmur of men’s voices.

Four
    â€œI saw him,” Derring was saying. It took Flynn a moment to comprehend the words. He could not seem to stop staring at the white sheet covering the investigator’s body. The man looked well enough. Beneath the sheet, was there a gaping wound where a knife had plunged into flesh?
    â€œFlynn, are you listening?”
    Flynn blinked. “Yes,” he lied.
    â€œI saw your brother. I told him you were here to see him.”
    â€œAnd he did this to you?” Flynn indicated the sheet.
    â€œNo. The situation is more complicated than I told you initially.”
    â€œIs it now? What a surprise.”
    Derring ignored the sarcasm. “I found your brother in an opium den in a rather unsavory area of Bath known as the Dolmeades. He was eager to see you when I mentioned your—”
    â€œAn opium den?”
    Derring nodded patiently. “Yes. He’s quite addicted, poor sod. I haven’t pieced the entire story together, but I believe what befell your brother is not entirely uncommon. There are men who create gangs of thieves comprised mainly of boys. Young boys are valued because they can be trained, are quick, and if caught, are often treated more leniently than men. I believe your brother was taken by the leader of such a gang.”
    Flynn held up a hand. He had heard of these thieving rings, but his brother had not been some street urchin. There were plenty of orphans and homeless children for the gangs to prey upon. He had never heard of them abducting a child from a good family. “Is that usual?” he asked.
    â€œFor these gangs to take the sons of the nobility? No. They may have made a mistake or thought to ransom him. In any case, your brother was not as malleable as they had hoped. I believe the leader of the gang employed opium to make your brother more agreeable.” Derring went on, but Flynn did not hear.
    Opium. A lifetime of opium. Flynn had never touched the stuff, but he was not unaware of its popularity with certain sets, or of the effect of ingesting too much. He had a vision of men in dark rooms, reclining on chaise longues in various states of consciousness.
    â€œBut he’s alive,” Flynn said, interrupting whatever Derring had been saying.
    â€œHe is,” Derring said with a nod.
    â€œThen why did he not come with you?”
    Derring’s lips thinned. “I believe he would have, if he hadn’t been prevented.” Derring indicated his injured side. “The leader of the gang—his name is Satin—is not yet ready to part with Mr. Flynn.”
    â€œThis Satin stabbed you?”
    â€œA minor wound.”
    It was serious enough that the man looked pale and the doctor had thought to administer laudanum. Derring wouldn’t be leaving this house that night. Flynn inhaled deeply. “Tell me where the leader is. I’ll convince the bastard.”
    â€œI bloody well knew you were going to say that.” Derring tried to straighten and winced at the pain.
    â€œThat’s why you brought me here.”
    â€œI didn’t intend to send you in alone, but there’s nothing for it now. If we do not move, Satin will relocate Robert. We may never find him again.”
    Flynn tugged at his cravat. It felt quite tight suddenly. “I’ll go now. Where are these Dolmeades?”
    â€œThat’s where I found him, but he lives on Avon Street. You’ll more likely find him there. The location is