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With Matthew seated across fro on the floor at his feet and the horses clip-clopping south along the harbor, Mrs Deverick looked pointedly at hiive the stubble One of ood job," said Pollard "Though I wouldn&039;t let a slave with a razor anywhere near me"

"Mr Reynaud is a free man," Matthew reminded him "He&039;s been free for nearly five years, I understand"

"You&039;re a braver man than me, then I&039;d be afraid he&039;d choose thein civilization and revert back to savagery So I-and Mrs Deverick also, of course-regret to hear of your recent inconvenience Where are you livingi"

"In Grigsby&039;s dairyhouse" Froloved hand to hera month, maybe"

"a dairyhouse" a quick ses of Pollard&039;s mouth "I assume you&039;ll have all the milk you can drinki"

"It used to be a dairyhouse Now it&039;s-" He decided to stop playing at civilities "There was business you wished to discussi" He turned his gaze upon the woman "Privatelyi"

"Oh, yes" Pollard reached into his coat and brought out an envelope "Your questions to Mrs Deverick She wishes to respond to them, in my presence"

Matthew kept his focus on the"Madam, do you need a lawyer to answer some simple questionsi"

"I think it&039;s best," Pollard offered "after all, protecting my client is what I&039;ainst whati Mei"

"Mr Corbett, we&039;re all striving for clarity in this situation, are we noti I would be present if Mrs Deverick were to answer questions like these before High Constable Lillehorne, or any ht to be present if a clerk-no ent he appears to ive me, Mrs Deverick, but I have to repeat ement is farcical What can this fellow learn that trained professionals can&039;t-"

"Objection noted," said Mrs Deverick "Now shut your wine keg and sit back You&039;ll earn your fee with silence as well as with prattling" She took the envelope fro noise, his brown eyes glinting with both defeat and disdain "I decided not to put anything in writing," she told Matthew as she pulled the letter free "On the advice of hts on" She paused for a few seconds, as if willing herself to speak the following names "Dr Julius Godwin and Mr Eben ausley"

"Very well," Matthew said "Nothing in writing, then"

"I&039;ll answer your questions in the order they were asked First, having to do with any discussion Mr Deverickbusiness matters: the answer to that is none as I have previously stated to you, Pennford kept his business affairs strictly to himself I was required to run the household, raise the sons, and coht to I never asked about business It was notto do with any recent trips Pennford made, either for business or pleasure"

Mattheas listening, though he had the suspicion this was not going to get hian to think of how good a hot bath was going to feel

"as recent, I assume you mean within the last six months," Mrs Deverick continued "The answer to that, also, is none Pennford did not care to travel, as he had digestive problems"

"No need for that detail, lare "again, charging per word, I presumei"

"What about less recenti" Matthew asked "Say, a year or soi"

"adding to the questions now, are as Pollard&039;s rebuke

"Within a year or so, the answer is the same," said the"None"

Matthew nodded and rubbed his scratchy chin

Mrs Deverick put the letter in her lap and smoothed it out "The third question, and most odious, concerns my displeasure over your mention of those two men in connection with my late husband I shall state emphatically and under the eye of the Lord that Pennford had no dealings with either Dr Godwin or Eben ausley They weren&039;t worth the scrapings off Pennford&039;s boots" She turned to Pollard as he was about to protest this detail and put a finger in his face "Shut"

Matthew let Pollard settle back like a strawman in collapse before he ventured further "It&039;sreputation, h he was physician to Polly Blossom&039;s ladies after all, some physician had to take that job"

"ah, but Julius Godwin enjoyed it too much He practically lived there the last few years Beca all his time hat you charitably and foolishly call ladies Those are deuise, and before I draw my last breath I pray to see Polly Blossos and deported fro our enored him "I cannot stand a weak man, sir," she said to Matthew, her face nearly contorted with disgust "Weak h those doors You ask me why I detested Julius Godell there it is and plenty of eligible-and fashionable-s available to hio to the whores Pennford told me Godas sick, and that&039;s why he drank so ies with those filthy creatures"

"Sicki" Mattheas no longer thinking about the bath; his"Youago, but he threw himself away and I recall when Dr Godwin first ca physician a clean ht, until his weakness killed him"

"I think it was the Masker who killed him," Matthew said

"The Masker finished the job Godwin&039;s weakness began," came the reply "I don&039;t know, maybe the Masker is some maniac as incensed over where Godwin put his dirty instru blankly out at the ships as the carriage progressed toward the Great Dock Mattheondered if Pollardwhat Mrs Deverick would say if she knew that one of her oyers was as er as Godwin had been It seemed that the upper class had all the money, but the lower class-like theSherwyn-had all the knowledge But of course, according to Grigsby, there were plenty of Polly Blosso on Golden Hill

Matthew leaned forward "You said Dr Godwin came from London to start anew When was thati"

"I suppose it wasat least fifteen years ago Probably nearer twenty"

"and start anew from whati"

"I don&039;t know for certain It was a phrase Pennford used But it ell-known that Godwin&039;s wife died of fever, when they were both very young He told it around town Possibly that had soe he became, but I had no sympathy for him"

a silence stretched, as Matthew pondered this last statement

Pollard came out of his trance "Where do you want us to drop you, Corbetti"

"Eben ausley," Matthew said to the woave an unladylike snort of derision "You being an orphan, as Mr Pollard informs me, I&039;m surprised you don&039;t knoas whispered about him That he was awell, I hardly can es Hadn&039;t you heardi Pennford despised him, too, and said that if any orphan ever canities he personally would have that ed in front of City Hall"

"Really," Matthew said, as the world see revolution

"absolutely It could never be proven, though Evidently the ru drunk at a tavern and made some mention ofthat practice to one of the whores She told someone else, andbut, as I said, it was never proven Still, that man made my flesh crawl I didn&039;t like him, just on principle"

"But who can trust a whorei" asked Pollard, with a shrug

"You were ausley&039;s lawyer How is it you could represent Pennford Deverick and also ausleyi"

"Where&039;s the problemi My firm inherited both accounts froal and financial affairs, not histo stir up muddy water between Mrs Deverick and me, you&039;ll be disappointed to know that she understands-as did her husband-that a lawyer is a tool for a purpose It was not h now that Pennford is gone, there al firms if ausley had remained alive," Mrs Deverick said "Tool or not"

"another question for you" Matthew kept his gaze on Pollard "Since you handled ausley&039;s financial affairs, how is it he could afford to lose sotablesi"

Pollard&039;s reddish-brown eyebrows lifted "How is it you kno much money he losti If indeed he lost anyi"

"I saw him lose i Following himi"

"I justsaw him, that&039;s all In the taverns"

"I&039;d presuhts he lost and on soht find he came out even or a little ahead"

"He was repulsive" Mrs Deverick returned the letter to the envelope "and Godas sickening So there are your answers, Mr Corbett" She held the envelope out to him "Helpful in soain he had to put his h the information as if it were fine sand He took the envelope and settled against his seatback, the horses&039; rhythe to rock back and forth

"My opinion, if I&039;ive one," said Pollard, who paused to make sure his nose wasn&039;t clipped before he went on, "is that this Masker person has left town I think the decree has had its effect, asto lose incoainst the taverns I mean, if I were the Masker, why should I wish to dawdle at the scene of the criht not be donei" Matthew asked, looking sharply at hiht that be, siri"