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J ohn Seales did not get a chance to read the Times that Saturday morning. He was up with the birds, dressed in his common clothes, on a mission to interview more people around Cable Street. It wasn’t until he had returned home when he heard from Raoul that they had an urgent summons to meet at Ormond Yard.

“Was there any reason given?” John asked, as he peeled off his white shirt. His undershirt was damp and stained with his sweat, and he wanted a bath.

“None in the note,” Raoul said. “But there was an article in the Times this morning. Silas’s lover has been arrested.”

John had just opened his flies and was about to step out of his trousers, which had been stained around the cuffs with mud and fish guts, but he stopped.

“Arrested? On what charge? Sodomy?”

“Worse. Murder.”

“Murder? Whose?”

“A Rothschild’s banker involved in the Suez deal,” Raoul said.

John continued stripping his clothes, since he’d already asked his valet Beller to prepare him a bath. “That doesn’t make sense,” John said. “What would a boxer have to do with a financial arrangement between nations?”

“Perhaps he was hired to threaten the banker, and things got out of hand,” Raoul said. “Or word of the boxer’s proclivities reached the police, and this is just a pretense to arrest him.”

The news had a negative effect on John; his cock was small and furled against his pubic hair. He realized once more how vulnerable he and Raoul were, as well as many of their friends.

“Take your bath, and then we shall go to Ormond Yard and see what’s what,” Raoul said. “And perhaps they shall give us a good dinner. I have quite a taste for Carlo’s cuisine.”

John bathed and dressed and they set out for Ormond Yard. When they arrived, shortly after three o’clock, they found Silas there, as expected. What was surprising was the presence of Barrister Pemberton as well.

Though they had met at a previous soirée, they were still introduced. “At Silas’s urging, I have agreed to defend Mr. Curiel in court against the charge of murder,” Pemberton said.

John looked at Raoul, who nodded. “We will do whatever we can to help.”

Five of them sat in the parlor, fortified by glasses of whisky. Magnus and Toby occupied one sofa, and Raoul and John another. Silas sat by himself, and Pemberton stood beside him.

“Silas, why don’t you recap all that we have already thought about?” Pemberton asked, and Silas did so.

“An admirable list,” John said, when he was finished. “What can we do?”

“I am going to speak with my contact at the Foreign Office on Monday,” Toby said. “Raoul, could you carry out similar questions in the French embassy?”

“I can. There has already been much talk in my office about the Suez deal, but I will ask around for more details and see if the dead man’s name comes up.”

Pemberton said, “Excellent,” and Silas wrote down Raoul’s task.

“We may have another connection,” Magnus said. “Our friend Gerard Houghton is a regular at the fights.”

“The fellow without a foreskin,” Silas said. “Yes, I have seen him around the ring on occasion.”

“He may know about Walpert’s gambling, and who he owed,” Magnus said. “I will contact him.”

“That is good, because our final task is to determine if there is another viable suspect,” Pemberton said. “Perhaps someone who lost money at the arena on Walpert’s advice? A fellow Jew who was angry with Walpert for some reason, and tracked him down to the arena and assaulted him? It is a pity we don’t have a connection in the Jewish community who could shed light on Walpert’s connection to his people.”

“I may know someone,” Magnus said. “A wine seller called Samuel Steingrob. I have had several pleasant conversations with him in the past. He might know something about Walpert we could not discover elsewhere.”

John realized that everyone present had the assignments but him. “What can I do?” he asked.

Pemberton turned to him. “It’s my understanding that you have an ability to speak with the common man. You could spend some time around New Cross and see what you can discover about people who hang around in those alleys.”

He looked over at Silas. “You have a team around you, my boy. We will all do what we can to establish your lover’s innocence without compromising either of you. Neither of you would benefit by serving time in gaol.”