Adeline worked quickly to dress herself, at least as quickly as any woman could in a hurry. She nearly broke a sweat rushing into her drawers, stockings, chemise and then boots, followed by her corset, bustle cage, petticoat, corset cover and finally the foundation skirt. Adeline sat flushed at her vanity and pinned up her long, dark hair so that she may, at last, rejoin her waiting guest in a more respectable display. She was utterly mortified by the entire incident and quite frankly would have preferred not to have to face Eli after such stinging embarrassment. Silently scorning herself, but properly clothed, Adeline padded down the stairs and entered into the parlour to face her friend, Mr. Grant.

Eli stood from his seat, adjusting his vest as he cleared his throat, 'Are you quite alright, Adeline?'

'I do apologize, Eli. I had a bit of a . . restless- night, but I assure you I'm just fine,' Adeline admitted with a gentle simper, visibly placid as she and then Eli took their seats.

'Well, in that case, perhaps my news will ease your restlessness,' Eli began with a very self-assured demeanor, 'You see, I had a dear friend of mine, a public servant, have a look into your good detective just this morning,' he paused, 'and as it turns out, the man, your Mr. Grae, that is, simply did not exist until five years ago.'

Adeline was taken aback. She took a quiet moment to pour a little fresh cream into her hot tea before replying, 'Eli, what on earth leads you to believe this information will ease my restlessness?'

'The mans' a con artist, Adeline! Just as I suspected, and we've proof now. All that miserable wretch has done is sow seeds of doubt and conspiracy in your mind and drain your bank account. Your intentions were pure and noble, my dear, but I'm afraid you've been had. I've taken the liberty of filing a formal complaint about him to the authorities, and you may rest, assured that he will answer for his misdeeds. You can finally begin to move on from all of this ugliness.'

'I am sorry, Eli, however this revelation of yours leads me to a different conclusion altogether'

Mr. Grant leaned back in his chair and looked at Adeline quizzically, 'What other conclusion could there possibly be?'

'Well, Mr. Grae is a private investigator, therefore it is perfectly reasonable that he operate under a pseudonym as to maintain anonymity. One might even expect to find he has no listed address. I could imagine him having any number of enemies, men and women with whom he has exposed, who would like very much to find him. I suspect it could very well be a necessity in his line of work.'

Eli chortled, 'Adeline, I fear you've been reading too many books. Your imagination has clearly run away from you. Pseudonyms and false addresses and murderous clientele are works of fiction writers to stimulate the reader and nothing more. There are many legalities to running a private business, you know. At times I forget how sheltered women are from the real world.'

To this, Adeline replied steadfastly, 'I am not nearly as sheltered as you believe me to be, Eli'

'Forgive me, my dear, my intent was not to insult. I only mean to say that women and men experience the world differently. That is to say, men tend to see more of it'

Adeline took a careful sip of her tea before she responded, 'Perhaps you are right about that, however it is worth noting that I have yet to pay Mr. Grae for his services and he has yet to ask.'

Eli appeared bothered suddenly, 'Surely you cannot be defending this man, Adeline. Everything about this 'detective' speaks con artist. He is nothing more than a glorified pickpocket! I must admit I'm beginning to feel concerned for you, my dear. Your mental state as of late has become a bit worrisome. Perhaps I ought to have a doctor come by and pay you a visit.'

Feeling a great sense of unease at Eli's statement, Adeline was quick to shift her tone. She smiled, 'Eli, I can assure you that my mind is quite sound. I am simply tired and in need of a good rest before I go rushing into any hasty decisions regarding Mr. Grae.'

'I cannot fathom your indecisiveness toward that man,' Eli began impatiently, 'I have given you proof of his true character and yet you remain hesitant. How can a person be of sound mind while ignoring an indisputable fact?'

Adeline expressed a tender facade, reaching across the table to place her hand over his, 'All I ask is that you give me a day to mull things over, Eli. Would you allow me that courtesy?'

Eli looked down upon their hands, his features softening, 'I am only looking out for your best interests, my dear. I do hope you can see that.'

'Of course, Eli. You have been a very good friend to me and I do appreciate all that you have done,' Adeline pandered warmly.

Eli smiled, 'I am certain that a good rest will bring you to the same conclusion I've arrived at regarding Mr. Grae, or whoever he is.'

Standing from his seat, Mr. Grant reached for his hat, 'I'll leave you to rest and catch up on your sleep, Adeline, and I will be by tomorrow to see how you're faring.'

'Thank you, Eli.' Adeline replied before seeing him off.

She closed the door behind Mr. Grant and proceeded to lock it before resting her forehead on the dark mahogany mullion and closing her eyes.

'I'm terribly sorry, Mrs. Moore,' Mary apologized from the top of the entrance steps. 'I tried sending Mr. Grant on his way, but he pushed his way in.'

Adeline straightened up and turned around to climb the stairs, 'It's alright, Mary. I know how ambitious men can be when they want something.'

Listlessly meandering up the steps, Adeline brushed past Mary toward the next flight of stairs, 'I'm afraid I'll have to skip breakfast, Mary. If the doorbell sounds again today, please do not answer it.'

Mary nodded, 'Yes, Mrs. Moore'

♤

Adeline slept deeply and dreamlessly for several hours, waking to a dim room as the day had already come and gone, and the evening proved cloudy and damp with rain.

Sitting briefly at her vanity, she fixed her hair with the aid of a few more pins and then left her room, making her way down to the main level of the house.

Mary had already gone for the day, but Brona was up, busying herself with dishes in the scullery adjacent to the kitchen.

'How are you feeling, darling?' Adeline asked her young maid as she approached and placed a hand on Brona's shoulder.

'Much better ma'am, thank you. Let me fix you something to eat,' Brona insisted, wiping her hands dry with a table cloth.

Adeline shook her head, 'No need, dear. I haven't much of an appetite today. I would, however, very much like to put myself to good use. I cannot bare to be still any longer. If you wouldn't mind putting on tea, I'll finish up these dishes.'

'Yes, ma'am,' Brona agreed and padded quickly into the kitchen.

Adeline rolled up her sleeves and tied an apron around her waist before beginning the task of scrubbing the dishes Mary had left for Brona to take care of. Mary's primary purpose in the Moore household was meal preparation, and she always baked fresh bread and desserts such as cookies, cakes and tarts to fill the gaps between meals and evening snacks, leaving piles of dishes to be done at the end of every day. Adeline always felt she made too much food for such a modest household, particularly so since Thomas' death. Still, she appreciated Mary's talent and passion for her work and Adeline's guests were never unsatisfied with the array.

As she took to scrubbing a particularly caked pan, Adeline was stunned into alertness at the sharp, shrill scream that sounded like an alarm from the kitchen. Adeline dropped the pan back into the soapy water and dashed madly through the scullery into the kitchen where she found Brona standing with her hands over her mouth, gazing with wide eyes out of the foggy window that overlooked the garden.

'What's happened?' Adeline questioned worriedly.

Brona pointed at the window, 'I saw a shadow moving about in the garden, Ma'am.'

Bravely stepping closer to the window, Adeline peered out into the rainy night, 'Are you certain, dear?'

At that precise moment she gasped in surprise, seeing none other than the detective as he walked up the steps to back door of the house.

Adeline exhaled to calm her nerves, 'It's alright, Brona,' she reassured as she went to open the door.

'Mr. Grae. You gave us quite a fright.'

'My apologies, Mrs. Moore. I felt it best to mee' with you discretely,' the detective explained, his hat soaked and dripping water from its brim.

Adeline felt wary about Mr. Grae, given the grim warning she had received about him from Eli, however, she was not going to send him away without first hearing what he had to tell her.

'Please, do come in out of the rain.'

The detective entered and removed his soggy hat before practically having to peel himself out of his heavy, drenched overcoat. Brona reached for his things, 'I'll dry these out best I can, sir,' she assured timidly, still nervous from the fright of his arrival.

Before relinquishing his coat, Mr. Grae felt around to find the lockbox within its folds. It too was damp and cold as he handed it to Adeline.

She gazed at Thomas' secret box for a moment before looking back up to the detective, 'Let's speak in the next room, Mr. Grae'

The detective nodded in agreement and followed Adeline to the table set out in the parlour.

The pair sat and Adeline placed the metal lockbox on the table's surface. She sat quietly for several moments simply staring at the object in front of her as though it might contain a bomb that could ignite at any moment.

Mr. Grae waited patiently and quietly while his client worked up the nerve required to discover for herself what he already had.

Adeline took a breath at last and proceeded to lift the small drop hatch, opening the little door. Reaching into the box, she was not certain what she had found at first. Whatever it was, it had been wrapped in a sheet of thick yellowed paper and tied together with a piece of yarn string.

Adeline's brows knit together as she untied the string and removed the paper. Inside was a neatly stacked pile of unblemished bank notes.

'Money?' Adeline looked up to Mr. Grae quizzically.

He nodded and reached across the table for the paper that had been carelessly cast aside, 'Have a look at this,' Mr. Grae handed the note to Adeline.

Smoothing out the page, Adeline began to read aloud, 'Edward J. Sinclair, £10. Johnathan. H Wilson, £40. Robert G. Griffin, £20,' The names went on and on. 'What am I reading, Mr. Grae?'

'A list of clients at Barclay's Bank, Mrs. Moore.'

Adeline was confused, 'What does it mean?'

Mr. Grae leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, 'It would seem Mr. Moore was bilking money from his clients. Small enough amounts, as you can see, not to be no'iced or missed.'

Looking to the stack of bank notes, Adeline shook her head, 'This is surely too much money to go unnoticed'

'You may be right, Mrs. Moore. Someone migh've noticed, indeed.'

'You believe this is related to Thomas' murder?' Adeline questioned with widened eyes.

Mr. Grae leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, 'Too soon to tell, I'm afraid.'

Shaking her head, Adeline took a quiet moment before speaking, 'Thomas and I lived a very comfortable life. I cannot fathom what drove him to it'

'What mo'ivates a man isn't always clear, Mrs. Moore.'

A quiet fell between the detective and Adeline as she looked at the evidence before her, trying to make some sense of it all.

'Mr. Grae, some of these men listed are not clients of my husband,' Adeline began as she further scrutinized the ledger, 'In fact, this man, Baron N. Somers, is a client of Eli Grant. I can recall, with great detail, Mr. Grant boasting about having convinced Baron Somers to become an investor in Barclay's. Eli was promoted to Executive Director, I remember it clear as day.'

The detective nodded his head, 'And there are more. Eighteen of the men on that list are Mr. Grant's clients.'

'Thomas and Eli were partners in this scheme,' Adeline mused aloud, looking up to meet Mr. Grae's stolid expression.

'It is a possibili'y your husband gained access to Mr. Grant's clients without his knowledge, can't rule it out yet, but you can understand now why i' was I needed to meet you in private.'

Adeline placed her hands onto her lap and proceeded to pick away at her fingernails without judgement, 'Is Mr. Grant a suspect in my husband's murder, Detective?'

'Everyone is a' this point, I'm afraid,' Mr. Grae began as he leaned forward once more, 'Until I can rule him ou', Mrs. Moore, I'd advise you to be careful and keep this conversation between just the two of us.'

Adeline inhaled a deep breath of air and let it out slowly, 'Of course. What's to be done about the money?'

'Hide it and speak of it to no one. Don't bring i' to the police under any circumstance until we know what i' is exactly we're dealing with,' Mr. Grae warned vehemently.