"If that is what Barton Lambert wants," Rathbone said very quietly, his voice as calm as if he were addressing an elderly lady disposing her will. His mind was racing. "Then he must hate Melville ... or fear him ... far more than would be explained by anything we know so far. Although I do have an excellent detective working on the case, and if there is anything whatsoever in the history of any one of the Lambert family, from the day they were born, then he will find it."

He saw Sacheverall's face darken with anger, and ignored it. "And, of course, once you have opened the door for this kind of slander then anything will be permissible. The gallery will love it. The press will tear them apart like a pack of dogs." Rathbone adjusted his legs a little more gracefully. "You and I are aware of that, naturally. We have seen it before. But are you sure the Lamberts are? Are you perfectly sure Mrs. Lambert is prepared to have her every act—every flirtation, every gift, every incident, letter, confidence—examined this way and interpreted by strangers? Can anyone at all be so certain of every moment of their lives?"

Two furious spots of color marked Sacheverall's cheeks and he sat forward, his back straight, shoulders hunched.

"How dare you?" he grated. "You have sunk lower than I thought possible. Your client is guilty of acts that all civilized society regards as depraved. He has pursued and deceived an utterly innocent young woman for the furthering of his own ambition—and you threaten her with slander in order to aid him in escaping the consequences of his actions." He jabbed his finger in the air and his lips were drawn into an almost invisible line. "You show that behind that facade of a gentleman you are without honor or principle. The best I can think of you is that you are ambitious and greedy. The worst is that you have a sympathy with your client which extends a great deal further than you would wish it supposed."

Rathbone felt an absurd moment of chill as he realized what Sacheverall meant, then laughter. Then his dislike turned into something much greater.