“Oh, I don’t think he’d do that.”

“Why not? He hangs around with a hellspawn!”

“Yes, but he’s a Drood. The family would never accept a backstabber as leader, and he knows it.”

Molly sighed. “You have such faith in your family, Eddie. Even after all the things they’ve done to you.”

“The Droods are good people, at heart. We’re all trained from childhood to fight the good fight. We just . . . lost our way, that’s all. And Harry does have an excellent reputation. If he can do a better job than me as leader, let him. I’d be quite happy to stand down and go back to my old job as field agent, with no responsibilities to anyone save myself.”

“You really think he’d let you go?”

I grinned. “He will if he knows what’s good for him.”

Molly laughed and hugged me hard. “That’s my Eddie! You could be the most powerful man in the world running the most powerful organisation in the world, and you really would give it all up, wouldn’t you?”

“First chance I got,” I said. “I never wanted any of this. I’ve always had issues with authority figures. I certainly never wanted to be one. All I want is you, and a life for us together.”

She kissed me, and then pushed me away. “Go and talk to Harry. I’ll go for a wander round the grounds. Where shall we meet up?”

“At the Armoury, in an hour,” I said. “If we’re going after Janissary Jane, the Blue Fairy, Subway Sue, and Mr. Stab . . . I want to be really well armed.”

I checked with the Sarjeant-at-Arms, just to make sure Harry had ended up where he was supposed to be, in Uncle James’s old room. The Sarjeant always knows where everyone is. That’s part of his job. The Sarjeant allowed that the new arrival was indeed in the Gray Fox’s old room. He seemed to find that appropriate, but I could tell something was bothering him.

“Something’s bothering you, Sarjeant,” I said. “Don’t you approve of Harry returning home at last?”

“He seems a pleasant enough gentleman,” the Sarjeant said slowly. “But his . . . companion; that’s something else. Never thought I’d live to see the day when we allowed a hellspawn under our roof.”

“Harry vouches for him,” I said. “As is his right. But feel free to keep a very watchful eye on anything Roger Morningstar gets up to while he’s here.”

The Sarjeant nodded. “Like I needed you to tell me that, boy.”

“Don’t push your luck, Cyril. What can you tell me about Harry?”

“Nothing you don’t already know.”

“My Uncle James never spoke about him to you?”

“No. He never did. The Gray Fox never discussed his relationships outside the family.”

“Did you ever know James’s wife, Melanie Blaze?”