“He admitted it had been a swift decision without much discussion—certainly, it hadn’t been brought up to the board. He could understand why Nurse Betts and I might think they’d simply disappeared. He was very reassuring.”

“Huh.” Cynthia’s fair brows drew together. “I’m sure he would be. Do you trust him?”

“He is a knight of the realm for his services to philanthropy, and a duke’s son.” Mr. Fielding closed the hand that had been tapping and forced it to rest. “Which means, I don’t know whether I trust him. If I’d been raised differently, I might, but I’ve seen too much of the world. The more praised a fellow, the more likely he’s a rascal.”

Cynthia gave a laugh. “I agree with you.”

“Then what happened?” I prompted. “Was Nurse Betts happy with your discovery?”

“She was relieved at first. But since I spoke to you and Daniel, I decided to visit these homes and find out if the children were there. They were not.”

“Jove.” Cynthia leaned forward, arms on the table. “They’d never arrived?”

“I mean the homes did not exist. The addresses did not, anyway. House numbers do not lay on the streets named, and on one of the roads, all the houses have been demolished to put in a large building. I know London very well, but I also consulted a guide to the streets to be certain. The houses were not there.”

I did not like this. A director of a children’s home lying about what had happened to his charges? Or was the director innocent, also duped into thinking the children had been placed at these addresses?

“Did you confront Lord Russell about this?”

Mr. Fielding shook his head. “I decided it was better to let him believe I was satisfied. Nurse Betts had asked questions at the Hospital, but she told me she started to feel frightened. I must wonder whether she also looked up these addresses or discovered Lord Russell lied. I at last made up my mind to hunt up Daniel and consult him—he’s clever at these things.”

“Did you decide to consult him before or after Nurse Betts went missing herself?”

Again the hand stretched out, fingers softly tapping. “After. I wanted to ask Nell what she thought of me bringing in my brother, but she didn’t turn up at our meeting. When I inquired at the Hospital, the matron for her ward told me she’d gone for her day out and hadn’t returned. That was a week and a half ago now.”

Whatever he thought about the situation, or Daniel, or me, I saw genuine distress in his eyes. Even the boys and girl who’d vanished, the record of their leaving a lie, didn’t worry him like the absence of Nurse Betts. He feared for her.