Mr. Thanos cleared his throat. “Yes, two parties we met showed much interest in the children, looking them over as though choosing items from a shop.”

Mr. Fielding leaned his face on one hand, the picture of weariness. “Names.”

“Give him a moment,” Daniel growled. “And keep in mind they might have nothing to do with this.”

Mr. Fielding lifted his head and gave Daniel a baleful stare. “You know bloody well that most people have no good on their minds. Anyone who would cross London to gaze upon a building full of unfortunate children is already suspect.”

“Including Lady Cynthia and me?” Mr. Thanos asked, brows rising.

“Exactly. You were there for ulterior purposes. Why not the rest? Anyway, get on with it.”

I broke in. “Perhaps, Mr. Fielding, you should not know the names. If you charge around, half-cocked, and bully them, you could undo everything. We are speaking of the safety of three children. Do not let Nurse Betts’s death have been in vain.”

For a moment I thought Mr. Fielding would leap at me across the delicate table between us, and I abruptly understood why Daniel called him a dangerous man.

In the next instant, Mr. Fielding calmed himself. I watched him deliberately suppress anything violent and give me a forced smile.

“Never fear, Mrs. Holloway. If I hunt up these people, I will be the unctuous vicar, oozing charm. They’ll tell me everything I want to know. Possibly many things I don’t want to know as well.”

“I am sorry to say my brother has a point,” Daniel said. “A clergyman can gather information where others would find difficulty.”

“Only too easily.” Mr. Fielding cast a disparaging gaze at Daniel. “I’m surprised you didn’t think of that yourself.”

Daniel’s flush was slight, but I and Mr. Fielding caught it. Mr. Fielding laughed, a brittle sound. “Oh, so you have discovered the convenience of donning a collar and drinking whatever foul liquids are served you to draw out confidences. Only, I went to university and became the real thing, old boy.”

“I prefer setting aside my disguises at the end of the day,” Daniel said quietly. “I agree you are well placed to help solve this. But you won’t be visiting these people alone. You’ll take a committee with you—Lady Cynthia, Mr. Thanos, and Miss Townsend.”

All of us watched Mr. Fielding, waiting for his reaction.

The flash of wildness I’d seen became even more suppressed. “Yes, I believe you are right. Did you not want to include Mrs. Holloway in our number? To round out our team of utter respectability?”

I answered before Daniel could. “I would set the wrong tone. I am working-class and can be mistaken for no other.”

“A working-class, pious soul, trusting the Lord to take her out of her drab existence, might be just the thing,” Mr. Fielding said.