He was on his feet and beside me in an instant. “Mrs. Holloway, forgive me. I had no wish to offend you, only to know you better. Daniel will not speak to me. Not in a friendly way, I mean, sharing stories from our pasts, our thoughts and hopes, as we once did.”

Mr. Fielding took on a morose expression, but I’d seen he could be as much of a chameleon as Daniel.

“Are you truly a vicar?” I asked. “Anyone can purchase a suit and find a collar.”

Mr. Fielding’s amusement returned. “Yes, dear lady, I am. My name is listed among those who took a degree at Balliol. I did not gain top honors, I am afraid, but I finished. I was also granted the living in Shadwell—those records can be checked.”

“Why the clergy?” I asked. “You were allowed into a prestigious university, and you chose to study to be a clergyman?”

“I knew I was not clever enough for maths or the sciences,” Mr. Fielding answered readily. “Not certain I could pull off law either, having faced enough severe barristers as a youth for my comfort.” He gave me a serene smile. “Have you not considered that in divinity studies, I perhaps found my true calling?”

“No, rather you strike me as a man who seizes opportunities.”

The laugh he let out was more genuine. “I am indeed.” Mr. Fielding took my hand in a firm grip and shook it. “Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Holloway.”

“Not at all.” I withdrew from the clasp immediately. “But you do not need to come to the house to quiz me for information. If I learn something about Nurse Betts or the children, I will tell you. Or Daniel will.”

“I doubt I’ll have any news from my brother,” Mr. Fielding said, resigned. “Old wounds run deep.” He gave me a brief bow. “Good day to you, dear lady.”

I gave him a cordial farewell in return and stepped back to let him depart.

As he opened the sitting room’s door, he resumed the befuddled expression of a minor vicar dazzled by, and a little wistful about, his visit to a great house of Mayfair. Mr. Davis, ever alert, appeared from the shadows of the back stairs with Mr. Fielding’s wraps and escorted him to the door.

Mr. Fielding was as good as Daniel about taking disguises, I mused as I watched him fumble with his coat, allowing Mr. Davis to help him. But Mr. Fielding had subsumed himself far deeper into his part than Daniel did in his, and I wondered if that made Mr. Fielding the more dangerous of the pair.

*   *   *

Elsie returned to the house as Tess and I were readying the evening meal for the table. The scullery sink was full again, as Tess and I had used plenty of bowls and pots to prepare the meal.