“The school is in Kent, not far from the Dover Road. She likes taking on boys in difficult situations, so I think she’d be willing to accept Christopher. As it happens, she’s in London now for a nephew’s wedding. She’s joining us for luncheon here tomorrow. I can bring her to Duval House after so you can meet her and she can meet Christopher.”

“That would be ideal. Much as I like having Christopher with me, he needs to be safe and with other boys. Your old school sounds good if there really is no bullying.”

“Boys will be boys and occasionally one loses control,” Kirkland allowed. “But bad behavior is stopped immediately, if not by a master, then by one of the older boys because the ‘no bullying’ philosophy is part of the fabric of the school.”

“I like the sound of that,” she said. “I look forward to meeting your Lady Agnes tomorrow. Now what about new information and strategizing?”

“The identities of the three men who claimed they’d had relations with you are known because they testified in the trial.” Kirkland frowned. “I wish now that I’d attended the trial, but I was very busy and it seemed too sordid a matter to waste time on.”

“Even more sordid than you thought,” Lucas said. “Though in a very different way. Do you know if those men are completely convinced that they bedded Lady Denshire, or might they admit that they were deceived?”

“I haven’t probed them too deeply, but at least one of them is apparently uncomfortable with the whole business and how it played out,” Kirkland replied. “I’m not sure about the others.”

“Have you located the woman who impersonated me?” Kendra asked.

“Yes, and there’s a definite resemblance to you in her height and figure and coloring,” Kirkland said. “She calls herself Aphrodite and she’s a rather exclusive courtesan who specializes in performing male fantasies. She didn’t realize when Denshire hired her that he wanted to create a fraudulent basis for a divorce case, and she was not happy when she found out how she’d been used.”

“If so, why didn’t she speak out when the divorce became public knowledge?” Kendra asked.

“She didn’t want to become involved with any legal proceedings and she wasn’t sure her evidence would be of any use to you,” Kirkland explained. “But she might be willing to cooperate under the right circumstances.”

“What kind of circumstances?” Lucas asked.

“This gets into the area of strategy, and my wife has some thoughts about that.” Kirkland nodded toward Laurel.