He’d never been one for exaggerating, and he knew from experience what it meant to be in danger. “Have you heard any whispers that they’ve twigged where I am? My father knew where I went when I left Southwark, but I cain’t say if he told anyone else before he went six feet under.”

“If they knew, they’d have found you already.”

Baz, then, was safe. At least for a time. Some of her panic eased. Cutting the ties between them and getting herself deemed dead would free him from more than just a marriage he didn’t want. It’d keep the Kincaids off his doorstep.

“Tell me where I can find you,” Mr. Sorokin said, “and I’ll see to it you get the papers.”

Gemma allowed a lopsided smile. “Have I got a wheeze to crack on that matter. I’m at Dr. Milligan’s house. I’d wager you know him, as he’s been looking after Vera.”

For a moment, he didn’t say anything. “Have you seen her lately?”

“I have. She seems very happy. That husband of hers is a good ’un, i’n’t he? And Móirín’s fearsome in the best sort of way.”

“They’re fierce protectors,” Mr. Sorokin said. “I hate being away from her while she’s hurting. But she stood up to the Mastiff, which is why he burned down our business, why he attempted to kill her, and why he would kill me and these children in a heartbeat if given a chance.”

“So you have to keep tucked into the shadows.”

He nodded. “I can keep the children safe here. Should danger find Vera, she will be quite thoroughly protected.”

As much as Gemma would welcome a bit of that “thorough protection,” she’d not make things more dangerous by hanging about Town too long.

“Why is it you’re at the doctor’s house?” Mr. Sorokin asked.

He needed to know her name if he was to forge her a document. “It’s him I’m married to.”

The tiniest surprise showed on Mr. Sorokin’s face. She didn’t mean to let him interrogate her on the matter.

“Do you want me to tell Vera I’ve seen you?” she asked him.

With a heavy sadness, Mr. Sorokin shook his head. “If she knows that you know where I am, she’ll press you. Should anyone overhear who ought not . . . There are people who would stop at nothing to get such information.”

Stop at nothing. “You must know more than you’re spilling if the Mastiff and his associates would take such pains to find you.”

“It is not merely what I know but who I’ve helped. I know secret identities, schemes, hiding places. Information that unravels important people. And I know the identities of those who are, in all reality, the only people capable of bringing down the Mastiff and those he works with.”