Evan shook his head. “No, the duel came out of White’s. Sanderson falsely accused me of marking the cards when he was the one who was cheating. The colonel’s hypothesis sounds a bit far-fetched. Especially since I was not a member of this Rack and Ruin club.”

“Even so, it is a link between you and Sanderson that was never considered during the trial. As far as I can tell, it has always been stated that you were strangers to each other before that card game.”

He nodded. “We were strangers—we did not move in the same circles. Besides, wouldn’t such a link consolidate my guilt rather than prove my innocence? I did catch him across the chest in the duel and he did die on the field before witnesses.”

“Yes, but you only pinked him. You said so yourself. I think there is more to it.” I hesitated—the next would infuriate him—but he needed to know. “Two days ago, I had an encounter with Mulholland. He is a violent man—”

“Good God, did he hurt you?”

“He grabbed me. I was not harmed, but his henchman beat my poor footman. He was looking for information about you and he did not fear any repercussions for the interrogation.”

“How dare he lay hands upon you!” He drew himself up. “This is all becoming far too dangerous. You must distance yourself from me.”

I looked at him in exasperation. Ridiculous, noble man. “Even if I wanted to distance myself—which I do not—we are well past that contingency. The link between us has been made.”

“Still, I cannot have you or your sister in danger.”

“Evan, you are missing the point. Mulholland does not fear any repercussion for attacking me. He expects to be protected. And he is known to kill his quarry.”

As I expected, he quickly made the connection. “You think he has been hired by someone to kill me?”

“Someone of high rank.”

“Why? I have not been in the country for twenty years. What could be the reason?”

“I think it has something to do with this club. As you say, you have been away for twenty years. You cannot have done anything to create such animosity while you were in a prison colony on the other side of the world. Therefore, it stands to reason that the motive for this attempt to kill you originates from back then too.”

He cocked his head, clearly unconvinced.

“I know it may be clutching at straws,” I conceded. “But we need to discover more and that is the only place I can think to start.”

“How, though?”

“Go to the club.”

“Does it still exist?”

“The colonel believes so.”

“It has been twenty years, Gus. What do you hope to find?”